Lie Zi

The Liezi (Chinese: 列子; Pinyin: liè zĭ; Wade-Giles: Lieh Tzu) is one of the three fundamental works of philosophical Taoism, along with the best known of Lao-tzu and Zhuangzi. It is attributed to Lie Yukou (Lie Zi), who is considered a legendary character.

Approach

The text was inscribed in the imperial library under the name Treaty of Perfect Emptiness. It is generally considered the most practical of the main Taoist works, compared to the more philosophical Dàodé jīng or the more poetic Book of Zhuangzi.

In chapter 1 of book II a mythical kingdom is described in which "there are no leaders and everything works by itself, the people have no desires, and everything develops naturally." The 20th century Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-sen considered this book a precursor to anarchism. In his Three Principles of the People he wrote: «the kingdom of Huaxushi, of which Liezi says that its inhabitants have neither leader nor law, is the state of pure nature, is that not anarchism? ».

Textual history

The first two references to the book Liezi are from the ancient Han dynasty. Editor Liu Xiang notes that he eliminated repetitions in the Liezi and reorganized it into eight chapters (pian 篇). The bibliography section of the Book of Han (藝文志) says that it has eight chapters (篇) and concludes that since the Zhuangzi cites Liezi, he must have lived before him. Zhuangzi. There is a historical gap of three centuries until the next evidence of the Liezi: the Jin dynasty commentary by Zhang Zhan 張湛 (approximately 370 AD). Zhang's preface states that his copy of Liezi was passed on to him by his grandfather. All surviving Liezi texts are derived from Zhang's version, which is divided into eight chapters (juan 巻).

During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Liezi was designated a Taoist classic, completing the trilogy with the more famous Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi i>, and received the honorary title of Chongxu zhenjing (沖虛真經; i.e. "Classic of Perfect Void"). This "Simplicity and Emptiness" is the translation of Wing-tsit Chan; chongxu (literally "modest") generally means "rise in height, rise high, carefree, unburdened by ambition." During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, the Liezi was honored as the Chongxu zhide zhenjing (沖虛至德" True classic of simplicity, emptiness and the perfect virtue ").

Content

The eight chapters of Liezi are shown below (with title translations adapted from Graham 1960).

• 1 ₡ Tian Rui. Gifts from heaven
• 2. Huang Di. The Yellow Emperor
• 3 周 Zhou Mu Wang. King Mu of Zhou
• 4. Zhong Ni. Confucius
• 5 oriented Tang Wen. The questions of Tang
• 6 繁體字 Français Español Effort and Destiny
• 7  Yang Zhu. Yang Zhu
• 8 說 Shuo Fu. Explaining conjunctions

Most of Liezi's chapters are named after famous people in Chinese mythology and history. Wise rulers such as the Yellow Emperor (supposedly 2698 -2599 BC), King Tang of Shang (1617 -1588 BC), and King Mu of Zhou (1023 -983 BC); or philosophers such as Confucius (551-479 BC) and Yang Zhu (approximately 350 AD).

The Liezi is generally considered the most practical of the major Taoist works, compared to the poetic narrative of Laozi and the philosophical writings of Zhuangzi. Although Liezi has not been widely published in the West, some passages are well known. For example, Gengsangzi (庚桑cf, see Zhuangzi chapter 23) gives this description of pure Taoist experience:

"My body is in agreement with my mind, my mind with my energies, my energies with my spirit, my spirit with Nothingness. Whenever the slightest thing that exists or the slightest sound affects me, whether it is far away beyond the eight boundaries, or within arm's reach between my eyebrows and eyelashes, I am obliged to know it. However, I don't know if I perceived it with the seven holes in my head and my four limbs, or if I knew it through my heart, my belly and my internal organs. It is simply self-knowledge." (chapter 4, tr. Graham 1990: 77-78)

Zhuangzi's aphorism is compared: "The Perfect Man uses his mind like a mirror: he seeks nothing, he receives nothing, he responds but does not store, therefore he can overcome things and not get hurt.". (chapter 7, tr. Watson [1])

Authenticity

Scholars of the Liezi have long recognized that it shares many passages with other pre-Han texts such as the Zhuangzi, Daodejing and Lüshi Chunqiu. Barrett (1993: 298) says that opinion is 'divided as to whether this is an ancient work with later interpolations or a forgery concocted from ancient sources'. On the one hand, the Liezi could contain a core of c. 400 BC C. with authentic writings of Lie Yukou; On the other hand, it could be a compilation forged by Zhang Zhan from 400 AD. c.

