Easy Wanderer Research Articles

Morrissey and Daoism: Easy Wandering, Wuwei, and the Aesthetics of Awkwardness

In this article, the author draws attention to “Daoist” themes in Morrissey’s art and personality. The link between Morrissey and Daoism can be established via Oscar Wilde, whose relationship with Zhuangzi’s philosophy has been much commented upon. Morrissey’s worldview and art have been shaped by Wilde, whose Complete Works Morrissey received from his librarian mother at the age of eight. The self-estranging irony, the incorrect behavior, as well as the conviction that aesthetics is more important than ethics, are emblematic of Zhuangzi, Wilde, and Morrissey. Linking themes of East Asian philosophies to Morrissey’s art is historically justified. There is an affinity between Daoism/ Buddhism and the subcultural context from which Morrissey emerges. Morrissey becomes the Oscar Wilde of post-punk. Morrissey rejects all taints of rock’n’roll machismo and plays up to social awkwardness of the misfits and the outsider. The article also deals with the following themes : strength arising from weakness, uselessness, aimless wandering, language skepticism, identity, authenticity, handicap, camp, and finally, the aesthetics of awkwardness. Awkwardness transcends mere clumsiness (which is no aesthetic quality at all) and becomes potentially attractive. Morrissey’s wuwei strategy of non-pretentious acting creates an aesthetics of awkwardness.

Dreaming Fish, Becoming Fish: Animating Modern Mythology and Zhuangzian Philosophy in the Fantasy Film Big Fish & Begonia

Abstract This paper analyzes the 2016 Chinese animation film Big Fish & Begonia and its precursor, a 2004 Flash animated short video, in conjunction with Zhuangzi’s philosophy of becoming and transformation. It traces the origin of the film in the auteur’s dream experience and the development of cinematic language and animation technology from the initial short video to the full-feature film. Adopting a form closely associated with the fantastical and speculative traditions of Chinese mythology, Big Fish & Begonia represents animal becomings through the apparatus of the dream, as both crucial content and form, and the formal characteristics of animation. Both the dream and the animation forms allow the expression of desires to break through the ontological and epistemological constraints of the human subject and to render the physical form unstable. By engaging with key passages from Zhuangzi that discuss dreams, knowledge, “free and easy wandering,” and “becoming/transformation,” the paper asserts Zhuangzi’s continued influence in contemporary Chinese animation. The film offers new ways of conceptualizing and addressing modern environmental crises while aligning itself with the cultural–political agenda to create “authentic” Chinese stories.

Freedom and Easy Wandering

Freedom and Easy Wandering

Morrissey and Daoism: Easy Wandering, WuweiFlowers, and the Aesthetics of Awkwardness

In this article, the author draws attention to “Daoist” themes in Morrissey’s art and personality. The link between Morrissey and Daoism can be established via Oscar Wilde, whose relationship with Zhuangzi’s philosophy has been much commented upon. Morrissey’s worldview and art have been shaped by Wilde, whose Complete Works Morrissey received from his librarian mother at the age of eight. The self-estranging irony, the incorrect behavior, as well as the conviction that aesthetics is more important than ethics, are emblematic of Zhuangzi, Wilde, and Morrissey. Linking themes of East Asian philosophies to Morrissey’s art is historically justified. There is an affinity between Daoism/Buddhism and the subcultural context from which Morrissey emerges. Morrissey becomes the Oscar Wilde of post-punk. Morrissey rejects all taints of rock’n’roll machismo and plays up to social awkwardness of the misfits and the outsider. The article also deals with the following themes : strength arising from weakness, uselessness, aimless wandering, language skepticism, identity, authenticity, handicap, camp, and finally, the aesthetics of awkwardness. Awkwardness transcends mere clumsiness (which is no aesthetic quality at all) and becomes potentially attractive. Morrissey’s wuwei strategy of non-pretentious acting creates an aesthetics of awkwardness.

