Notice: file_put_contents(): Write of 193402 bytes failed with errno=28 No space left on device in /opt/frankenphp/design.onmedianet.com/app/src/Arsae/CacheManager.php on line 36

Warning: http_response_code(): Cannot set response code - headers already sent (output started at /opt/frankenphp/design.onmedianet.com/app/src/Arsae/CacheManager.php:36) in /opt/frankenphp/design.onmedianet.com/app/src/Models/Response.php on line 17

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /opt/frankenphp/design.onmedianet.com/app/src/Arsae/CacheManager.php:36) in /opt/frankenphp/design.onmedianet.com/app/src/Models/Response.php on line 20
Reconstructing the Zhuang zi: Preliminary Considerations
Home Reconstructing the Zhuang zi: Preliminary Considerations
Article
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Reconstructing the Zhuang zi: Preliminary Considerations

  • Stephan Peter Bumbacher EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: January 21, 2017
Become an author with De Gruyter Brill

Abstract

The received version of the text Zhuang zi can be traced to the fourth century AD when its commentator Guo Xiang has shortened by roughly a third and rearranged the text available to him. The version(s) current at that time were in all likelihood descendants of the text which Liu Xiang in the first century BC had prepared for the imperial library. The scant hints at his activity are discussed. As Liu Xiang also compiled own works that contain implicit Zhuang zi quotations, this allows to partially reconstruct the pre-Guo Xiang text. Some scholars assume that members of the court of Huai nan have produced a redaction of their own in the second half of the second century BC. While this cannot be excluded, evidence is presented that the transmission of the Zhuang zi text has not been influenced by the Huai nan scholars. The earliest explicit quotation of the text can be found in the Lü shi chun qiu of 239 BC. This source also contains a series of implicit quotations allowing to partially reconstruct the pre-Han Zhuang zi. Excavated bamboo slips lead to the identification of later insertions into the text. As the pre-Guo Xiang version survived into the Tang dynasty, a systematic search in a broad range of pre-Tang and Tang texts revealed lost pericopes as well as lost parts of pericopes and lost sentences.

Funding statement: Present article is the first of a series presenting the results of the project “Textual criticism and critical edition of the ancient Chinese philosophical text Zhuang zi (Master Zhuang)”, supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation, grant number 101511–122224

Bibliography

Primary sources

Bai shi liu tie shi lei ji 白氏六帖事類集, photolithographic repr. of a Song ed. Peiping 1933: Ed. Qinpu.Search in Google Scholar

Bei tang shu chao 北堂書鈔, collated, annotated and published by Kong Guangtao 孔廣陶 in a block-print ed. recut from a traced Song ed. in 1888, photographic repr. Tianjin, 1988: Tianjin guji chubanshe.Search in Google Scholar

Chu xue ji 初學記, 4 vols., Peking 21980: Zhonghua shuju.Search in Google Scholar

Feng su tong yi jiao shi 風俗通義校釋, ed. Wu Shuping, Tianjin 1980: Tianjin guji chubanshe.Search in Google Scholar

Guan zi jiao zheng 管子校正, Xin bian Zhu zi ji cheng, vol. 5, Taipei 1974: Shijie shuju yinxing.Search in Google Scholar

Guo Qingfan 郭慶藩 (ed.) (1993): Zhuang zi ji shi 莊子集釋. 4 vols. Peking: Zhonghua shuju.Search in Google Scholar

Han shi wai zhuan 韓詩外傳, ed. in ed. D.C. Lau and Chen Fong Ching (eds.), A Concordance to the Han shi wai zhuan 韓詩外傳逐字索引, Hong Kong 1992: The Commercial Press.Search in Google Scholar

Han shu 漢書, 12 vols., Peking 31975: Zhonghua shuju.Search in Google Scholar

Huai nan zi 淮南子, Xin bian Zhu zi ji cheng, vol. 7, Taipei 1974: Shijie shuju yinxing.Search in Google Scholar

Jin shu 晉書, 10 vols., Peking 21982: Zhonghua shuju.Search in Google Scholar

Jing dian shi wen 經典釋文, photolithographic repr. of a Song ed., Shanghai 1985: Shanghai guji chubanshe.Search in Google Scholar

Jiu Tang shu 舊唐書, 16 vols., Peking 21986: Zhonghua shuju.Search in Google Scholar

Kong zi jia yu 孔子家語, Xin bian Zhu zi ji cheng, vol. 2, Taipei 1974: Shijie shuju yinxing.Search in Google Scholar

Kun xue ji wen 困學紀聞, comp. Wang Yinglin 王應麟 (1223–96), Si ku quan shu.Search in Google Scholar

Lie zi ji shi 列子集釋, ed. Yang Bojun 楊伯峻, Peking 1979: Zhonghua shuju.Search in Google Scholar

