d.

The Sage
For Guo, the Sage (shengren) is someone who directs his talent and understanding for the benefit of society.
The phrase neisheng waiwang describes someone who is internally like a sage and outwardly acts as a ruler. In
Guo’s view, the former necessitates the latter. In chapter one of the Zhuangzi, we read the story of the sage ruler
Yao, who attempts to cede his throne to the recluse Xu You, but is rebuffed. In the story, it is clear that Xu You
has a greater level of understanding than does Yao, but Guo’s commentary presents the matter differently:
Are we to insist that a man fold his arms and sit in silence in the middle of some mountain
forest before we say that he is practicing nonaction? This is why the words of Laozi and
Zhuangzi are rejected by responsible officials. This is why responsible officials insist on
remaining in the realm of action without regret … egotistical people set themselves in
opposition to things, while he who is in accord with things is not opposed to them … therefore
he profoundly and deeply responds to things without any deliberate mind of his own and follows
whatever comes into contact with him … he who is always with the people no matter what he
does is the ruler of the world wherever he may be. (Zhuangzi commentary, chapter 1)
It seems clear from these sentiments that in Guo’s view not only is Yao a better model for a ruler than Xu You,
but also that Confucius is a better model for a sage than Zhuangzi.

3. Guo Xiang’s Influence on Chinese Thought

The Zhuangzi has long been held in high regard as one of the main pillars of Daoist philosophy, as well as one of
the most accessible, entertaining and popular philosophical works of any genre. However the important
contribution of Guo to the way in which we understand the Zhuangzi is less well known, particularly in its non-
Chinese translations. He deserves credit not only for the external editing and arrangement of the text, but more
importantly for developing a philosophical framework that allows for the continued dominance of accepted
Confucian codes of proper behavior, yet still keeps open philosophical discussion of wider insights on the nature
of reality. While the earlier work of Wang Bi may have eased the entry of Buddhism into the Chinese
mainstream, it is within the framework provided by Guo that the three strands of Buddhism, Daoism and
Confucianism have found a strategy for coexistence that has contributed to the success and growth of them all.

4. References and Further Reading

• Allison, Robert E. Chuang-Tzu for Spiritual Transformation. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990.
• Aoki, Goro. “Kaku Sho Soshichu shisen” [Examining Guo Xiang’s Zhuangzi commentary]. Kyoto kyoiku gaku kiyo 55 (1979):
196-202.
• Chan, Alan K.L. “Guo Xiang.” In The Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy, ed. Anthonio S. Cua, New York: Routledge, 2003,
280-284.
• Chan, Wing-tsit, ed. A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1963.
• A good selection of translated passages in addition to an excellent treatment of Guo Xiang’s thought and xuanxue in general.
• Feng, Yu-lan (Feng Youlan) trans. Chuang Tzu: A New Selected Translation with an Exposition of the Philosophy of Kuo
Hsiang, Shanghai: Commercial Press, 1933. (Reprint, New York: Gordon, 1975.)
• Feng, Yu-lan (Feng Youlan). A History of Chinese Philsosophy, v. 2, trans. Derk Bodde. Princeton: Princeton University Press,
1953.
• Fukunaga, Mitsuji. “Kako Sho no Soshi chu to Ko Shu no Shoshi chu” [Guo Xiang’s Zhuangzi commentary and Xiang Xiu’s
Zhuangzi commentary]. Toho gakuho 36 (1964): 187-215.
• This was some of the groundbreaking work on the Xiang Xiu controversy. Its findings are summarized in English by Livia Knaul’s article
in The Journal of Chinese Religions.
• Fukunaga, Mitsuji. “‘No-Mind’ in Chuang-tzu and Ch’an Buddhism.” Zinbun 12 (1969): 9-45.
• Holtzman, Donald. “Les sept sages de la forêt des bambous et la société de leur temps.” T’oung Pao 44 (1956): 317-346.
• Knaul, Livia. “Lost Chuang-tzu Passages.” Journal of Chinese Religions 10 (1982): 53-79.
• This article contains a translation of the “lost” postface, as well as a detailed treatment of the Xiang Xiu controversy.
• Knaul, Livia. “The Winged Life: Kuo Hsiang’s Mystical Philosophy.” Journal of Chinese Studies 2.1 (1985): 17-41.
• Kohn, Livia. Early Chinese Mysticism: Philosophy and Soteriology in the Taoist Tradition. Princeton: Princeton University Press,
1992.
• Kohn, Livia. “Kuo Hsiang and the Chuang-tzu.” Journal of Chinese Philosophy 12 (1985): 429-447.
• Mair, Victor H., ed. Experimental Essays on Chuang-tzu. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1983.
• Mather, Richard B. “The Controversy Over Conformity and Naturalness During the Six Dynasties.” History of Religions 9 (1969-
1970): 160-180.
• Robinet, Isabelle. “Kouo Siang ou le monde comme absolu.” T’oung Pao 69 (1983): 73-107.
• Tang Yijie. Guo Xiang. Taibei: Dongda tushugongsi, 1999.
• One of the most acclaimed biographers of Guo Xiang. Not currently translated into English.
• Yü, Ying-shih. “Individualism and the Neo-Taoist Movement in Wei-Chin China.” In Individualism and Holism: Studies in
Confucian and Taoist Values, ed. Donald Munro (Ann Arbor: Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan, 1985), 121-
155.
• Ziporyn, Brook. The Penumbra Unbound: The Neo-Taoist Philosophy of Guo Xiang. Albany: State University of New York
Press, 2003.
• Ziporyn, Brook. “The Self-So and Its Traces in the Thought of Guo Xiang.” Philosophy East and West 43 (1993): 511-539.
• Zhuang Yaolang. Guo Xiang xuanxue. Taibei: Liren shuju, 2002.