Comparative Study Between Chuang-tzu’s And Ji Kang’s Life Philosophy

The Warring States Period and the Wei&Jin Dynasties are both typical war eras in Chinese history and the most active periods in the history of thought at the same time. On one hand, the turbulent social background provides a broad stage for some scholars to achieve their own political goals and to realize their self-values in life, on the other hand, it makes the other part of scholars trapped into the plight of spirit, Chuang-tzu and Ji Kang are typical representatives of the latter ones. The comparative study between Chuang-tzu’s and Ji Kang’s life philosophy can expand and deepen the understanding of both of the two philosophers’theories, meanwhile it can reflect the impacts of turbulent social background on scholars’behaviors and thoughts from a certain extent.On the whole, this article is divided into three chapters.In the first chapter, it analyses the representativeness and the comparability of Chuang-tzu and Ji Kang in order to establish the feasibility and significance of the comparative study between the two. A comparative study between the objects is based on a clear representativeness and comparability, This chapter investigates the representativeness and comparability of Chuang-tzu and Ji Kang, and considers that Chuang-tzu and Ji Kang can be adequate representatives of literati in the policical turmoil. The sufficient commons and distinctly individualities in both theoretical and practice levels are able to provide a solid basis for the comparative study. In the second chapter, it compares the social environments and life experiences of Chuang-tzu and Ji Kang. To study the social background and life experiences, in combination with the comparisons of similarities and differences in theoretical and practice levels, it reflects the influence of a specific social background on the objects. The society in political turmoil is the same background of life that Chuang-tzu and Ji Kang share, it makes them have the same basis of their theories in life philosophy, the sense of pain in spirit. The attitudes of the dominators of Warring States Period and Wei&Jin Dynasties toward scholars are quite different, thus the finales of Chuang-tzu’s and Ji Kang’s lives show a great difference.The last chapter describes and compares the life philosophy of Chuang-tzu and Ji Kang. On the basis of the second chapter, it reveals the same starting point that Chuang-tzu’s and Ji Kang’s life philosophy share, the sense of pain in spirit, which is caused by the frustration in realizing self-value and the awareness of the fragility of life, this chapter also shows the need of transcendence in life in Chuang-tzu’s and Ji Kang’s philosophy, and the different evolvements of the theory of "not relying on external things"...