Qian Mu reads Zhuangzi: Regarding ‘there has not yet begun to be a “there has not yet begun to be nothing”’

Asian Philosophy 32 (2):164-171 (2022)
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Abstract

To advance our understanding of both the Book of Zhuāngzǐ 莊子 (c. fourth to third century BCE) and Qián Mù 錢穆 (1895–1990)’s Zhuāngzǐ studies 莊學, I aim to squarely face one of the more obscure passages in the former with recourse to an explanation from the latter. The passage in question is that from the second chapter beginning with the claim ‘there is a beginning’ (有始也者) and culminating with the claim that ‘there has not yet begun to be a “there has not yet begun to be nothing”’ (有未始有夫未始有無也者). I hope to show that Qián offers a compelling and novel interpretation of this difficult passage worthy of our consideration.

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John Robert Williams
Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen

References found in this work

The Metaphysics of Philosophical Daoism.Kai Zheng - 2020 - New York, NY: Routledge. Edited by Kai Zheng.

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