Yang Chu's Garden of Pleasure: The Philosophy of Individuality (Cornerstone of . . . Series)

Yang Chu was a classic Chinese philosopher who probably lived in the fourth century BCE. He has been associated with Taoism, although the connection is problematic as the beliefs of Yang Chu are quite different from those of Taoist philosophers such as Chuang-Tzu and Lao Tzu. In ancient times, these thinkers were not considered to be members of the same school of thought. The text attributed to Yang Chu was preserved in the Lieh Tzu, which did not reach its final form until about 400 CE. In it, Yang Chu is not mystical at all. He is mainly concerned with enjoying life to its fullest, with allowing people to express themselves as much as possible, and with not interfering with natural processes. At the Court of Liang at the period of Yang Chu, about 300 B.C., the philosophers were treated as guests of the reigning king, who reserved for them lodging and maintenance, and encouraged all who had any pretence to the pursuit of truth and wisdom. Whether or not Yang Chu was actually a native of the Wei State, or whether he came there drawn by the attraction of a critical and unrivalled audience, it is at least certain that he settled there as small proprietor, probably in the reign of King Hwei, and continued there till his death, about 250 B.C. One may imagine a condition of life in many respects somewhat analogous to the life of Epicurus in his famous Athenian Garden. To the philosopher of pleasure and contentment came pupils and disciples, discourses were held in much the same way as at an identical period discourses were held in the garden at Athens, and it is to these discourses, memorised and recorded by his favourite pupil Meng-sun-Yang, that we most probably owe the single fragment of the teaching of Yang Chu that remains, a fragment complete and explicit enough to enable us to form a clear estimate of his teaching and philosophy. Introduction: Yang Chu's Garden of Pleasure by Rosemary Brant [The Yang Chu chapter of the Lieh Tzu (book 7)] 1. The Vanity of Fame 2. Real and False Greatness 3. The Shortness of Conscious Life 4. Death the Equalizer 5. False Virtues 6. The Ideal Life 7. Duty to the Living and the Dead 8. The Art of Life 9. The Happy Hedonists 10. The Joyous Life of Tuan-Mu Shu 11. The Foolishness of Wanting a Long Life 12. Self-Sacrifice and Self-Aggrandizement 13. The Vanity of Reputation 14. Difficulty and Ease of Government 15. All Things Pass 16. The Nature of Man 17. The Four Chimeras 18. All Pleasures are Relative 19. The Wisdom of Contentment The ancient wanderer Yang Chu's philosophy is published for the first time in modern English in this series of debates about makings of the good life. Yang Chu, known alternately as "the philosopher of pleasure and contentment," has a deep concern with enjoying life to the fullest and argues that true egoism does not center on seeking fame or glory, but rather the development of the individual. By allowing the inner voice and senses to grow, Yang Chu explains, the ability to take pleasure in the simple aspects of life grows as well.