The Master

Name : The Master

It was twenty-five centuries ago in the land of Song, between the Yellow River and the River Huai : Zhuang Zhou was born without a cry, with his eyes wide open. Since newborns resemble old people, he was crumpled, toothless and bald; men enter the scene as defenseless as they leave it.

Welcome to China in the fifth century BCE, a colorful, violent, unstable world into which Zhuang is born. Here royals raise huge armies, constantly waging wars against one another. They have slaves, concubines; they listen to recitals of poems, betray each other, trade in women and spices . . . and read Confucius. Gold is everywhere. And so is hunger.

Born rich and entitled to the corrupt Superintendent of Gifts and Presents to a prince, Zhuang learns to refuse any official function. His travels bring him closer to ordinary people. Stopping along the way where he’s needed, he learns from them how to live a simple and useful life : be inconspicuous, unite with nature, go with the flow. Slowness rather than agitation, practical gesture rather than reasoned technique. A free spirit, independent from all doctrines and powers, surrounded at the end by a few self-appointed disciples and companions. This is how he will become one of the greatest Chinese philosophers who gave his name to his legendary book the Zhuangzi, one of the two foundational texts of Taoism—a magnificent procession of lively stori

Country of Origin : India