I Persist, I Believe, and I Shall Save

This essay discusses Xu Zechen’s works of fiction to understand the writer’s literary construction of life’s predicaments and their solutions. It surveys several reoccurring themes: the search for a way out of the hometown in Xu’s Flower Street stories, the vision of a utopia in the Beijing drifter series, death as the extreme darkness and ultimate means, the rediscovery of history, and so on. With “going to the world” as both a problem and a solution, Xu depicts his characters’ hard journeys toward the utopia, believing that through trials and a transcendental salvation, easy wandering will be made possible.

Snöfrid aus dem Wiesental: Daoist Themes in a German Children's Book

Snöfrid aus dem WiesentalDaoist Themes in a German Children's Book Timo Dittrich (bio) The German writer Andreas Schmachtl, well known for his children's books starring small animals—notably a little white mouse called Tilda Appleseed, whose stories are now an animated TV series—recently published a new series, Snöfrid aus dem Wiesental (Snöfrid of Meadow Valley) (2015; 2016; 2017).1 Click for larger view View full resolution The books feature a furry creature that resembles a marmot and is about knee high. Its name Snöfrid designates the species, but because Snöfrids are so rare, it also serves as his personal name. The creature lives in the far north of the planet, in an area called Meadow Valley on the slopes of a mountain under a rock. Snöfrid spends his days enjoying life, eating oats, and foraging for berries. Occasionally he helps himself to some milk in the nearest human village. [End Page 199] Many aspects of this creature resemble Daoist themes, especially those related to immortals or transcendents (xian 仙). Many stories in ancient China, notably collected by Ge Hong 葛洪 (283-343) in his Shenxian zhuan 神仙傳 (Traditions of Divine Transcendents; trl. Campany 2002), tell about their endeavors: they usually lived as hermits removed from society, were immune to heat and cold, exercised magical powers far beyond those of mere mortals, and interacted in often rather eccentric ways with ordinary society. These characteristics also apply to Snöfrid. He lives on a remote mountain, withstands the cold, displays power over animals and the elements, and interacts with others without any status constraints. In addition, he also embodies various other Daoist themes, such as a closeness to nature, free and easy wandering, sitting in forgetfulness, and more. It is not entirely surprising that Daoist themes are essential in a children's book. After all, in the Daoist classics, children are as close to the natural state as is humanly possible, able to be active for long hours without tiring and open to free and clear perception, quite free from societal constraints. A case in point in a modern context is the experiment run by the Washington Post: one of the world's top violinists played at 7:51 a.m. on a Friday morning in the arcade of a Metro Station in Washington, DC while dressed as a street performer. Of the 1,097 passers-by, only seven listened for more than a minute, two appreciated the skill and stayed as long as they could, while one person recognized the performer and stayed for the rest of the performance. No one stayed for more than nine minutes. And yet, each and every child who walked past wanted to stay on and listen. While the adults were too busy, the children exhibited an unperturbed curiosity, open to the wonders of life (Cline 2015, 180). The Hermit Life Snöfrid, too, has this quality. He is a little furry animal, about a foot tall who lives as a hermit under a boulder on a mountainside, a good distance from the nearest human village. He enjoys nothing more than to be left alone and rarely encounters anyone, not even another Snöfrid, who are generally quite rare (Schmachtl 2015, ch. 1). The hermit life echoes the proto-Daoist tradition of the masters of methods (fangshi 方士), forerunners of the school of Numinous Treasure [End Page 200] (Lingbao 靈寶) who stayed away from society to pursue the path of immortality. Living far away from society, they were "unlike any other class of being" (Campany 2009, 49), quite like the Snöfrids. However, as Robert Campany points out, if they really had nothing to do at all with society, how come we know about them? In ancient China, stories about them circulated in society and were collected by people who were either practitioners of the arts of transcendence or had seekers in their family. In his preface to the hagiographies about immortals, Ge Hong mentions that he, too, collected existing works (Campany 2002, 99). In that sense, a historical claim is made, namely that these aren't simply his inventions. The same holds true for the older Liexian zhuan 列仙傳 (Arrayed Biographies...

