The True Classic of Southern Florescence 南华真经
Paul PengThe True Classic of Southern Florescence
Namely Zhuangzi.
Traditionally attributed to Zhuang Zhou, a native of Meng in the State of Song during the Warring States Period, it is actually a collection of works by the Zhuangzi School of Daoism dating from the Warring States Period to the Qin-Han transition.
Building on the ideas of Laozi, the text propagates that the formless Dao is the origin of all things. It advocates the equality of all beings, the unity of right and wrong, the transcendence of selfhood and dependence, and the harmony with all natural entities.
The True Classic of Southern Florescence
After the Qin and Han dynasties, Daoist scholars and practitioners of all subsequent ages revered this text as a classic. In the first year of the Tianbao reign period of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (742), an imperial edict conferred upon Zhuang Zhou the title of Nanhua Zhenren (True Person of Southern Florescence) and honored his book as Nanhua Zhenjing.
According to the Hanshu·Yiwenzhi (Book of Han·Treatise on Literature and Arts), the original Zhuangzi consisted of fifty-two chapters. The existing annotated version by Guo Xiang of the Western Jin Dynasty has thirty-three chapters.
Among these, the seven chapters of the Inner Sections are generally regarded as the authentic works of Zhuang Zhou himself; the sixteen chapters of the Outer and Miscellaneous Sections are believed to be the writings of his later followers.
Currently, the Daozang (Daoist Canon) includes a five-volume unannotated text of Nanhua Zhenjing in the Wenlei (Literature Category) of the Dongshen Bu (Section of Cave Spirits).
Additionally, the Yujuelei (Commentary Category) of the Dongshen Bu contains eight annotated versions compiled throughout successive dynasties.
