Abstract
The use of the character wang 忘 (forgetting) in the Zhuangzi 莊子 has been widely recognized in traditional and contemporary Chinese scholarship, but its meaning remains unclear. This article reviews some notable studies in Sinophone academia concerning the notion of wang in the Zhuangzi. The studies, though not necessarily focused on wang, shed light on different aspects of the concept, including its relation to self-cultivation, aesthetics, ethics, and ontology. While some scholars see wang as a form of elimination, others stress its relation to other concepts such as shi 適 (fitting). The relation of these two concepts, however, is not yet clear. There are also debates over what makes wang possible, with some linking it to dao 道 and some directing our attention to our daily experience. Despite the limited attention paid to wang to date, the studies reviewed show that it is a crucial aspect of Zhuangzian philosophy and deserves further study.
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*Editor’s Note: From 2003 to 2010, this journal published eight articles on “The State of the Field Report,” each reviewing contemporary Chinese studies of one particular topic, including Wang Yangming 王陽明, Zhu Xi 朱熹, Wang Fuzhi 王夫之, Mencius, Confucian Hermeneutics, Xiong Shili 熊十力, Huineng 慧能, and Liu Zongzhou 劉宗周. Beginning with this issue, we will resume this series, with each article having a much narrower focus, primarily covering Chinese publications since 2000 which address specific topics of Chinese philosophy.
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Lam, Hk. The State of the Field Report IX*: Contemporary Chinese Studies of Zhuangzian Wang (Forgetting). Dao 22, 297–317 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11712-023-09883-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11712-023-09883-x