The Big and the Great: A Reconstruction of Zhuangzi’s Philosophy on Transcendence

This essay attempts to demonstrate the logic of Zhuangzi in his different attitudes toward “debate on big and small” by bringing into discussion the two versions of translation in the English languages, which provide a new approach to analyze the difference in the controversial commentaries on Zhuangzi. This essay points out that the ideal of “free and easy wandering” is a type of positive pleasure. By means of rational thinking and imagination, one’s searching for the external values is turned into the internal pursuit for wisdom in the transformation of things. Zhuangzi’s theory of transcendence not only provides the subject with multi-perspectives, but also substitutes the self-identity with self-value. Through the interaction between self-awareness and self-reaction, the subject can be unified with the great Dao through purposive activities. However, Guo Xiang’s commentary cancels the necessity of self-cultivation and negates the purposefulness of the subject, which underestimates the value of Zhuangzi’s construction of transcendence.

Zhuangzi in the Classroom: A Teacher Diary Study

Zhuangzi in the ClassroomA Teacher Diary Study David McLachlan Jeffrey (bio) Teacher diary studies are written first-person interpretations of experiences both inside and outside the classroom, which are examined for recurring patterns of insights that facilitate awareness. Many linguists have recognized the benefits of teacher diary studies through their wide-ranging uses for the development of insights and self-awareness based on frank and authentic written self-reflection.1 For teachers who embrace Daoism, writing down thoughts in a diary offers a meditative sense of tapping into deeper states of consciousness that tend to be smothered by ever excessive thinking intensified by the hectic pace of day-to-day activities. Such states of consciousness can even be awareness of simple things, such as the smiles on the students' faces or the little flower on the side of the path to the classroom, that tend to be overlooked in the rush toward academic achievement. Diary studies for teachers thus offer an alternative approach that opens a peaceful and creative space between the relentless push-pull dimensions in modern education. They are also a catalyst of a new awareness that brings a positive change in personal-professional development. [End Page 211] My Background My interest in Daoism began by reading the writings of Alan Watts, such as Dao: The Watercourse Way that he wrote with Chung-Liang Huang (1975) and Daoism: Way beyond Seeking (1997). These, among others, led me to read the stories in Burton Watson's translation of the Zhuangzi (1968), which illuminated Zhuang Zhou's "free and easy wandering" and "perfect happiness," the sense of spontaneously going with the flows of situations. All this made me realize the benefit of infusing his ancient philosophy into my teaching experience. Zhuang Zhou was a Daoist philosopher who lived toward the end of the Warring States period, a tumultuous time rife with warfare. His teachings are collected in the Zhuangzi, a key text of the Daoist tradition. It often relates philosophical perspectives in the form of humorous, metaphorical stories, based in ordinary society and everyday life, almost as though Zhuang Zhou, too, had been keeping a diary. This made the Zhuangzi especially inspirational to my Daoist-inspired intentions of bringing my classroom into "an integral part of nature and the greater universe, which functions in perfect harmony and is fundamentally good" (Kohn 2009, 365). In addition, I benefited from Livia Kohn's study which relates Zhuang Zhou's philosophy to modern science, notably physics, biology, environmentalism, philosophy, and psychology. In synthesizing the philosophy of the Zhuangzi text and its modern-day contexts both in China and in the West, she demonstrates its universal applicability over the past 2000 years (Kohn 2014). Despite the rapidity of great technological and scientific advancements of our time, it is clear that the path of free and easy wandering toward a state of perfect happiness remains for the most part just as applicable, yet equally as elusive as it was in Zhuang Zhou's time, and hence the applicability of Kohn's understanding of both the universal and practical applications of Zhuangzi's philosophy. Therefore, if this philosophy is equally elusive in contemporary education, then perhaps a diary study based on the Zhuangzi can form an applicable approach to bring it into the contemporary classroom, especially given the high levels of stress shared between teachers and students. Another important resource for me was Robert Santee's work, which applies the wisdom of the Zhuangzi to the psychological needs of [End Page 212] stress management, healthcare, and well-being (2011). He notes that the prevalence of chronic stress in modern society, together with the associated fight-or-flight response that accrues from primal thinking—incompatible viewpoints for black or white—lead to detrimental health consequences and offers a Zhuangzi-inspired solution of becoming an authentic person based on a meditative mindset. These contemporary applications helped me to realize that applying the ancient wisdom of the Zhuangzi might offer a solution to the many dysfunctional stresses and strains, not only in my classroom environment, but in classroom situations globally. The Zhuangzi's appreciation of the innate uniqueness within everyone and its acceptance of differences of opinions and...

