Abstract:
The cultural background of Zhuang Zi didn’t belong to the civilization of the state of Chu as varieties of papers and works claimed but to the individual civilization of the state of Song in the Shang Dynasty. Zhuang Zi’s hometown was the fief of Meng of the state of Song, whose rulers were descendents of the imperial family of Shang. Thus the civilization of the Shang Dynasty was naturally Zhuang’s cultural source handed down from former generations. The adherent consciousness and historical experience provided a fertile soil for heretic ideas and odd theories. Moreover, the state of Song was located in the reaches of the Yellow River and the Huai River, a juncture of different parts of the country. This location determined the complicated and individual composition of the culture of the state of Song with civilization of Shang as its source, civilization of Zhou as its reliance, Taoism as its core by broadly absorbing effects of various civilizations from adjourning areas. Under the influence of such a culture, Zhuang Zi the extraordinary talent managed to compose the first masterpiece in history by reading extensively and adopting highlights from different sources.
