Liezi列子

Style & Daoist names

Lie Yukou, Perfected of Emptiness and Simplicity, Perfected of Emptiness, Simplicity and Ultimate Virtue

Period

Warring States

Dates

c. 450 BCE — c. 375 BCE

Role

Daoist Philosopher

Birthplace

Putian, State of Zheng (present-day Zhengzhou, Henan)

Life

Liezi, personal name Yukou, was a native of the state of Zheng in the early Warring States period, who lived in seclusion in Zheng territory for forty years without seeking fame or advancement. The Zhuangzi repeatedly mentions him as one who 'rode the wind and traveled,' and he is regarded as a Daoist figure standing between Laozi and Zhuangzi. The received text of the Liezi, in eight chapters, is traditionally attributed to Lie Yukou, with a commentary by Zhang Zhan of the Jin; most scholars hold that the received text was compiled and supplemented by people of the Wei-Jin period, though it preserves a good deal of pre-Qin material — such parables as 'The Man of Qi Who Worried the Sky Would Fall,' 'The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains,' and 'Two Children Debate the Distance of the Sun' all derive from this book. Its philosophy of valuing emptiness, together with the egoist doctrine of the 'Yang Zhu' chapter, is of considerable importance to the history of Daoist philosophy. In the first year of the Tianbao era (742, Tang), Liezi was honored as the 'Perfected Chongxu,' and the Liezi was named the Chongxu zhenjing; in the Jingde era of Emperor Zhenzong of Song he received the further title 'Perfected Chongxu of Utmost Virtue.'

Contributions & Influence

• The Liezi preserves a large body of pre-Qin Daoist parables and thought
• Its doctrine of valuing emptiness and its image of riding the wind influenced Daoist conceptions of immortality
• Honored as the Perfected Chongxu, with the Liezi admitted into the Daoist canon

Works

• Liezi

Legends

According to legend, Liezi could ride the wind and travel, soaring lightly and skillfully, and returned only after fifteen days (Zhuangzi, 'Free and Easy Wandering').