The Relationship between Inner Structures of Image Schema and Hyper-Blends

The purpose of this article is to examine internal structures of image schema, which are influential in the hierarchy of blending webs. By analyzing Chinese religious texts through blending webs, I then investigate the existence of a hierarchy in hyper-blends and its role in building meaning in literary texts. The container image schema can be divided into physical (ontology) and valuation areas (epistemology). The schema is actively employed in the self-container metaphor. The physical area (background level of blending webs) is about the self as an object, and the valuation area (activating level of the webs) determines the qualities of the self. Zhunagzi is a story of human beings. By analyzing ‘Free and Easy Wandering’ through the self-container metaphor and hyper-blends, we see that the most crucial meanings of this story are to have an open mind toward changing the self and the emptying of the self.

P.1.g.032 - The application of TCM to the treatment of psychiatry diseases: in vitro anti-oxidation and anti-inflammatory effect of Free and Easy Wanderer

Following inhalation, manganese travels along the olfactory nerve from the olfactory epithelium (OE) to the olfactory bulb (OB). Occupational exposure to inhaled manganese is associated with changes in olfactory function. This pilot study evaluated two related hypotheses: (a) intranasal manganese administration increases OE and OB manganese concentrations; and (b) intranasal manganese exposure impairs performance of previously trained rats on a go-no-go olfactory discrimination (OD) task. Male Fischer 344 rats were trained to either lever press (“go”) in response to a positive conditioned stimulus (CS+: vanillin) or to do nothing (“no go”) when a negative conditioned stimulus (CS−: amyl acetate) was present. Following odor training, rats were randomly assigned to either a manganese (200 mM MnCl2) or 0.9% saline treatment group (n = 4–5 rats/group). Administration of either saline or manganese was performed on isoflurane-anesthetized rats as 40 μL bilateral intranasal instillations. Rats were retested 48 h later using the vanillin/amyl acetate OD task, then euthanized, followed by collection of the OE and OB. Manganese concentrations in tissue samples were analyzed by ICP-MS. An additional cohort of rats (n = 3–4/group) was instilled similarly with saline or manganese and nasal and OB pathology assessed 48 h later. Manganese-exposed rats had increased manganese levels in both the OE and OB and decreased performance in the OD task when compared with control animals. Histopathological evaluation of the caudal nasal cavity showed moderate, acute to subacute suppurative inflammation of the olfactory epithelium and submucosa of the ethmoid turbinates and mild suppurative exudate in the nasal sinuses in animals given manganese. No histologic changes were evident in the OB. The nasal instillation and OD procedures developed in this study are useful methods to assess manganese – induced olfactory deficits.

