Livia Kohn

Zhuangzi: Text and Context Livia Kohn First Three Pines edition

Zhuangzi: Text and Context is a comprehensive discussion of the ancient Daoist work Zhuangzi in 24 chapters, providing a chronologically-based outline of the context of the work, from the compilation of the text to its reading in 21st century ecology, plus a systematic discussion and interpretation of its central concepts from perfect happiness to playful uselessness. The book integrates a vast spectrum of original and secondary sources, examines the history and ideas in a wide context, both within China and cross-culturally, and relates many of Zhuangzi s key notions and practices to modern science, notably physics, biology, and psychology. Encyclopedic in scope, meticulous in execution, and skillfully presented, it is a must for anyone interested in traditional Chinese thought.