Lieh Tzu
| Liezi | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 列子 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Literal meaning | "[The Writings of] Master Lie" | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Lièzĭ |
| Wade–Giles | Lieh4-tzu3 |
| IPA | [ljêtsɨ̀] |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Yale Romanization | Liht-jí |
| Jyutping | Lit6-zi2 |
| Southern Min | |
| Tâi-lô | Lia̍t-tsú |
The Liezi (Chinese: 列子; Wade–Giles: Lieh-tzu) is a Daoist text attributed to Lie Yukou, a c. 5th century BCE Hundred Schools of Thought philosopher, but Chinese and Western scholars believe it was compiled around the 4th century CE.
The first two references to the Liezi book are from the Former Han Dynasty. The editor Liu Xiang notes he eliminated repetitions in Liezi and rearranged it into eight chapters (pian 篇). The Book of Han bibliography section (藝文志) says it has eight chapters (篇) and concludes that since the Zhuangzi quotes Liezi, he must have lived before Zhuangzi. There is a three-century historical gap until the next evidence of the Liezi: the Jin dynasty commentary by Zhang Zhan 張湛 (fl. ca. 370 CE). Zhang's preface claims his Liezi copy was transmitted down from his grandfather. All received Liezi texts derive from Zhang's version, which is divided into eight chapters (juan 巻).
During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the Liezi was designated a Daoist classic, completing the trilogy with the more famous Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi, and it was honorifically entitled the Chongxu zhenjing (沖虛真經; "True Classic of Simplicity and Vacuity", that is, Classic of the Perfect Emptiness). This "Simplicity and Vacuity" is Wing-tsit Chan's translation; chongxu (literally "soar/young/simple empty/skies/modest") usually means "soar aloft, rise high; carefree, unburdened with ambition". During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, the Liezi was further honored as the Chongxu zhide zhenjing (沖虛至德真經; “True Classic of Simplicity and Vacuity and Perfect Virtue”).
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