The Chinese herbal formula Free and Easy Wanderer ameliorates oxidative stress through KEAP1-NRF2/HO-1 pathway

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) gains a lot of attention due to high prevalence and strong psychological upset, but the etiology remains undefined and effective treatment is quite limited. Growing studies demonstrated the involvement of oxidative stress in various psychiatry diseases, suggesting anti-oxidation therapy might be a strategy for PTSD treatment. Free and Easy Wanderer (FAEW) is a poly-herbal drug clinically used in China for hundreds of years in the treatment of psychiatric disorder. We hypothesized that FAEW exerts clinical effects through the activity against oxidative stress with fluoxetine as antidepressant control drug. Our results revealed that FAEW significantly reduced both endogenous and H2O2-induced exogenous ROS levels in the human glioblastoma T98G and neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell lines. Transcriptome-wide microarray analysis indicated NRF2/HO-1 as the common target of FAEW and fluoxetine. Western blotting assay proved that the two drugs promoted NRF2 release from KEAP1 in the cytoplasm and translocation to the nuclei in a KEAP1-dependent manner, the expression of the protein HO-1 increased accordingly, suggesting the participation of KEAP1-NRF2/HO-1 pathway. The chemical constituents of FAEW (i.e. paeoniflorin, baicalin) bound to KEAP1 in silico, which hence might be the effective substances of FAEW. In conclusion, FAEW counteracted H2O2-induced oxidative stress through KEAP1-NRF2/HO-1 pathway.

Identification of NF-κB as Determinant of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Its Inhibition by the Chinese Herbal Remedy Free and Easy Wanderer.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder developing after exposure to traumatic events. Although psychotherapy reveals some therapeutic effectiveness, clinically sustainable cure is still uncertain. Some Chinese herbal formulae are reported to work well clinically against mental diseases in Asian countries, but the safety and their mode of action are still unclear. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms of Chinese remedy free and easy wanderer (FAEW) on PTSD. We used a reverse pharmacology approach combining clinical data to search for mechanisms of PTSD with subsequent in vitro verification and bioinformatics techniques as follows: (1) by analyzing microarray-based transcriptome-wide mRNA expression profiling of PTSD patients; (2) by investigating the effect of FAEW and the antidepressant control drug fluoxetine on the transcription factor NF-κB using reporter cell assays and western blotting; (3) by performing molecular docking and literature data mining based on phytochemical constituents of FAEW. The results suggest an involvement of inflammatory processes mediated through NF-κB in the progression of PTSD. FAEW was non-cytotoxic in vitro and inhibited NF-κB activity and p65 protein expression. FAEW's anti-inflammatory compounds, i.e., paeoniflorin, isoliquiritin, isoliquiritin apioside and ononin were evaluated for binding to IκK and p65-RelA in a molecular docking approach. Paeoniflorin, albiflorin, baicalin, isoliquiritin and liquiritin have been reported to relieve depression in vivo or in clinical trials, which might be the active ingredients for FAEW against PTSD.

Metodološki problemi Xu Fuguanove primerjalne analize Zhuangzijeve estetike in zahodne fenomenologije

Članek se ukvarja s Xu Fuguanovo analizo in interpretacijo nekaterih osrednjih konceptov Zhuangzijeve filozofije, ki predstavljajo njegovo estetiko. Po Xuju se Zhuangzijeva estetika nanaša na estetski način bivanja človeka, pri čemer se lepota aplicira v sfero daota, v kateri so ljudje zmožni osvoboditi svojega duha in uživati način življenja, ki ga Zhuangzi označuje kot »svobodno in lahkotno tavanje« (xiaoyaoyou 逍遙遊). Po Xujevem mnenju je to najvišja in najlepša sfera človeškega bivanja in je kot taka izražena v umetnosti. Xu je v Zhuangzijevih konceptih postenja srčne zavesti (xinzhai 心齋) in sedenja v pozabi (zuowang 坐忘) kot dveh metodah za doseganje tega najvišjega nivoja bivanja videl nekatere podobnosti z določenimi koncepti zahodne fenomenologije devetnajstega in zgodnjega dvajsetega stoletja. Čeprav je bil Xu Fuguan pri orisu vzporednic med zahodno in Zhuangzijevo filozofijo zelo previden, je bil mnenja, da med njimi obstaja določena podobnost, še posebej pri vprašanju, zakaj in na kakšen način je človeška zavest (oziroma srčna zavest) zmožna dojemati svet estetsko. Članek želi pokazati nekatere metodološke probleme in nekonsistentnosti Xu Fuguanovega komparativnega pristopa, ki je temelj njegove teorije estetike.

