The Spirits Of Zhuangzi And Zen And The New Period Literature

For two thousands years, as an ultimate constituent of the Chinese traditional culture, the spirits of Zhuangzi and Zen have never really died out in the mentality of Chinese men of letters. Meeting with an appropriate time spirit and social atmosphere, the thought of Zhuangzi and Zen will reign in a new way in the new historic stage.Its first prevalence was in the Wei, Jin and later in the Tang, Song, Ming and Qing dynasties. Its influence was seen in the far-reaching poems and essays of the men of letters of past centuries, such as Xie Lingyun, Tao Yuanming, Meng Haoran, Su Shi,Ou Yangxiu and Zhou Zuoren, etc. And in the writings of the new period writers, too.First of all, this far-reaching effect is due to the essential characteristics of the spirits of Zhuangzi and Zen.Firstly, their world outlook of"harmony between nature and man", or"affinity between the Supreme Being and the Individual"furnishes the men of letters who have felt lost in real life with a spiritual standpoint. Secondly, their philosophy of"life as the ultimate purpose and nature as the ultimate beauty"provides them with another purport of life. Thirdly, the Zen blissfulness constructs a self-contained spiritual homeland for them. Fourthly, their inherent secular inclination caters to the willful self-indulgence of some desperate men of letters.In the next place, the rise of the thought of Zhuangzi and Zen depends on proper time-spirit and social conditions. In a word, every time when the men of letters'political ambition fails to come true; their aspiration of"regulating the family, governing the kingdom and making the empire peaceful and happy"is frustrated, the thought of Zhuangzi andZen would prevail as a result. The new period has been permeated with all the above-mentioned characteristics. After the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese Communist Party successfully convoked the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Party Central Committee, at which the tolerant cultural policies were reinstated. This historical change greatly...