Lie zi zhu 列子注, Xin bian Zhu zi ji cheng, vol. 4, Taipei 1974: Shijie shuju yinxing.Search in Google Scholar

Lü shi chun qiu xin jiao zheng 呂氏春秋新校正, Xin bian Zhu zi ji cheng, vol. 7, Taipei 1974: Shijie shuju yinxing.Search in Google Scholar

Lun heng 論衡, Xin bian Zhu zi ji cheng, vol. 7, Taipei 1974: Shijie shuju yinxing.Search in Google Scholar

Shi ji 史記, 10 vols., Peking 21982: Zhonghua shuju.Search in Google Scholar

Shi lei fu 事類賦, Taipei 1969, photolithographic repr. of Ming ed.Search in Google Scholar

Shi shuo xin yu 世說新語, Xin bian Zhu zi ji cheng, vol. 8, Taipei 1974: Shijie shuju yinxing.Search in Google Scholar

Shuo yuan 說苑, Si bu cong kan.Search in Google Scholar

Sui shu 隨書, 6 vols., Peking 1973: Zhonghua shuju.Search in Google Scholar

Tai ping yu lan 太平御覽, 4 vols., Peking 31985: Zhonghua shuju.Search in Google Scholar

Wang Shumin 王叔岷 (ed.) ( 1994): Zhuang zi jiao quan 莊子校詮. 3 vols. Taipei: Institute of History and Philology.Search in Google Scholar

Wen xuan 文選, ed. Liu chen zhu Wen Xuan, 3 vols., Peking 1987: Zhonghua shuju.Search in Google Scholar

Xin xu 新序, Si ku shan ben zong shu.Search in Google Scholar

Xun zi 荀子集解, Xin bian Zhu zi ji cheng, vol. 2, Taipei 1974: Shijie shuju yinxing.Search in Google Scholar

Yan zi chun qiu jiao zhu 晏子春秋校注, Xin bian Zhu zi ji cheng, vol. 6, Taipei 1974: Shijie shuju yinxing.Search in Google Scholar

Yi wen lei ju 藝文類聚, 4 vols., Shanghai 21985: Shanghai guji chubanshe.Search in Google Scholar

Zhan guo ce jiao zhu 戰國策校注, Si bu cong kan.Search in Google Scholar

Zhuang zi 莊子, ed. in the Harvard-Yenching Institute Sinological Index Series, (quoted as juan.line as to be found in the HY-Index): Peking, 1947: Harvard-Yenching Institute.Search in Google Scholar

Secondary sources

Bumbacher, Stephan Peter (2012): “Critical edition of Zhuang zi – in search of the lost text”. Paper presented at the EACS Conference in Paris, September 2012.Search in Google Scholar

Chavannes, Edouard (1967–69): Les mémoires historiques de Se-ma Ts'ien. Traduits et annotés. (5 vols., originally published 1895-1905) Paris 1967 and (vol. 6) Paris 1969: A. Maisonneuve.Search in Google Scholar

Crump, James I., Jr. (1970): Chan-kuo ts’e. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Search in Google Scholar

Dearing, Vinton A. (1974): Principles and Practice of Textual Analysis. Berkeley: University of California Press.Search in Google Scholar

Fischer, Paul (2009): “Intertextuality in Early Chinese Masters-Texts: Shared Narratives in Shi Zi”. Asia Maior 3rd ser. 22: 1–34.Search in Google Scholar

Graham, Angus C. (1960): The Book of Lieh-tzu. London: John Murray.Search in Google Scholar

Han Ziqiang 韓自強 / Han Chao 韓朝 (2000): “Fuyang chutu de ‘Zhuang zi zapian’ Han jian” 阜陽 出土的`莊子雜篇'漢簡. Daojia wenhua yanjiu 道家文化研究 18: 10–14.Search in Google Scholar

Han Ziqiang 韓自強 (ed.) (2004): Fuyang, Bozhou chutu wenwu wenzi pian 阜陽亳州出土文物文字 篇. Fuyang: Fuyang shi laonian zhuanjia xiehui.Search in Google Scholar

Hightower, James R. (1952): Han-shih wai-chuan. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Kern, Martin (ed.) (2005): Text and Ritual in Early China. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press.Search in Google Scholar

Knaul (=Kohn), Livia (1982): “Lost Chuang-tzu passages”. Journal of Chinese Religions 10: 53–79.Search in Google Scholar

Knechtges, David R. (1993): “Shuo yüan”. In: Loewe (1993): 443–445.Search in Google Scholar

Knoblock, John (1988-1994): Xunzi: A Translation and Study of the Complete Works. 3 vols. Stanford 1988, 1990, 1994: Stanford University Press.10.1515/9781503623057Search in Google Scholar

Knoblock, John / Riegel, Jeffrey (2000): The Annals of Lü Buwei. A Complete Translation and Study. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Liao Mingchun (2003): Chutu jianbai congkao 出土簡帛叢考. Wuhan: Hubei jiaoyu chubanshe.Search in Google Scholar