The Liezi is similar to the Zhuangzi. They share many characters and stories; Graham (1990: 12) lists sixteen complete episodes plus sections of others. Zhuangzi also mentions Liezi in four chapters and Lie Yukou in three. For example, this famous passage:

"[Liezi] could handle the wind and fly with a cool and breezy ability, but after fifteen days he returned to earth. As for the pursuit of good fortune, he didn't worry. He was freed from the hassle of walking, but still had to rely on something to get around. If he had only ridden on the truth of Heaven and Earth, ridden on the changes of the six breaths, and thus wandered into the limitless, then what would he have had to depend on? Therefore, I say that the Perfect Man has no self; The Holy Man has no merit; The Wise One has no fame." (chapter 1, tr. Watson)

The last two chapters have heterogeneous contents that differ from the Taoism contained in other parts of the book. Chapter 7 records the hedonistic philosophy of "Yang Zhu" (Yangzi), famous for Mencius' criticism that he 'believed in 'every man for himself'. If he could have helped the whole world by pulling out a single hair, he would not have done it. (chapter 7A, tr. Muller) Zhang Zhan speculates that this chapter, focusing on indulgence over physical and temporal pleasures, was from Lie Yuko's early years as a hedonist, before becoming a Taoist. The well-known scholar of Chinese philosophy, Wing-Tsit Chan (1963: 309) calls the chapter "Yang Zhu" "Negative Taoism" in contrast to the Taoism of Laozi, Zhuangzi and Huainanzi which were "all positive and in that each represents something new." Chapter 8, 'Explaining Conjunctions', is taken primarily from other early sources, not only Taoist but Confucian and Moist texts, two philosophies that were opposed to the philosophical Taoism that this book expounds.

Angus C. Graham, professor emeritus of the School of Oriental and African Studies, illuminated the textual provenance. After translating Liezi (1960), which Barrett (1993: 307) undoubtedly calls 'the best translation into a Western language to date', Graham (1961) linguistically analyzed the internal evidence and textual parallels. He discovered many cases where the Liezi is clearly secondary to other texts, but none where it is the primary source of a passage. The Preface to Liezi's revised translation (1990: xi-xv) explains his significant change in attitude:

"Although by 1960 most scholars in China already recognized the late date of the Liezi, most Westerners were still unwilling to question its antiquity. My own textual studies, not yet completed when this translation first appeared, supported the Chinese dating, which is now prevalent in the West as well.... The result of the textual research was a surprise to me. This book describes the hedonistic chapter 'Yang [Zhu]' as 'so different from the rest of [Liezi] that it must be from another hand... The thought is certainly very different, and shows signs of editing and interpolation on the part of the Taoist author... But although close scrutiny generally reveals marked stylistic differences between the body of the book and passages taken from earlier sources, I could find none to distinguish the hedonistic chapter from the rest. (1990: XIII)

Due to occasional textual misunderstandings by Liezi in Zhang Zhan's commentary, Graham concludes that the "guiding hand" It probably belonged to Zhang's father or grandfather, which would mean that it was composed around 300 AD. c.

The suggestions of Buddhist influences in chapters 3 and 6 of the Liezi are potentially corroborating evidence for a late date of composition (see Buddhism in China). "King Mu of Zhou" discusses sensory perceptions as illusions; "Effort and Destiny" takes a fatalistic (if not karmic) view of destiny, which goes against the traditional Taoist concept of Wuwei.

Spanish edition

• Lie Yukou (1987 (4th edition 2008)). Lie Zi. The book of perfect voidness. Direct Chinese translation, introduction and notes by Iñaki Preciado Idoeta. Barcelona: Editorial Kairós. ISBN 978-84-7245-336-4.