Yang Zhu

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

4.2

Word count: 5.1K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

Yang Zhu (c. 395 – c. 335 BCE[1], or according to one account c. 450 – c. 370 BCE[2]), surnamed Yang, courtesy name Ziju, a native of Wei (or, by another account, Qin), was a great thinker and philosopher of the early Warring States period in China. He advocated the ideas of "valuing oneself," "valuing life," and "not harming a single hair of anyone." He was the founder of the Yang Zhu school of Daoism. His views are preserved scattered in the Liezi, Zhuangzi, Mencius, Han Feizi, Lüshi Chunqiu, and other works. During the Warring States period, "the doctrines of the world either followed Yang or followed Mo[3]," which shows how great the influence of his teachings was.

Editor's review

Yang Zhu and his teachings appear only indistinctly because the historical sources are scattered; this small book brings the relevant records together, allowing readers to confront directly a school of thought that was ranked alongside Mohism in the Warring States period. Yang Zhu advocated "valuing oneself," "valuing life," and "not harming a single hair of anyone," which is often simplified into egoism, but in context it looks more like a solemn affirmation of the value of individual life and a vigilance against pointless sacrifice and external coercion. The materials in the book come mostly from the Liezi, Zhuangzi, Mencius, Han Feizi, Lüshi Chunqiu, and other works; readers can encounter both the core tenets of Yang Zhu's teachings and the retellings and evaluations of them by different schools, thereby understanding the intellectual competition reflected in the saying "the doctrines of the world either followed Yang or followed Mo." The edition prepared by Bashu Press offers beginners a relatively concentrated entry point. It should be read with a comparative eye, taking care to distinguish Yang Zhu's original meaning from later extrapolations and criticisms and avoiding summarizing him with a single label. It is suitable for readers interested in pre-Qin thought, Daoist branches, and individual ethics.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in pre-Qin thinkers and Daoist branches
Students of intellectual history who want to understand Yang Zhu's ideas of "valuing oneself" and "valuing life"
Writers who need a concentrated reference to scattered historical materials on Yang Zhu
Readers who enjoy comparing how different schools evaluate and retell ideas

Not a good fit for

Deep researchers expecting a systematic, full-length monograph
Readers who want only light stories and do not wish to engage with classical Chinese materials

Reading tips

Read the section on core tenets first, then compare the original passages in Mencius, Zhuangzi, and other works by source to appreciate the differences in retelling.
While reading, distinguish Yang Zhu's original meaning from later critical extrapolations and avoid summarizing it simply with the term "egoism."
You can make a comparison table of how each book evaluates Yang Zhu, sorting out the positions and contexts of different schools.

About the publisher

Bashu Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.

版权信息
杨朱第七

FAQ

How should Yang Zhu's "not harming a single hair of anyone" be understood?

The sources show that Yang Zhu advocated "valuing oneself," "valuing life," and "not harming a single hair of anyone." This formulation emphasizes cherishing individual life and rights and opposes pointless sacrifice and external coercion. It should be understood in the context of Warring States intellectual competition and is not simply equivalent to the everyday notion of selfishness.

Why has no complete work by Yang Zhu survived?

The sources state that Yang Zhu's views are scattered in the Liezi, Zhuangzi, Mencius, Han Feizi, Lüshi Chunqiu, and other works, and they do not mention any complete monograph by him in circulation. Therefore, to understand Yang Zhu today we rely mainly on retellings and evaluations by other schools, and readers should note the standpoint of those who retell him.

What does "the doctrines of the world either followed Yang or followed Mo" show?

This sentence reflects that Yang Zhu's teachings were highly influential in the Warring States period, being ranked alongside Mohism as a prominent school and forming a broad landscape of intellectual competition. It reminds us that Yang Zhu was not a marginal figure but an important pole in the intellectual map of the time, and should be given corresponding attention when reading.

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About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.