Discussion keeps the world turning.
You are listening to Roundtable, I am Niu Honglin.
Today, we are bringing a new special series on Zhuangzi,
one of the most influential philosophers of ancient China, a new episode on this new series.
In the podcast program Sage and Youth, Debating Zhuangzi Style,
we explore some of the most fascinating stories from Zhuangzi and reflect on what they reveal about how we live,
think and choose today.
For this episode, we bring you the story of Huizi Xiangliang,
a story that inspires us to ask, is true freedom only found outside fame and office?
Please enjoy the story as well as the following debate.
Over two million years ago,
the landscape of ancient China was like a chessboard of warring kingdoms,
a time when the clangor of souls was as common as the whisperings of wisdom.
Amidst of this cacophony of power struggles, there emerged a philosopher named Zhuangzi,
whose thoughts dance to the rhythm of a different tune.
Uninterested in the seductive dance of power,
he found himself the unlikely target of a royal imitation.
So when the King of Chu sent two officials to offer him the position of the Kingdom's Prime Minister,
their proposal hardly seemed to stir the philosopher's peaceful state of mind.
I've heard tales of a sacred turtle, cherished by your king.