ZHUANGZI ESTETINĖS MINTIES INTERPRETACIJA XU FUGUANO DARBUOSE: KELETAS LYGINAMOSIOS PRIEIGOS KEBLUMŲ

Straipsnyje aptariama, kaip Xu Fuguan interpretuoja keletą pagrindinių Zuangzi estetinės minties sąvokų. Xu nuomone, Zhuangzi estetinė mintis susijusi su estetiniu žmogaus gyvenimo būdu, kur grožis taikomas dao sričiai, kurioje žmonės gali išlaisvinti savo sielą ir džiaugtis „laisvu ir lengvu klajojimu“ (xiaoyaoyou 逍遙遊). Pasak Xu, tai yra aukščiausia ir gražiausia žmogaus egzistencijos sfera, įgaunanti išraišką mene. Zhuangzi sąvokas xinzhai心齋 ir zuowang 坐忘, kaip šio aukščiausio būties lygmens pasiekimo metodą, Xu laikė panašiomis į kai kurias XIX ir XX a. Vakarų fenomenologijos sąvokas. Nors Xu stengėsi atsargiai vesti paraleles tarp Vakarų filosofijos ir Zhuangzi mąstymo, jis manė esant jų panašumų, ypač klausimu, kodėl žmogaus sąmonė gali estetiškai suvokti pasaulį. Šio straipsnio tikslas yra atskleisti tokios lyginamosios prieigos, glūdinčios Xu estetinėje mintyje, metodologinius keblumus ir prieštaravimus.

‘Free and easy wandering’: Agnes Martin and the limits of intercultural dialogue

I examine the impact of East Asian ideas on the paintings and writings of the American artist Agnes Martin (1912–2004), arguing that her relationship to such ideas was complex and often contradictory – at least on the level of the discourse she herself erected around her painting. I argue that while in practice her paintings express a view of subjectivity that is more familiar and more valued within East Asian culture, in her theory Martin nevertheless remained bound by Western dualistic thinking. The difference between the discursive nature of her writings and the nature of her writings and thinking, and the modality of her paintings draws attention to a more general problematic: the relationship between, on the one hand, the hermeneutic mode of awareness in art, and, on the other hand, the non-discursive mode of awareness in art practice. I draw attention to the latter mode, which foregrounds corporeal expansions and extensions of the borders of the material body. The experience Martin sought to convey is based on unconscious, holistic intuition rather than on the conscious, reflexive presentation of information. But when it came to articulating her intentions linguistically in her texts, Martin often defaulted to deep-rooted notions coming from her background culture. This is not surprising, insofar as she was inevitably bound to a paradigm from which she could not entirely escape, one in which process and ‘becoming’ were denigrated and under-theorized.

Free and Easy Wanderer Plus (FEWP) improves behavioral deficits in an animal model of post-traumatic stress disorder by stimulating allopregnanolone biosynthesis

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe psychiatric condition defined as a “trauma and stress-related disorder”. Dampened allopregnanolone biosynthesis has been implicated as a possible contributor to PTSD aetiology. Free and Easy Wanderer Plus (FEWP) is a traditional Chinese medicine previously shown to be effective in PTSD treatment. However, little is known about the role of allopregnanolone in the anti-PTSD effects of FEWP. To evaluate this, the single prolonged stress (SPS) model was used in the present study. SPS-induced rats were administered FEWP (at doses of 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0mg/kg, p.o.) after induction of SPS from days 2 through 15. After exposure to SPS, behavioral assessments were determined, including the open-field test, the contextual fear paradigm, and the elevated plus-maze test. The experimental model rats were decapitated at the end of the behavioral tests and the level of allopregnanolone in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and amygdala was measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The behavioral deficits of the SPS-induced rats were significantly reversed by FEWP (at doses of 5.0 and 10.0mg/kg, p.o.). The level of allopregnanolone was increased by administration of FEWP. In summary, this study indicated that the anti-PTSD effects of FEWP were associated with allopregnanolone biosynthesis.

