A comparative study of“Freedom” in Chuang Tzu and Thoreau’s Walden
The study is intended to make a comparison between “Freedom” in Chuang Tzu and Thoreau’s Walden and to explore the similarity and diversity of their thoughts and cultural origins.
First of all, on the basis of a detailed introduction to some important terms in Chuang Tzu, the thesis interprets completely the concept of “freedom” in Chuang Tzu. Meanwhile, it elaborates on the connotation of “freedom” in Thoreau’s Walden by tracing back to the origin of Thoreau’s thoughts, for example, Emerson’s transcendental doctrines.
Next, the thesis compares Chuang Tzu’s philosophical viewpoints of “Xujing”and “Wudai” with Thoreau’s doubts about human civilization, his praise of the solitary living style and his dietary selection in Walden. Then the thesis explores the difference of two great thinkers’“freedom” in terms of objects, targets and methods, and draws a comparison between “pickerel and perch” in Walden and “Kun and Peng”in Chuang Tzu. The thesis reveals that the process of transformation from fish to birds which is seemingly the same both in Chuang Tzu and in Walden is essentially different.
Finally, by tracing back to the time of Chuang Tzu and Thoreau respectively, the thesis investigates the origins of these two “freedom” and their respective influences on their cultures. The thesis holds that the formation of Chuang Tzu’s freedom is not only affected by its social situation but also “Wuxi” culture of that time. And Chuang
Tzu’s freedom produces a profound impact on literary and artistic creation in the long history of China. In the meantime, Thoreau’s “freedom”, originating from Puritan ideology,German Idealism and Chinese Taoist philosophy, also produces a
far-reaching effect on American society and culture.
Thoreau’s thoughts appear to be in close relation to Chinese classical philosophy, in particular, Confucianism and Taoism. The inherent relationship between Thoreau’s works and Chinese saints’ has brought about a good many scholars’ interests so that both Chinese and Western scholars have drawn papers in the domain of the influence of Chinese philosophy on Thoreau’s works, especially on Walden. The following is a general review of overseas and domestic studies of the effects of Confucianism and Taoism on Thoreau’s ideas.
The western studies of Thoreau and Chinese philosophy can generally be divided into two kinds. One is to support that Thoreau is influenced by Confucianism; the other is to stand up for the viewpoint that Thoreau is affected by Taoism.
In one place, western scholars, persuaded by the popularly translated version of Chinese Confucian books, approve of a direct influence between Confucianism and Thoreau. In the other place, by exploring the disseminating history of Taoism in America, the opposite view advocates that Thoreau is mainly affected by Taoism. Taoist thoughts accepted by thoreau were broadcast from European countries to American.
The free thought is the core content of Chuang Tzu’s philosophy，Chuang Tzu’s pursuit of absolute freedom of spirit in today’s increasingly materialized society is
very precious. Superficially, Chuang Tzu was negative，rebellious and refined，but the essence was just the opposite，he would own the positive side embodied the pursuit of beauty and freedom in the persistent boundless spiritual world. Chuang Tzu despised fame, attached importance to the realization of life value in high level, which has important inspiration and correction for selection and correction of college students’values under the background of diversified value orientation．
Chuang Tzu thought, the so-called freedom is based on social criticism, built on the basis of the absolute spirit freedom, emphasis on individual independence and freedom. Chuang Tzu said, everything is unable to achieve the true that the freedom of the state is because everything is still a relative state, and in phase the state, it will subject to the conditions of relative conditions.
The united states was at an era of both economic and political transition in thoreu’s days, people were experiencing a tremendous change of life and ideology. The formation of Thoreau’s view of freedom comes from the abstract concept of individualism advocated by Emerson’s transcendentalism.
The economic structure in Chuang Tzu’s period is the small-scale peasant economy, that is, people lead a life by their own cultivation. This self-sufficient economy, to a great deal of extent, can afford people to live separately. As a result, some people who are rich and educated can live to be a recluse. Chuang Tzu belongs to the group mentioned above, who can live distantly from other people. It is the
self-sufficient economic situation that makes it available for the noble scholars to lead a hermit life.
Freedom is a link between Chuang Tzu’s philosophy of “Xiaoyao” and Thoreau’s spiritual liberation. With freedom as a starting point, this thesis draws an entire comparison between Chuang Tzu’s philosophy and Thoreau’s ideas in Walden.
Chuang Tzu and Thoreau share a lot of common in the realm of freedom. Both Chuang Tzu and Thoreau are suspicious of civilization of mankind caused by social development, for they predictably discover the twisted relationship between human and materials. The way to solve problems they adopt tends to be similar, too. They consider it feasible to keep tranquil in mind. It mainly reveals through Chuang Tzu’s theory and Thoreau’s practice, namely, Chuang Tzu’s advocacy of “Xujing” and Thoreau’s fishing at midnight, Chuang Tzu’s “Wudai” and Thoreau’s abandonment of eating flesh. But the differences between Chuang Tzu and Thoreau are that Chuang Tzu expects to win freedom by escaping from worldly society whereas Thoreau’s freedom relates to the political requirement for liberty. Additionally, the paper further studies the origins of Chuang Tzu’s and Thoreau’s freedom. It is intended to prove that the origins play an essential role in producing culture diversities.
However, there is still a long way to go when people find the exact datum or eloquent documents to tell the truth of the close relation between Thoreau and Taoist thoughts represented by Chuang Tzu. It is also a challenge to canvass more profoundly this theme in the future.