Liezi
Also known as: Lieh Tzu, Master Lie, The Book of Liezi, Liezi (列子)
A Daoist text of eight chapters blending philosophical discourse with parables, myths, and anecdotes attributed to Master Lie, Confucius, Yang Zhu, and legendary rulers. The received version, preserved with Zhang Zhan’s commentary, surveys spontaneity, fate, skill, rulership, and naturalness through vivid stories.
Description
The Liezi is a classical Chinese work associated with Daoist thought that interlaces concise theoretical passages with a rich anthology of tales. Organized into eight thematic chapters—on omens and Heaven, the Yellow Emperor, King Mu of Zhou, the inquiries of King Tang, conversations around Confucius (Zhongni), exertion and allotment (effort and fate), the teachings of Yang Zhu, and illustrative matching signs —it treats spontaneity, nonaction, and adaptability alongside reflections on fortune, skill, deception, and governance. Many entries take the form of memorable narratives—foolish worries, arduous resolve, royal journeys—that frame philosophical points. The received text depends on a 4th-century CE redaction and commentary by Zhang Zhan, who claims ancestral transmission of an older compilation. While attribution to the elusive Lie Yukou remains uncertain, the collection preserves Warring States intellectual currents and an influential repertoire of classical parables.
Historiography
The earliest secure witness is Zhang Zhan’s Eastern Jin commentary, which presents an eight-juan text and a family transmission claim; modern scholarship views substantial Warring States and early imperial strata but doubts unitary authorship. Textual overlap with Zhuangzi, Huainanzi, and other miscellanies suggests shared anecdote pools and later editorial shaping. The work’s chapter architecture is stable in the received tradition, though contents show accretion and rearrangement. Its reception in medieval Daoism was moderate compared to Daodejing and Zhuangzi, yet its parables became enduring exempla in Chinese literature.
Date Notes
Sayings and anecdotes attributed to Warring States masters; extant eight-chapter edition transmitted with Zhang Zhan’s 4th-century CE commentary claims family preservation; authorship and earlier strata debated.
Archetypes
Major Characters
- Liezi
- Huangdi
- Laozi
- King Mu of Zhou
- Zhuangzi
Myths
- King Mu’s Journey to Kunlun
- Master Lie’s Riding the Wind
- The Magician Yan
- Tales of Spontaneity and Naturalness
Facts
- The received Liezi consists of eight chapters traditionally called juan.
- Zhang Zhan’s 4th-century CE commentary is the earliest secure witness to the text’s structure.
- Attribution to Lie Yukou is traditional but historically uncertain.
- Content overlaps with Zhuangzi and Huainanzi, indicating a shared anecdotal repertoire.
- The Yang Zhu chapter preserves a distinct ethical voice often read as hedonist or egoist.
- The work blends philosophical maxims with parables featuring kings, artisans, and sages.
- Several famous parables, including Yu Gong moving mountains and the man of Qi fearing the sky’s fall, appear here.
- King Mu’s journey narrative includes an audience with the Queen Mother of the West.
- Themes emphasize spontaneity, adaptability, and alignment with natural processes.
- The text influenced later literary collections and didactic anthologies in imperial China.