The role of allopregnanolone in the anxiolytic-like effect of free and easy wanderer plus (FEWP), a polyherbal preparation

Anxiety disorders are the serious and burdensome psychiatric illnesses, which are closely correlated with allopregnanolone. The down-regulation of allopregnanolone biosynthesis has been implicated as the possible contributor to the aetiology of anxiety disorders. Free and easy wanderer plus (FEWP) is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine that had been shown to be effective in various mood disorders. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the anxiolytic-like effect of FEWP and its association with the level of allopregnanolone in the brain. The animal behavioral tests were processed by the acute FEWP (2.5, 5 and 10mg/kg, p.o.) treatment. It had been shown that FEWP produced anxiolytic-like effects in behavioral models, including novelty suppressed feeding (5, 10mg/kg, p.o.), Vogel-type conflict test (10mg/kg, p.o.), elevated plus-maze test (5, 10mg/kg, p.o.). The animals were decapitated after the end of the behavioral tests and measured the allopregnanolone level of the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The allopregnanolone level of the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus was increased by administration of FEWP (5, 10mg/kg, p.o.). Overall, these results indicated that FEWP exerts anxiolytic-like effects that were associated with the stiumlation of the allopregnanolone biosynthesis.

The Human and the Inhuman: Ethics and Religion in thezhuangzi

One critique of the early Daoist texts associated with Laozi and Zhuangzi is that they neglect the human and lack a proper sense of ethical personhood in maintaining the primacy of an impersonal dehumanizing “way.” This article offers a reconsideration of the appropriateness of such negative evaluations by exploring whether and to what extent the ethical sensibility unfolded in the Zhuangzi is aporetic, naturalistic, and/or religious. As an ethos of cultivating life and free and easy wandering by performatively enacting openness and responsiveness to things in an immanent this-worldly context, the Zhuangzi is oriented toward the relational attunement of disposition and practice rather than toward metaphysics or religion in a transcendent sense. It consequently suggests an immanent anarchic ethics without principles while neither forgetting nor reifying the sacred and the mundane in its playful illumination of the biospiritual dynamics of cultivating life.

The Human and the Inhuman: Ethics and Religion in the Zhuangzi

One critique of the early Daoist texts associated with Laozi and Zhuangzi is that they neglect the human and lack a proper sense of ethical personhood in maintaining the primacy of an impersonal dehumanizing “way.” This article offers a reconsideration of the appropriateness of such negative evaluations by exploring whether and to what extent the ethical sensibility unfolded in the Zhuangzi is aporetic, naturalistic, and/or religious. As an ethos of cultivating life and free and easy wandering by performatively enacting openness and responsiveness to things in an immanent this-worldly context, the Zhuangzi is oriented toward the relational attunement of disposition and practice rather than toward metaphysics or religion in a transcendent sense. It consequently suggests an immanent anarchic ethics without principles while neither forgetting nor reifying the sacred and the mundane in its playful illumination of the biospiritual dynamics of cultivating life.

Free and Easy Wandering Among Upbuilding Discourses: A Reading of Fables in Zhuangzi and Kierkegaard

Both Zhuangzi and Søren Kierkegaard use fables to portray humorous and clever insights about life. Here two fables are drawn from the first chapter of the Zhuangzi and compared from a variety of perspectives with two fables found in Kierkegaard’s Upbuilding Discourses in Various Spirits. Questions about the value of comparing oneself with others, the character of dependence and independence, and matters related to self-identity and utility are explored. Contrasts related to theological concerns in Kierkegaard and their absence in Zhuangzi, as well as the former’s promotion of wuwei spontaneity rather than Kierkegaard’s emphasis on making determined choices are highlighted.