Clay Kallam's Reviews > Chuang Tzu: The Inner Chapters

This is a vibrant translation of an overlooked -- and important -- work of Chinese philosophy. Chuang Tzu (or Chuangzi) is best known in the West for his question about an afternoon nap: Am I a man dreaming of being a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming of being a man? But there is much more to Chuang Tsu, and this brief work (barely 100 small pages) was so compelling as soon as I finished, I read it again. David Hinton's translation is excellent, the contents profound and "The Inner Chapters" is as powerful and enlightening as the "Dao de Jing" and as important as the "Analects."

There are elements of Taoism and references to Confucius but Chuang Tzu is his own man, and anyone with a serious interest in Eastern philosophy needs to add this to the to-read shelf.