Mysticism in the Zhuangzi

Abstract

This dissertation proposes that the Zhuangzi contains some elements of mysticism, but not in the straightforward manner that scholars have typically suggested. A review of theories of mysticism shows that ‘mysticism’ in English-language literature covers a linguistically and culturally bound set of ideas originating in analyses of religious and philosophical traditions in Western culture. In this usage, the term refers to a wide variety of characteristics and phenomena associated with particular religious experiences. It is, therefore, problematic to study the Zhuangzi as if the text unambiguously presents a doctrine of mysticism according to the frames of reference defined in these Western studies of religion. This dissertation demonstrates that some dominant interpretations of mysticism in the Zhuangzi, which hold that mysticism is a core feature of the text, have not shown an awareness of the problematic nature of the term in its original contexts of use. This dissertation presents a more nuanced understanding of mysticism in the Zhuangzi through careful analyses of key passages of the text that contain mystical elements.