A Study on Interpretations of “One” in Zhuangzi’s “Qiwulun
Date Issued
2012
Date
2012
Author(s)
Lebovitz, David
Abstract
The term “one” is used as a philosophical concept in early Daoism, and comes
up repeatedly in the “Qiwulun” (“Discourse on Making Things Even”or “Evening out
Discourses”). The philosophical term “one” is understood in a variety of ways in early
Chinese thought, and Zhuangzi’s use of the term is understood differently by later
commentaries. The thesis will begin to examine the interpretive potential of the term
one as used by thinkers in from the late Spring and Autumn period through the Han
dynasty, establishing concrete examples of the polysemy of the term in philosophical
discourse. The way in which two interpreters, Guo Xiang and Cheng Xuanying interpret
the use of “one” in the “Qiwulun”chapter is examined in detail: Guo Xiang develops
the concept of self-suchness and interprets on as the abstract category of that which is
self-so; Cheng Xuanying constructs a philosophical system that is able to accommodate
a variety of partial truths that may all be called “one.” The final chapter undertakes a
cognitive analysis of the symbol one, charting the extension of its meaning from its use
as a numeral to its most complicated philosophical conceptions, and anaylzes
Zhuangzi’s use of polysemy to create rhetorical and psychological effects.
Subjects
Zhuangzi, Qiwulun, Guo Xiang
Cheng Xuanying
Daoism
Metaphor
Cognition
Type
thesis
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