Perfect Action in the Zhuangzi – Reading a Heterogeneous Text

VÁVRA, Dušan. Perfect Action in the Zhuangzi – Reading a Heterogeneous Text. In Reading the "Masters": Contexts, Textual Structures, and Hermeneutic Strategies, Masaryk University (Brno), 5th–6th September 2014. 2014.

Basic information

• Original name: Perfect Action in the Zhuangzi – Reading a Heterogeneous Text
• Name in Czech: Dokonalé jednání v knize Zhuangzi - čtení heterogenního textu
• Authors: VÁVRA, Dušan.
• Edition: Reading the "Masters": Contexts, Textual Structures, and Hermeneutic Strategies, Masaryk University (Brno), 5th–6th September 2014, 2014.

Other information

• Type of outcome: Presentations at conferences
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• Organization unit: Faculty of Arts
• Keywords (in Czech): Zhuangzi; čínské myšlení; textualita
• Keywords in English: Zhuangzi; Chinese thought; textuality

Abstract

This paper constructs the meaning of the pair of terms “heaven” and “man” in the Zhuangzi by reading the dichotomy in context of its textual unit, or even the whole chapter (in the case of chapter 5, and partially chapter 6). The diversity of the individual concretizations of the dichotomy is stressed. This is why it is regarded as highly problematic to read the pair “heaven” – “man” as a (philosophical) concept with fixed meaning. If the dichotomy was read as a direct statement about the nature of certain human beings (mostly the perfect persons), it would have to be concluded that the concept is full of contradictions. Instead, it is argued that the dichotomy is best understood as a literary device used to make arguments to support various ideas. This reading strategy accounts for the variability of the concretizations of the dichotomy.