Zhuangzi

A founding work of Daoism alongside the Tao Te Ching, the text attributed to Zhuangzi dates from the late Warring States period. Its central teaching holds that true happiness and freedom, in life and in death, come from dwelling in the unity of the Dao, the Way of Nature. To reach that, people must drop rigid distinctions between right and wrong and act without striving for gain. Zhuangzi makes the case through humor, parable and anecdote, even nonsense and non sequitur, and the work is also counted among the greatest literature of classical China. In this edition Burton Watson moves the romanization from the older Wade-Giles system to pinyin.

Stephane Grand, managing partner of S.J. Grand Financial and Tax Advisory, said that in his view the whole of Chinese culture is contained in it.