Scholars › Philosopher / Thinker

Lie Zi

Daoist master Lie Yukou, known from anecdotes in the Zhuangzi, whose name is attached to the Liezi, a book many scholars date in its present form to the Wei-Jin period

Also known as Lie Yukou · Zi Kou

Liezi, personal name Yukou, is said to have come from the state of Zheng in the Warring States period, but his life is known only from scattered later texts, and even his existence is disputed. The *Zhuangzi* says he could ride the wind and refused grain from a Zheng minister, while the *Annals of Lu Buwei* (*Lushi chunqiu*) sums up his teaching as prizing emptiness. The bibliography of the *History of the Han* (*Hanshu*) lists a *Liezi* in eight chapters among the Daoist books, with Ban Gu's note that he came before Zhuangzi, who cited him. The received *Liezi*, with a commentary by Zhang Zhan of the Eastern Jin, contains the fable of the Foolish Old Man who moved mountains, but its date was questioned as early as Liu Zongyuan of the Tang, and most modern scholars think it was compiled or expanded in the Wei-Jin period. In 742 Emperor Xuanzong of Tang gave Liezi a Daoist title and renamed the book the *Chongxu zhenjing*.

Life and times

  1. UnknownBornZhoutraditionally of Zheng in the early Warring States
  2. UnknownDied

Works

  1. Literature · Prose10
    1. LieziZhouDaoist book ascribed to Lie Yukou: eight chapters of fables and myths with later additions
    2. Liezi: Heavenly OmensZhou
    3. Liezi: The Yellow EmperorZhou
    4. Liezi: King Mu of ZhouZhou
    5. Liezi: ConfuciusZhou
    6. +5 more
      1. Liezi: The Questions of TangZhou
      2. Liezi: Effort and DestinyZhou
      3. Liezi: Yang ZhuZhou
      4. Liezi: Explaining ConjunctionsZhou
      5. Liezi: Two Boys Debate the SunZhou
  2. Literature · Sayings8
    1. The Foolish Old Man Moves the MountainsZhouIdiom from a Liezi fable: perseverance that refuses to yield to hardship
    2. The Man of Qi Fears the Sky Will FallZhouIdiom from a Liezi fable: needless, groundless worry
    3. A Thousand Changes, Ten Thousand TransformationsZhouIdiom from the Liezi: endless change and transformation
    4. Lingering Notes Circling the RaftersZhouIdiom from a Liezi tale of the singer Han E: music so lovely it seems to linger for days
    5. Sons and Grandsons Without EndZhouIdiom from the Liezi's Foolish Old Man story: descendants generation after generation
    6. +3 more
      1. Without End and Without LimitZhouIdiom linked to the fable of the Foolish Old Man: descendants without end
      2. Losing the Sheep Where the Roads ForkZhouIdiom from the Liezi: a sheep lost among endless forks in the road
      3. Lofty Mountains, Flowing Water: Boya and ZiqiZhouIdiom from the Liezi: Boya's music and the friend who truly understood it
  3. Literature · Fables2
    1. The Man of Qi Who Feared the Sky Would FallZhouFable from the Liezi: a man of Qi frets that the sky will fall until a friend talks him round
    2. The Foolish Old Man Moves the MountainsZhouFable from the Liezi: a man of nearly ninety sets his family to dig away two mountains