Oddball

In Chapter 2 of the Zhuangzi, there are two sections where he writes about dreams. One is the famous section about the man and butterfly at the very end of the chapter. In the other section, close to the end, Zhuangzi states, "Eventually there comes the day of reckoning and awakening, and then we shall know that it was all a great dream. Only fools think they are now awake...." Did he believe that the world we are now in is actually just a dream? I keep coming across intellectuals who believe that the world we see is just an illusion of some type. Plato is one ancient example. It sounds like Zhuangzi might be another.

I just finished reading chapter 18, and if you ask me, it sounds remarkably similar to Darwin's ideas on evolution. Zhuangzi's comment that man descended from the horse obviously deviates from Darwin's thinking. But the general idea of one species evolving into another species seems to be there, more than 2,000 years before the English scientist wrote his famous book. I can't believe I have never heard about this before. Zhuangzi even starts with water.

Yes, that last sentence is obviously a very Taoist statement. But also keep in mind that in Western science, there is also somewhat of a recycling in the universe. The inner planets of the solar system will someday be burned up by the Sun in red giant phase. When this happens, many of the planets' minerals and molecules will end up back in the universe, where they will be recycled by new solar systems that will eventually develop.

Relation to animals, plants, and minerals also strikes me as similar to Western thinking: everything comes from stardust, including both living and non-living things.

I think building blocks leading to more and more complex life forms is very much in line with the Western evolutionary interpretation. Life started as one cell in the sea, and become more complex over time. Single cell -> multi-celled organism -> animals without brains -> animals with brains -> humans, who are still evolving

It's at the end of chapter 18. Here's one translation: The seeds of things have mysterious workings. In the water they become Break Vine, on the edges of the water they become Frog's Robe. If they sprout on the slopes they become Hill Slippers. If Hill Slippers get rich soil, they turn into Crow's Feet. The roots of Crow's Feet turn into maggots and their leaves turn into butterflies. Before long the butterflies are transformed and turn into insects that live under the stove; they look like snakes and their name is Ch'u-t'o. After a thousand days, the Ch'u-t'o insects become birds called Dried Leftover Bones. The saliva of the Dried Leftover Bones becomes Ssu-mi bugs and the Ssu-mi bugs become Vinegar Eaters. I-lo bugs are born from the Vinegar Eaters, and Huang-shuang bugs from Chiu-yu bugs. Chiu-yu bugs are born from Mou-jui bugs and Mou-jui bugs are born from Rot Grubs and Rot Grubs are born from Sheep's Groom. Sheep's Groom couples with bamboo that has not sprouted for a long while and produces Green Peace plants. Green Peace plants produce leopards and leopards produce horses and horses produce men. Men in time return again to the mysterious workings. So all creatures come out of the mysterious workings and go back into them again. This paper shows a different translation at the top: http://faculty.msj.edu/kritskg/darwin/Site/Darwin_Miscellany_files/CD in China.pdf

This quote from Lao-tzu appears on my box of green tea: “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” Anyone know where it comes from? I can't find a source for it.

I agree to the terms and request owner permissions. I want to start a new thread about whether Zhuang Zhou believed that we are all living in a dream. It seems in Chapter 2 he implies that.