Lieh Tzu: One Of Daoism's Central Works (alongside the Dao De Jing and Zhuang Zi)
Written by Liezi
Narrated by Charles Featherstone
()
About this audiobook
One of the four central works in Daoism. The Lie-Tzu, or Liezi, was originally thought to have been composed in the same period as the Dao and Zhuang Zi, around the 5th century BCE. However, it is now believed to have been compiled nearly a thousand years later, around 400 CE.
Lionel Giles, in fact, was one of the first to call out the Lieh Tzu’s suspicious origins, saying “scholars […] seem to have enjoyed nothing so much as forging, if not the whole, at any rate portions, of the works of ancient authors. Someone even produced a treatise under the name of Lieh Tzu, a philosopher mentioned by Chuang Tzu, not seeing that the individual in question was a creation of Chuang Tzu's brain!”
Around 700 CE, it was given a new honorific title, the Chongxu zhenjing or Classic of the Perfect Emptiness, and designated a Daoist classic. The triad of Tao Te Ching, Zhuang Zi, and Lieh Tzu makes a certain logical sense, as each work contrasts the other two. The Dao is deeply abstract, and the Zhuang Zi filled with ethical conundrums and nonsensical stories. The Lieh Tzu is a much more practical work, turning the philosophy into a much more workable framework for thought and action.
Most of the chapters are named for famous Chinese characters from history or mythology, and many of the stories are continuations or different perspectives on tales and characters in the Zhuang Zi.
In this version, Chapter 7 is excluded. This chapter was not translated by Giles, and occasions a great deal of controversy. It is written in a very different voice and perspective to the other chapters, such that some have described it as ‘hedonistic’ and ‘negative Daoism’. Others have claimed that it must have been written before the author even discovered Daoism.
Related to Lieh Tzu
Related audiobooks
The Sayings of Lao-Tzu: An accessible narrative prose translation of the Dao De Jing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5500 Quotes of Lao Tsu for Meditation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Eternal Tao Te Ching: The Philosophical Masterwork of Taoism and Its Relevance Today Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Zhuangzi | Chuang Tzu: The foundation of chinese esoteric thought Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5100 Quotes by Laozi Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPhilosophy: Confucius, Aristotle, Lao-Tzu, and Zeno Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Hundred Remedies of the Tao: Spiritual Wisdom for Interesting Times Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Life of the Buddha Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMengzi (Mencius): With Selections from Traditional Commentaries Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEssentials of Daoism: Including: The Sayings of Lao Tzu, The Dao De Jing, Zhuangzi, Lieh Tzu, and Sun Tzu on the Art of War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTao te Ching Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Radical Therapy: Buddhist Precepts in the Modern World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Musings of a Chinese Mystic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Tao Te Ching 101: a modern, practical guide, plain and simple Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsApproaching the Buddhist Path (The Library of Wisdom and Compassion) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Three Asian Wise Men: Confucius, Lao Tzu, Buddha Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lotus Sutra: The White Lotus Sutra of the True Dharma Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDao De Jing: The Classic Victorian-Era Translation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Divine Feminine Tao Te Ching: A New Translation and Commentary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Classic of Filial Piety: The classic book of Confucian wisdom for children Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTaoism for Beginners: Understanding and Applying Taoist History, Concepts, and Practices Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dao De Jing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5100 Quotes for Meditation with Lao Tzu Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Darmapada The 1000 Petal Jeweled Lotus Of Wisdom: Commentary by Buddhaghosa Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Tao of Influence: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Leaders and Entrepreneurs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Power of the Dao: Seven Essential Habits for Living in Flow, Fulfilment and Resilience Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lao Zi’s Dao De Jing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What is the Dharma?: The essential teachings of the Buddha Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
General Fiction For You
It Ends with Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Court of Thorns and Roses Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Court of Frost and Starlight Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Omens: A Full Cast Production Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Court of Mist and Fury Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5American Gods [TV Tie-In]: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5And Then There Were None Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hunger Games Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Man Called Ove: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Bell Jar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Farseer: Assassin's Apprentice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Court of Wings and Ruin Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dutch House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alchemist Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Overstory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Their Eyes Were Watching God Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Leave the World Behind: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Name of the Wind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Return of the King Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paris Apartment: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finn Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Lieh Tzu
0 ratings0 reviews