Loewe, Michael (ed.) (1993): Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide. Berkeley 1993: The Society of the Study of Early China.Search in Google Scholar

Major, John S. et al. (2010): The Huainanzi. Liu An, King of Huainan. A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Government in Early Han China. New York: Columbia University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Mather, Richard B. (20022): Shih-shuo hsin-yü: A New Account of Tales of the World. Ann Arbor, MI: Center for Chinese Studies, The University of Michigan.Search in Google Scholar

Nienhauser, Jr. William H., et al. (1994): The Grand Scribes Records. Volume VII: The Memoirs of Pre-Han China. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Rand, Christopher C. (1983): “Chuang tzu: Text and Substance”. Journal of Chinese Religions 11: 5–58.10.1179/073776983805308330Search in Google Scholar

Rosemont, Henry, Jr. (ed.) (1991): Chinese Texts and Philosophical Contexts. Essays Dedicated to Angus C. Graham. La Salle, IL: Open Court.Search in Google Scholar

Roth, Harold D. (1991): “Who Compiled the Chuang Tzu?”. In: Rosemont (1991): 79–129.Search in Google Scholar

Roth, Harold D. (1992): The Texual History of the Huai-nan Tzu. Ann Arbor: The Association for Asian Studies.Search in Google Scholar

Roth, Harold D. (1993): “Chuang tzu”. In: Loewe (1993): 56–66.Search in Google Scholar

Schaberg, David (2005): “Playing at Critique: Indirect Remonstrance and the Formation of shi identity”. In: Kern (2005): 194–225.Search in Google Scholar

Shaughnessy, Edward L. (2001): “The Fuyang Zhou Yi and the Making of a Divination Manual”. Asia Major 3rd ser. 14.1: 8.Search in Google Scholar

Teraoka Ryukan 寺岡龍含 (1966): Tonkô hon Kakushô chû Sôshi Nanka shingyô kenkyû sôron 敦煌本郭象注莊子南華真經研究總論. Fukui: Fukui Kanbun gakukai.Search in Google Scholar

Wang Xiangtian 王襄天 / Han Ziqiang 韓自強 (1978): “Fuyang Shuanggudui Xi Han Ruyin hou mu fajue jianbao” 阜陽雙古堆西漢汝陰侯墓發掘簡報. Wenwu 1978.8: 12–31 and 98–99.Search in Google Scholar

Watson, Burton (1968): The Complete Works of Chuang tzu. New York: Columbia University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Published Online: 2017-1-21
Published in Print: 2016-9-1

©2016 by De Gruyter

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Aufsätze – Articles – Articles
  3. Reconstructing the Zhuang zi: Preliminary Considerations
  4. The semantic change of the word min 民 in texts of the Eastern Zhou Period (771–221 BC)
  5. The Formation of Zhou Dunyi’s Role in the Daoxue: A Critical Analysis of Biographical Sources
  6. China’s New School of Thought-Masters (Xinzixue): An Alternative to Sinologism?
  7. Guanyin and Dizang: The Creation of a Chinese Buddhist Pantheon
  8. The Utopia of the Human: about Ge Fei’s Jiangnan Trilogy
  9. Les « Hommes singuliers » (duxing) dans le Livre des Han postérieurs (Hou Hanshu, 5e s. apr. J.-C.)
  10. Special Section: Asian Postmodernities and their Legacy
  11. Introduction
  12. Variations on gui and the Trouble with Ghosts in Modern Chinese Fiction
  13. A Game of Time: Time Travel, Video Game and Cinema in the Era of Algorithm
  14. Marriage Migration and State Interests: Reflections from the Experiences of Marriage Migrants from the People’s Republic of China in Taiwan
  15. Postmodernism as a Nationalist Conservatism? The Case of Zhang Yiwu
  16. Rezensionen – Comptes rendus – Reviews
  17. Corff, Oliver: Auf kaiserlichen Befehl erstelltes Worterbuch des Manjurischen in funf Sprachen. „Funfsprachenspiegel“. Systematisch angeordneter Wortschatz auf Manjurisch, Tibetisch, Mongolisch, Turki und Chinesisch. Vollstandige romanisierte und revidierte Ausgabe mit textkritischen Anmerkungen, deutschen Erlauterungen und Indizes
  18. Gassmann, Robert H. Menzius: Eine kritische Rekonstruktion mit kommentierter Neuübersetzung
  19. Kern, Iso: Das Wichtigste im Leben – Wang Yangming (1472–1529) und seine Nachfolger über die „Verwirklichung des ursprünglichen Wissens“ / Geng Ning 耿寧, übers. Ni Liangkang 倪梁康: Rensheng di yi deng shi – Wang Yangming ji qi houxue lun “zhi liang zhi”
Downloaded on 13.10.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/asia-2016-0045/html
Scroll to top button