The term zhen in the Zhuangzi is commonly associated with the zhen ren or the "true person," who is described, for example, as capable of going through fire and water unharmed. Some scholars take this as typifying a mystical element in the Zhuangzi . This essay investigates the various meanings and uses of zhen in the Zhuangzi and reaches a broader understanding of the zhen ren in various contexts.

The concept of the cheng xin in the Zhuangzi claims that the cognitive function of the heart-mind is not over and above its affective states and in charge of them in developing and controlling virtue, as assumed by the Confucians and others. This joint cognitive and affective nature of the heart-mind denies ethical and epistemic certainty. Individual perspectives are limited given habits of thought, attitudes, personal orientations and particular cognitive/affective experiences. Nevertheless, the heart-mind has a vast imaginative capacity that allows the openendedness and broadening of perspectives.

Zhuangzi (ca. 369–286 BCE ), along with Laozi, is a seminal figure in philosophical Daoism ( see Laozi; Daoist Ethics). The 33‐chapter text of the Zhuangzi is a result of extensive editing by the fourth‐century commentator Guo Xiang ( see Guo Xiang) and it is widely believed that the first seven (“Inner”) chapters were either written by the historical Zhuangzi or best represent his thought (Graham 1979; Liu 1994). However, some central themes can be discerned throughout the text. These are encapsulated in the remark by Xunzi ( see Xunzi) that Zhuangzi was blinded by heaven and did not pay attention to human beings (Knoblock 1994: 102). We may analyze this statement to bring out the main features of Zhuangzi's philosophical ethics.

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