CHUANG-TZU

born c. 369 BC died 286 BC Pinyin Zhuangzi, personal name (Wade-Giles romanization) Chou the most significant of China's early interpreters of Taoism, whose work (Chuang-tzu) is considered one of the definitive texts of Taoism and is thought to be more comprehensive than the Tao-te Ching, which is attributed to Lao-tzu, the first major patriarch of Taoism. Chuang-tzu's teachings also exerted a great influence on the development of Chinese Buddhism and had considerable effect on Chinese landscape painting and poetry. Additional reading The best translations and their analyses are found in Chuang-tzu, The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu (1968), and Basic Writings (1964), both translated by Burton Watson; Chuang-tzu: The Seven Inner Chapters and Other Writings from the Book Chuang-tzu, trans. by A.C. Graham (1981); and A.C. Graham, Chuang-tzu: Textual Notes to a Partial Translation (1982). Interpretations of his philosophy, with elements of biography, include Kuang-Ming Wu, Chuang Tzu: World Philosopher at Play (1982); Victor H. Mair (ed.), Experimental Essays on Chuang-tzu (1983); and Robert E. Allinson, Chuang-tzu for Spiritual Transformation: An Analysis of the Inner Chapters (1989).