Yang Zhu ( Chinese trad. 楊朱 , ex. 杨朱 , pinyin : Yáng Zhū ), Yang-tzu, Yang Ziju, Yang Sheng; around 440 BC - 360 BC - An ancient Chinese philosopher, an opponent of Confucianism . It is considered a representative of early Taoism . There is very little information about his life and teachings. His life dates back to the second half of the fifth century BC. e. and the first half of the fourth century BC e. There is evidence that he traveled a lot in various kingdoms of ancient China and his views were widely known. He had a large number of students.
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Testimonies of him and his teachings are found in Mencius , Chuang Tzu , Han Fei Tzu , Lu Shi Chun Qiu, and Huainan Tzu . The main source for reconstructing the views of the thinker is the chapter named after the philosopher in the treatise Le Tzu . However, the reliability of the information contained in it by some scientists is being questioned.
Usually, the views of Yang Zhu are characterized as atheism , materialism, and extreme hedonism . Yang Zhu rejected the purposeful "will of heaven." Preached enjoyment of life. He considered useless the activity of the completely wise rulers of antiquity and Confucius himself.
The extreme hedonism of Yang Zhu has long been opposed to the altruism of Mo-tzu . Mencius said: “Yang-tzu calls:“ Everything is for me! ”But for the good of the Celestial Empire, he won’t even pull out one hair. Mo-tzu teaches to combine love for everyone: for relatives and strangers. For the good of the Middle Kingdom, he will even go on to give himself entirely from head to toe ”(Mencius XIII. 26). The views of Yang Zhu are often compared with the ethics of Epicurus and the hedonism of Aristippus . According to F. S. Bykov, “The famous moments of hedonism in the teachings of Yang Zhu allow us to talk about a certain commonality of his views with the constructions of the ancient Indian philosophical school of charvak or lokayat.” Some scholars believe that the interpretation of Yang Zhu as an extreme hedonist is a distortion of the true views of the ancient Chinese thinker.
Literature
- Chinese philosophy. Encyclopedic Dictionary. M., 1994. S.522-523. ISBN 5-244-00757-2
- Petrov A.A. Yang Zhu - Freethinker of Ancient China. // Soviet Oriental Studies. M.-L., 1940.
- Yang Hin-shun , A.D. Donobaev. Ethical concepts of Confucius and Yang Zhu. // Tenth scientific conference "Society and the State in China" Part I. M., 1979. C. 195-206.
- Lukyanov A. Yang Zhu as a philosopher: Between Taoism and Confucianism // Problems of the Far East . M., 2001. No. 2. P. 139-151.
- Bykov F. S. The origin of political and philosophical thought in China. M., 1966.S. 136.
- Titov A.L. The philosophy of life and eudaimonism of Yang Zhu // Problems of the Far East. 2015. No. 5. P. 149-154.
- Forke A. Yang Chu. The Epicurean in his relation to Liehtse the panteist // Journal of the Peking Oriental Society. 1893. Vol.II.
- Forke A. Young Chu's Garden of Pleasure (tr. Of ch. 7). London, 1912.
- Emerson, John, “Yang Chu's Discovery of the Body” // Philosophy East and West, Volume 46-4, October 1996, pp. 533-566.
- Alan Fox Guarding What Is Essential: Critiques of Material Culture in Thoreau and Yang Zhu // Philosophy East and West - Volume 58, Number 3, July 2008, pp. 358—371
- Andreini, Attilio. "Evoluzione delle teorie individualiste nella Cina classica: L'eredità di Yang Zhu nei testi Huang-Lao e nel Lüshi chunqiu." Conoscenza e interpretazioni della civiltà cinese. Ed. Piero Corradini. Venice, 1997.49-83.
- Andreini, Attilio. Il pensiero di Yang Zhu (IV secolo aC) attraverso un esame delle fonti cinesi classiche. Trieste: Edizioni Università di Trieste, 2000.
- Jinglin Li Mencius' refutation of Yang Zhu and Mozi and the theoretical implication of Confucian benevolence and love // FRONTIERS OF PHILOSOPHY IN CHINA. Volume 5, Number 2 / June 2010, 155-178.