Encountering Zhuangzi for the first time

初遇庄子

Round Table China

2026-02-16

23 分钟
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单集简介 ...

Round Table presents the first of six stories from the new podcast, Sage and Youth: Debating Zhuangzi's Tao. Two thousand years ago, Zhuangzi questioned reality itself. Who was he? A mystic. A rebel. A quiet comedian of philosophy. In this opening episode, Niu Honglin sits down with Professor Hong Li to explore freedom, uncertainty, and the playful wisdom of the ancient sage.
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单集文稿 ...

  • Discussion keeps the world turning.

  • If you're listening to Roundtable, I'm Niu Huling.

  • Coming up soon,

  • I'm very excited to introduce a brand new podcast focusing on one of the most influential ancient Chinese philosopher industry.

  • What's more fun about this new show is that on top of inspiring little stories from the time-tested classic,

  • we are also giving it a modern twist.

  • So stay tuned to find out more.

  • 2000 years ago, a Chinese philosopher asked a simple but unsettling question.

  • How do you know you're awake and not dreaming?

  • How to tell reality from imagination?

  • His name was Zhuangzi.

  • He wrote about giant fish turning into birds.

  • useless trees that survive precisely because they're useless,

  • and a man who dreamed he was a butterfly, only to wake up unsure which one was real.

  • Today, Zhuangzi is often quoted, rarely really understood,

  • and almost never debated the way he deserves to be.

  • So who was Zhuangzi?

  • A mystique?

  • A rebel?

  • A comedian disguised as a philosopher?