The World of Leisure and the Hermit Strategy—— A Case Study of the Leisure Theory of Chuang-Tse〔* 〕

Shao Chunmei

(School of Foreign Studies Hubei Polytechnic University，HuangshiHubei435003)

Ⅰ．Definition of leisure:the world of leisure or the hermit phenomenon

As for the definition of“leisure”，we can discuss its connotation according to the proposition of“nothingness”．At present，the specific form of leisure philosophy cannot be defined by the theory of leisure in the academic circle．Therefore，the influence of leisure on human cannot be revitalized．It will ignore the entertainment of life world and natural system depicted in the Holy Canon of Nanhua if we deem leisure industry as the means and folk custom as research object．

The leisure thought of Lao－Tse and Chuang－Tse are free without obstacles．Therefore，we can feel the existence and vitality of Tao and “emptiness”in Chuang － Tse，which is the frankness and natural expression of Chuang－Tse．We even cannot help wondering the existence of such a non －mainstream line of thinking as a social value．However，the hermit strategy insists on unorthodox method and keeps exploring theories that are not understood by others．It is inconceivable in academic circle to pursue the precise form of“existence intuition”，“mutual influence”and “diffuse development force”．It is likely that the expression of this thought by words in different field of knowledge cannot be understood．Therefore，Chuang － Tse decides to use image instead of words to spread his thought．That is to say，he decides to convince others the leisure theory by means of eyes．

Second，the hermit phenomenon can be combined with the thinking of leisure world．Though the spiritual depiction of hermit is the basic form of the leisure world of Chuang－Tse，it is just a thought on material world view．The unique vision of Chuang － Tse leads to leisure’s going back to intuition，which influences western phenomenology．Xiao Yao You of Chuang－Tse displays free creation and strict demonstration，and respects the magic combination of reality and the pursuit of transcendence．A more complete world both true and false can be witnessed in his writing，which opens up a new era．Thanks to the intervention of“emptiness”，the world of leisure shows the potential of being explored．As a result，the world has been enlarged and those which are deemed non－existent by classic science for a long run have the right and ability to speak aloud．The world is no longer a unified and mechanic one but a colorful and alive one．Both“emptiness”put forward by Chuang－Tseand the“intuition”of leisure theory are not still and nothing，but full of vitality．Therefore，the overall view of phenomenology is still confined in the field of phenomenon，which points to the combination of real entity and emptiness．

Third，the generation of leisure theory comes from the hermit spirit of Chuang－Tse and his exploration of the origin of the world．Chuang－Tse hopes to dissolve the barrier in people’s mind and build peaceful inner world because only an empty mind can feel the existence of Tao．“Emptiness”referred to by Chuang－Tse is the inner empty of human mind，which is a holistic view of nature and mind．Being a hermit means pursuing one’s own leisure world in the wood and field where rules and standards fail to confine one’s behavior．In this life experience，happiness is pervasive in the world．It greatly shocks Hui Shi and Zi Gong，who strictly adhere to conventional standards，at the sight of Chuang － Tse singing at the funeral of his wife while beating the basin．Regulations cannot restrict his free thoughts which can be manifested in the colorful world depicted by Chuang － Tse．What matters is not the correspondence between the individual terms and concepts of leisure theory and Chuang － Tse’s thoughts，but the similarity of the common understanding of evolution and popular trend and the depiction of world vision between the two．

Ⅱ．The world of leisure or the hermit strategy

As to how to combine leisure world with hermit strategy ，we find out the theoretical perspective of the reconstruction of the leisure world of Chuang－Tse，which can be divided into three forms of“wandering outside worldly affairs”“wandering in interspace”and“wandering in body and mind techniques”．At present，the three forms refer to the“cross － cultural integration”“life integration of leisure time”and“training the integration of both body and mind”from the perspective of leisure theory．

First，the reconstruction of Chuang － Tse’s leisure theory is the ideal reconstruction of peaceful world featuring cross－cultural integration．Wandering outside worldly affairs is a cross－cultural interpretation which conveys the ultimate ideal of Chuang － Tse during warring times．It is，to some extent，an outcome of peaceful ideal，which is a social ideal featuring peaceful development according to Chuang－Tse’s understanding of Tao and universe space．The integration is not confined within worldly affairs．Holy men depicted in Xiao Yao You actually wander in infinity．According to researchers，wandering in infinity refers to wandering in the spiritual realm，which is incorrect．“Infinity”refers to a realm superior to worldly affairs，namely unlimited time and space．It is a free realm not confined by time and space．Compared to secular life，this realm is superior and transcending．Chuang － Tse thinks that cross － cultural integration is the reconstruction of civilization．Killing，repulsion and invasion is full of our mind when viewing world development．As for the realistic question that what is the reconstruction of leisure civilization and what it is like beyond worldly affairs，Chuang － Tse answers that there is a society without different languages where Chuang－Tse actually encounters a plight of expression．We are not capable of imaging the real look of the wild world，which we deem as chaos．However，the leisure world is quite clear．Human society is a space travel of leisure．Chuang －Tse holds that holy men need not rely on the right and wrong of views．Besides，the power of civilization is clearly defined in Xiao Yao You．Chuang－Tse thinks that civilization is the tiniest truth and subtlest mind experience in one’s life．It is the leisure travel of civilization that helps the great hawk flies high．Chuang－Tse points out in his writing that keeping up with times and using peace as power，one can reach the realm of peace where both one’s spirit and body will not be confined by space．One can take advantage of wind and cloud and harness flying dragon，wandering beyond the wild blue yonder．Besides，Chuang － Tse holds that peace is integration and peace is youth which is invincible．As he notes，“the great men with virtue will not be burnt by fire nor drown by water．Neither hot summer nor cold winter can cause suffering．Even wild beasts are not capable of causing harm to them．”“The great men with virtue will not suffocate in deep water nor get burnt in fire．They get around freely and boldly without being jeopardized．”

