Yang Zhu’s “Guiji” Yangsheng and Its Modern Relevance

Condemned by Mencius (ca.372-289 BCE) as selfishness (weiwo, 为我), Yang Zhu’s yangsheng philosophy in China is traditionally depicted as a philosophy of egoism and hedonism. In contrast, Yang Zhu (fl.ca.370-350 BCE) is described as an “early liberal or individualist” hero in the Western Discussion of Chinese Philosophy. Yang Zhu may not be a liberal or individualist hero as portrayed by the West, but surely he should not be depicted as a promoter of egoism as Mencius did. Both John Emerson and A.C. Graham are probably right when they claimed that Yang Zhu was a revolutionary thinker of his own time; and “Yang Zhu’s intervention for the Chinese thinking world had provoked a metaphysical crisis which had threatened the basic assumptions of Confucianism and Mohism and set them into a new course” (A.C. Graham 1978). From my reading, Yang Zhu’s influence on Chinese philosophy had been and will be even greater, although his philosophy as a whole was not practiced by Chinese society in the past due to the dominance of Confucianism. Yet as the first person who clearly emphasized nourishing of life for individuals and the first theory that rooted morality into xing (性, human nature), Yang Zhu’s yangsheng philosophy had indeed through history made a huge contribution to Chinese nurturing life tradition, and had great potential in providing inspiration to modern moral thinking. Many discussions initiated or developed by Yang Zhu and his followers have influenced both Confucianism and Daoism profoundly. His idea of nourishing life was not only inherited and developed by Zhuangzi and later Daoist religion from life preservation perspective, but also by Mencius and Xunzi from moral cultivation perspective. As a doctrine that has shown more and more relevance to modern society, people can find many inspirations from Yang Zhu’s answer to the following questions: What is the aim of human life? What is the right attitude toward life and death? What is human nature? What is the relationship between life nourishment and individual freedom? Why nourishing one’s own life should be as important as nourishing that of others? What is the difference between humans and animals? Why living a natural life is so important for human beings? Based on materials collected from various Chinese sources directly related to Yang Zhu’s school, especially the chapter entitled as “Yang Zhu” from the book of Liezi, this paper will explore essential features of Yang Zhu’s yangsheng philosophy and its relevance to modern society. As “guiji” (贵己, cherishing oneself) is the core of Yang Zhu’s yangsheng philosophy, discussion of this paper will focus on what Yang Zhu’s “guiji” means, why Yang Zhu’s “guiji” is not “weiwo” (为我, for oneself), and how Yang Zhu’s “guiji” yangsheng is relevant to modern society.