Metaphorical Language in the Zhuangzi

Abstract

Chapter 27 of the ancient Chinese text the Zhuangzi (c. 400 BCE) describes three kinds of language: yuyan , zhiyan , and chongyan . Wang Fuzhi ( 1619-1692) first coined the term 'sanyan ' or 'tripartite-language' to emphasize their overlapping characteristics and incorporate them into a cohesive approach to the text. Sanyan has been used consistently in interpreting the Zhuangzi since the earliest compilation of its extant version and continues to inform academic publications today. Based on descriptions found in the Zhuangzi's 'miscellaneous chapters' (chapters 23-33) and on contemporary scholarship, I will explain how this model of sanyan functions and then how it facilitates philosophical reading of the Zhuangzi. Understanding the Zhuangzi's metaphorical language through sanyan lends access into the interrelated semantic field of the pre-Qin philosophical canon and helps unravel Zhuangzi's often-cryptic philosophical expressions.