The Book of Chuang Tzu (Penguin Classics)

This is my first reading of the Zhuangzi and I have been captivated by by the stories and words so ably translated by Martin Palmer and his colleagues. For a first time reader of this Daoist classic, Palmer is an excellent introduction as he let's the text teach and unfold with little interference. My best compliment is that this translation has provided the necessary energy to enter the text and life of the Zhuangzi, the Laozi, and the Liehzi with vigor and hopes for a deeper understanding of the relational dynamics that formed the foundation for early and later Daoism.

This is a great version of the Chuang Tzu containing all of the Inner, Outer and Miscellaneous chapters. Martin Palmer begins the book with a well written and educational preface and introduction going into the details of his translation and the Taoist concepts and ideas in the book.He states: "The Book of Chuang Tzu is like a travelogue. As such, it meanders between continents, pauses to discuss diet, gives exchange rates, breaks off to speculate, offers a bus timetable, tells an amusing incident, quotes from poetry, relates a story, cites scripture.""And always listen out for the mocking laughter of Chuang Tzu. This can be heard most when you start to make grand schemes out of the bits, or wondrous philosophies out of the hints and jokes. For ultimately this is not one book but a variety of voices swapping stories and bouncing ideas off each other, with Chuang Tzu striding through the whole, joking, laughing, arguing and interrupting."Indeed the Chuang Tzu does all these things. Providing a fascinating and enlightening glimpse, using heavy doses of humor and wit, into the path of Tao. Experience is all.

This book jumps right into classy Chinese philosophy. Its funny It's meaningful. Its a great read. I cant wait to finsh the last hundred pages. oh yeah and it's not short.

A great and humor filled look at life and philosophy from an old sage. A great follow up in studying the Tao after you’ve been through Tao Te Ching

It is a good and accessible translation. Although I read the original Chinese which is not easy to understand since it is the classical Chinese that is difficult for non scholars. The English translation is a great help.

Wonderful. This was my first exposure to Chuang Tzu and I found the writings to be insightful; as well as, entertaining and humorous. This book challenged me to think of life differently. I spent much time reflecting on and quietly contemplating the philosophies/ideas presented.

This book offers a new perspective of the world in a way that is interesting, thought provoking, and timeless. It is not a particularly difficult read, but it has a lot to it. Definitely worth reading more than once.

Were I to have one book on that proverbial desert island, the Zhuangzi would be it. Chuang-Tzu (Zhuangzi) speaks to my heart like no other both in the content of his "teachings" and in presentation. And this particular translation is both very readable, though I have come to prefer Brook Ziporyn's.

fast delivery nice quality

Round and round ..merry go round...What I was looking for all my life..Be quiet....shhhh and don't tell anyone..Just read it..

I first read The Book of Chuang Tzu in an earlier translation back in the 80s and found it weird, strange and compelling. That edition is now in a box in my storage unit and I haven’t seen it for years, so I bought this Penguin edition to remind myself of what Chinese wisdom is all about. I thought I need to know, given the importance of China as a major economic power in today’s world. Somewhere in the same storage unit I have a very old Penguin Classics edition of the Tao Te Ching usually ascribed to the legendary founder of Taoism, Lao Tzu. I see there is a more recent Penguin Classics translation of the Tao Te Ching, and I would advise the reader to tackle this before reading Chuang Tzu. Martin Palmer explains the relationship between the two in the introduction to Chuang Tzu. He also gives his take on whether Lao Tzu existed or not. Not, apparently. That is disappointing, as I have always liked the idea of Lao Tzu taking the proverbial out of Confucius. A few months ago I read Gore Vidal’s Creation, in which the narrator – a Persian traveller – meets Confucius, Lao Tzu, the Buddha and Socrates. This would have just about been possible if the traditional dates given for the life spans are correct. Surprisingly, Vidal clearly prefers Confucius to Lao Tzu, as human beings anyway. Surprising because I associate Confucius with things Vidal doesn’t usually like: authoritarianism, hierarchy, order, obedience, tradition. You can draw a straight line between Confucius, Mao Ze Dong and the current regime in Beijing. On the other hand, Lao Tzu seems to be more liberal, seditious, sceptical, playful, contrarian, mocking. And those traits are replicated in Chuang Tzu who often uses Confucius as a figure of fun, a philosopher who has a knack of getting it wrong. But then so do all the other philosophical schools mentioned in this book. They are all trying to find the Tao, but they just don’t get it.Having said that, I’m not sure that I get it, although I’ve been trying to get it for nearly fifty years now. If you’re looking for a simple explanation of the Tao, you won’t find it in the introduction or in the body of this book. The translator sees Chuang Tzu’s philosophy as a development of shamanism set against the bureaucratic philosophies of Confucius and others. You could argue that their concern with order and good government is sensible and practical, whereas the Taoist injunction, “do nothing and all things will be done,” doesn’t seem to make any sense – until you think about it and realise that the more us humans do to disrupt the natural world, the more damage we do.This translation is already 25 years old but is fresh and lively and as the blurb on the back says, it “conveys the passion and tone of Chuang Tzu’s writing”. I’d recommend it for anyone who wants to try to understand the Tao, or at least get some insight into an important aspect of Chinese culture.

I find it difficult to review the contents of Zhuangzi itself, since the book is about nothing in particular. It is one of the strangest books I have ever read. Martin Palmer's translation is impressive. It is very readable English and has poetic qualities throughout.This book is very different than the Tao Te Ching, both in scope and in character. Nevertheless I still like it, although I prefer the Tao Te Ching. This book is not a series of proverbs like the Tao Te Ching, but a hodgepodge of philosophical discussions and elaborate stories. In contrast to the Tao Te Ching (which contains no names of people or places at all), the book of Zhuangzi is filled with Chinese historical references. As you progress through the book, there seems to be a steady decline in the charm and subtlety of the stories, as well as shifting sentiments, which suggests it was written by multiple authors.Some of the themes explored are amorality, moral nihilism and relativism, oneness, dreams versus reality, joy versus sadness, good versus evil, the development of society and civilization, and much more. To me, it does not matter whether or not Zhuangzi is the book's author. What matters is that this book is powerful -- just as powerful as any biblical prophet.Some of the concepts presented in Zhuangzi are extremely radical and seem counter-intuitive and impossible.I will close by quoting some of my favourite stories and passages from the book (besides the famous "butterfly story" from chapter 2):"Do not do what is good in order to gain praise. If you do what is bad be sure to avoid the punishment." (ch. 3)"I have perfected the art of uselessness, and this is very useful to me." (ch. 4)the story of Wang Tai (ch. 5)"When the sage is born, the great thief arises." (ch. 10)"Many sons bring many anxieties, wealth brings many troubles, long life brings many problems. These three things do not enhance Virtue. I dismiss them." (ch. 12)the story of Tzu Kung and the old man (ch. 12)"When the ties between people are based upon profit, then when troubles come, people part easily. When people are brought together by Heaven, then when troubles come, they hold together." (ch. 20)"One who follows the Tao daily does less and less. As he does less and less, he eventually arrives at actionless action. Having achieved actionless action, there is nothing which is not done." (ch. 22)Zhuangzi's answer to Tung Kuo (ch. 22)Zhuangzi's funeral speech (ch. 32)

I had to study and read this for a religions class and I was surprised how insightful, humerus and enjoyable it was! more so because i know a lot and agree with allot of the themes in Daoist philosophy. i recommend this if you want to laugh and experience mind screw well the language causes you to reflect on reality and humanity. but seriously this wild ride is a good read!p.s. i am told the original Chinese version is even more clever, but English is my first language, regardless this is a good translation.