Second，wandering in leisure travel in interspace and wandering in body and mind techniques fuse with each other．Chuang － Tse himself also maintains that the ideal of universe integration cannot be realized．Therefore，he has to take up with relative freedom．That is to say，one can wander in worldly affairs and live under pressure．One needs to seek interspace，namely the leisure of real society by means of wandering．In this philosophy of life，one can adapt oneself in different situations and take advantage of interspace to earn survival space only if one quits prejudice and does not rigidly adhere to oneself．Only in this way can one do one’s job with ease．One can protect oneself against damage by refraining from conflicting with external matters．

Life and society pay attention to a leisure attitude．It can be easily found that the essence of Chuang－Tse’s transcending philosophy lies in the security of life and relative freedom in realistic interspace．It is obvious that the leisure value of human wandering lies in preserving one’s health．There are four concepts raised by Chuang － Tse，namely thick － free，wandering，interspace and preserving one’s health．Leisure is the hermit thought of Chuang －Tse．Chuang － Tse holds that the behavior of being a hermit should come from one’s nature．If not，for instance，it comes from external elements such as morality，one will definitely harm oneself by being a hermit．

Chuang－Tse maintains that one should make oneself invisible by means of being inactive．According to Chuang － Tse，being a hermit should be natural instead of being on purpose．One does not necessarily go to wild space to be a hermit．On the contrary，a real hermit can lead his secluded life even in noisy places．

Ⅲ．Conclusion— escaping the adaptation to reality and reconstructing the evolution of leisure

Both the broader understanding and narrow understanding of“adjustment theory”constitute the view of“the survival of the fittest”．On one hand，the academic circle has strengthened the value which fits social order and human．“Hermit survival”has arisen due to the wish of being uncompetitive，for instance，not caring about what others think．This social value gathers society together to meet human desire and promote the mechanism social evolution．We need to be recognized and paid so as to survive，and that’s why we try to meet others’demand and play a part in society to create value．Hermits withdraw from society and live in solitude，so they just need to fit in with natural laws．In fact，the thought and artistic expression of being hermits and standing aloof from worldly affairs have been widely accepted for meeting people’s desire of dreaming of nature and freedom．As a result，they have become adapted to culture．However，those who actually live cut off from so-ciety tend to be ignored in the evolutionary process of history．

Chuang－Tse selects an understanding in the world of leisure and adopts a hermit strategy，which is in essence due to the fact that he thinks this understanding or practice can better explain the world，predict social phenomenon，solve problems，conform to his standards of seeking knowledge and set his mind at rest．These values，whether being rational，emotional，intuitive，long － term or short－term，are the comprehension of all，which is discovered by Chuang － Tse’s theory of leisure．In fact，Chuang － Tse points out that rationality that has not been fully recognized by human is included in the existent rationality，emotion，intuition of human and common sense，experience，habit and order of society．Despite that the research on the leisure theory，humanity catching the eye of literature and philosophy，and life wisdom passed down from generation to generation adopt different perspectives and have their own advantages in different situation，they influence each other．As a result，it can be concluded that they are likely to reach the same goal by different means．

Living in this age is destiny．Time －transcending wishes are bound to suffer，while the wishes propel human advancement．In the leisure world of Chuang－Tse，being the hermit is the basic strategy dealing with the change of all things on earth，such as birth，death，illness and old age．For the whole universe，changes are repeated and eternal．Therefore，being the hermit suggests having leisure moment．Humanity will be elevated to the realm of Taoism．The change of human body has been transcended and lives together with nature．

Western scholar Norman Girardot maintains that，“the shift concept of leisure that Chuang － Tse pays attention to is not a new series of start，but a one－way transformation in the direction of evolution．Ai Lianxin thinks that“the transformation of worldly affairs referred to by the world of leisure is just the transformation from symbol to mind or metaphor instead of changing for a higher level on purpose．”Obviously，the leisure world is a world that transcends worldly affairs;secondly，the leisure world is a practical world;third，the leisure world is a reconstruction of inner world．

Notes:

〔1〕孙明君:《庄子哲学中的三重人格境界》，《齐鲁学刊》1996年第5期，第85－90页。

〔2〕康中乾:《庄子人生哲学三境界论——〈逍遥游〉主旨试析》，《中州学刊》1989年第5期。

〔3〕黄海波:《“待”字的训释与〈逍遥游〉的主旨—— 兼考〈庄子〉一书“待”字的用法》，《广西社会科学》1995年第5期。

〔4〕Roberte，Allinson，Chuang—Tzu for Spiritual Transformation:An Analysis of the Inner Chapters，Albany:State University Of New York Press，1989(7)．