hui zi

  • Drumming on a Basin: Mourning turned to music [Warring States]

    Brief: This article explores the Daoist philosophy of Zhuangzi through two legendary stories of death: the passing of his wife and his own demise. It recounts the famous idiom “Drumming on a Basin”, where Zhuangzi rejected mourning rituals to celebrate his wife’s return to the natural cycle of transformation. Furthermore, it details his refusal…

  • Zhuangzi and Yuanchu – the noble Phoenix [Warring States]

    Brief: This article recounts the famous parable of the Yuanchu (Noble Phoenix) told by Zhuangzi to his friend Hui Zi, the Chancellor of Wei. When Hui Zi, fearing a rival, launched a manhunt to find Zhuangzi, the philosopher arrived calmly and delivered a stinging rebuke. He compared himself to the sacred Yuanchu, which only…

  • Hui Shi’s art of persuasion

    “Hui Zi is forever using analogies,” complained someone to the king of Liang. “If Your Majesty forbid him to speak in analogies, he won’t be able to make his meaning clear.”