Biography of Zhuangzi

Name: Biography of Zhuangzi
ISBN: 9787544335980

王新民Hainan Publishing House2011

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Word count: 235K words
Chapters: 13
ISBN: 9787544335980

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Summary

Biography of Zhuangzi is a biographical novel by the young scholar Wang Xinmin that recounts the life of Zhuangzi. Drawing on the accounts of Zhuang Zhou in the Inner, Outer, and Miscellaneous Chapters of the Zhuangzi, as well as the "Biographies of Laozi and Han Fei" in the Records of the Grand Historian and other historical sources, the author sketches Zhuangzi's life against the historical backdrop of the mid-Warring States period: his schooling as a youth, his travels south to Chu and Yue, his disdain for princes, his service as a minor official at Qiyuan, his retirement to write books, his poverty weaving sandals, and finally his equanimous view of life and death as a great dream, after which he vanished without a trace. The book's language is accessible and fluent, free of academic jargon, yet it weaves core ideas such as "the equality of things," "free and easy wandering," and "the use of the useless" into the characters' words, deeds, and the plot, turning a distant and abstract philosopher into an ordinary person with temperament and warmth. The author completed the manuscript in under a year despite suffering from a serious illness; after its first publication by Huashan Literature and Art Publishing House in 1992, it was reprinted five times within two years, and Korean and Japanese translations appeared in 1995; in 2005, an excerpt, "Zhuangzi Meets the Duke of Lu," was included in a high school Chinese reader. The 2011 Hainan Publishing House edition is the most widely circulated simplified Chinese version; in addition to the main text, it includes the original Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi, the Zhuang Zhou stories from the Outer and Miscellaneous Chapters, and the "Biography of Zhuangzi" from the Records of the Grand Historian, making it suitable both as a story and as a stepping stone into the original Zhuangzi.

Editor's review

庄子其人，史料稀少，生平多不可考，写他的传记很容易滑向两种极端：一是罗列考据、读来枯涩，二是任意虚构、失之荒诞。王新民这本《庄子传》难得地走在中间：凡有史料处依史而书，凡史料不及处则以小说笔法补足情境，却始终贴着《庄子》原典的思想脉络，不把庄子写成武侠或神怪。全书八章，从“率性任真非毁礼法”写到“大梦一觉视死如归”，章节标题即是一条思想线索，读者跟着走完，庄子的身世与学说也就自然成形。书背后的故事同样动人。作者是兰州大学的青年教师，1991年开始动笔，此时已确诊重病，仍在不到一年间写完全稿；1992年8月书刚出版，同年10月他便离世，年仅28岁。这份以生命写庄子的经历，与书中“视死如归”的气度互相映照，读来别有一种分量。该书出版后两年内重印五次，并被译为韩文、日文；2005年节选《庄子见鲁公》入选高中语文读本；2016年被列入向全国推荐优秀传统文化读物。语言活泼接地气，是本书长期受欢迎的原因——“那个遥远的、高高在上的庄子在作者笔下变得非常亲切”。

Who it's for

A good fit for

对庄子与先秦道家思想有兴趣、希望从故事入门的中学生与大学生
觉得《庄子》原文艰深、想先通过人物故事建立整体印象的普通读者
语文教师与传统文化爱好者，可作课堂延伸阅读或成人读书会选书
喜欢传记小说体裁、享受古代智者人生故事的文学读者

Not a good fit for

需要严格史学考证、要求每处情节都有史料出处的专业研究者
期待系统注解《庄子》全文、逐句翻译讲解的读者

Reading tips

先通读八章故事，把握庄子一生的大致脉络，再回头对照书后附录的《庄子》内篇原文。
读到《逍遥游》《齐物论》相关情节时，不妨合上书翻几页原文，体会小说如何把哲思化为场景。
把作者王新民的写作经历当作全书的“隐形后记”，读最后两章时体会其中生死观的现实分量。
中学生可作为整本书阅读或寒假书单选读，读后试着写一段“我眼中的庄子”。

About the publisher

Hainan Publishing House China · Founded in 1985

Hainan Publishing House is a comprehensive publisher known for literary and intellectual works, covering foreign literature, philosophy, classics, world-famous works, classical poetry and prose miscellanies. Its catalog includes foreign literary classics such as Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and Romain Rolland's Jean-Christophe, philosophical works such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau's The Social Contract: Expert Companion Edition, and Chinese classics and poetic studies such as Lu Xun's essays and prose collections and Wang Guowei's Renjian Cihua, as well as illustrated popular-science works like Fabre's Insects. The involvement of translators such as Zhong Shufeng, Fu Lei and Chen Xiaoqing reflects the publisher's emphasis on translation quality and expert guidance. Public information is limited, and the above is based mainly on the books in the catalog.

Preface
Chapter 1: Following One's Nature, Rejecting Rites and Laws
Chapter 2: South to Chu and Yue, Exploring Ancient Ways
Chapter 3: Disdaining Princes, At One with Heaven
Chapter 4: A Wandering Life Finds Its End, An Official at Qiyuan
Chapter 5: Retiring from the World, Spreading the Way Through Fables
Chapter 6: Poor and Weaving Sandals, Living as One Pleases
Chapter 7: Writing Seven Chapters, Spending the Years Thereby
Chapter 8: One Great Dream, Facing Death as Return
Afterword
Appendix 1: Original Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi
Appendix 2: Zhuang Zhou Stories Recorded in the Outer and Miscellaneous Chapters of the Zhuangzi
Appendix 3: "Biography of Zhuangzi" from the Records of the Grand Historian

FAQ

《庄子传》是小说还是学术传记？

它是一部融合学术性与文学性的传记小说。作者以《庄子》和《史记》等史料为骨架，史料不足之处用小说笔法补足情境与对话，因此既有可信的思想脉络，又有较强的故事性和画面感。

这本书的作者是谁？

作者王新民（1964—1992），甘肃民勤人，北京大学中文系硕士，师从张少康先生，后任教于兰州大学。他在生病期间完成本书，1992年8月书出版后于同年10月去世，年仅28岁。

没读过《庄子》原文能读吗？

可以。本书以故事为主线，语言通俗，不需要预先掌握原文。书后附有《庄子》内篇原文等资料，读完故事后再对照原典，理解会更顺畅。

这本书有哪几个版本？

1992年由花山文艺出版社初版，此后多次再版；2011年海南出版社推出流传较广的版本（ISBN 9787544335980），2025年海南出版社又推出新版。内容主体一致，附录略有差异。

适合中学生做课外阅读吗？

适合。该书节选《庄子见鲁公》曾入选高中语文读本，2012年入选农家书屋推荐书目，2016年入选向全国推荐优秀传统文化读物，是较易上手的传统文化读本。

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About the author

王新民 Author

Wang Xinmin: publicly available information is limited. At present, it is known only that one work by this author, The Thoughts of Women, is extant, classified under essays and miscellaneous writings. Judging from the title and genre, the writing tends to center on women's psychology, emotions, and everyday experience, following an essayistic approach that emphasizes personal observation and reflection; the style is likely plain and delicate, using people and small situations close at hand as points of entry to convey an understanding of gender relations and the ways of the world. Because the author's life, native place, education, and period of activity cannot be verified, it is difficult to trace an overall creative trajectory or to confirm the work's influence and reception at the time. On the available evidence, Wang Xinmin appears to be a writer of essays and informal prose with an interest in women's themes, and the work may serve as a concrete sample of writing in this vein, with further details to be added when new material comes to light.