Chinese Fables: Satire in a Daoist Mode

The works of Zhuang Zi have formed part of the canon of Chinese Literature for almost 25 centuries and yet, with the exception of a few translations, they are hardly known in the West. Someone, during the short lived Qin Dynasty when "useless" books were systematically destroyed, either risked his life to protect it from the bonfires or committed it to memory so that it could be republished in more favourable times. Although he does not format his own philosophical outlook, Zhuang Zi cleverly illustrates how the great issues in philosophy affect the lives not only of rulers and thinkers but also the more ordinary members of society.