Yang Zhu
Yang Zhu (楊朱/杨朱, Yáng Zhū, Yang Chu; 370-319 BCE) est un philosophe chinois durant la période des royaumes combattants.
Texte anglais à traduire :
An early hedonist, ethical egoist, or sophist alternative to Confucian thought, Yang Zhu's surviving ideas appear primarily in chapter seven of the Liezi (列子).
The philosophies attributed to Yang Zhu, as presented in Liezi, clash with the primarily Daoist influence of the rest of the work. Of particular note is his recognition of self-preservation (weiwo 为我), which has led him to be credited with "the discovery of the body"[1]. In comparison with other Chinese philosophical giants, Yang Zhu has recently faded into relative obscurity, but his influence in his own time was so widespread that Mencius (孟子) described his philosophies along with the antithetical ideas of Mozi (墨子) as "floods and wild animals that ravage the land" (Liu: 1967: 358).
Mencius's view of Yang Zhu
According to Mencius, “Yang’s principle is, ‘Each for himself’ — which does not acknowledge the claims of the sovereign. Mo’s principle is, ‘To love all equally’ — which does not acknowledge the peculiar affection due to a father. To acknowledge neither king nor father is to be in the state of the beast. If their principles are not stopped, and the principles of Confucius set forth, their perverse speaking will delude the people, and stop up the path of benevolence and righteousness” (Durant: 1963: 681).
Mencius criticized Yang Zhu as one “who would not pluck a hair from his body to benefit the world.” However, Yang Zhu emphasized that self-impairment, symbolized by the plucking of one’s hair, would in no way lead to others’ benefit. Although he would not toil for others, he would not harm them for personal gain or advantage, which should be avoided as external to one’s nature (Liu: 1967: 358). Yang Zhu taught, “If everyone does not harm a single hair, and if everyone does not benefit the world, the world will be well governed of itself.” In other words, everyone should mind their own business, neither giving nor taking from others, and be content with what he has, and in that way one will be happy and also contribute to the welfare of the world (Liu: 1967: 358).
Nature
Although his detractors present him as an hedonist, epicurean, and egoist, Yang Zhu was, according to contemporary sources, an early Daoist teacher identified with a new philosophical trend toward naturalism as the best means of preserving life in a decadent and turbulent world (Liu: 1967: 358).
All beings, thought Yang Zhu, have the survival instinct, but man, the highest of creatures, lacking the strength of animals, must rely on intelligence to survive rather than strength. He felt that strength was despicable when used against others (Liu: 1967: 358).
Life
Yang Zhu directed his thought to attainment of the spiritual self through self-expression and finding contentment. Man craves the pleasures of the world and gratification of desire through such things as fine food and beautiful objects; to yield to these cravings for self-gratification is to seek the original spiritual nature (Liu: 1967: 358).
Death
Yang Zhu agreed with the search for happiness, but he felt one should not strive for life beyond one’s allotted span, nor should one unnecessarily shorten one’s life. Death is as natural as life, Yang Zhu felt, and therefore should be viewed with neither fear nor awe. Funeral ceremonies are of no worth to the deceased. “Dead people are not concerned whether their bodies are buried in coffins, cremated, dumped in water or in a ditch; nor whether the body is dressed in fine clothes. What matters most is that before death strikes one lives life to the fullest” (Liu: 1967: 358).
Summary
"Life is full of suffering, and its chief purpose is pleasure. There is no god and no after-life; men are the helpless puppets of the blind natural forces that made them, and that gave them their unchosen ancestry and their inalienable character. The wise man will accept this fate without complaint, but will not be fooled by all the nonsense of Confucius and Mozi about inherent virtue, universal love, and a good name: morality is a deception practised upon the simple by the clever; universal love is the delusion of children, who do not know the universal enmity that forms the law of life; and a good name is a posthumous bauble which the fools who paid so dearly for it cannot enjoy. In life the good suffer like the bad, and the wicked seem to enjoy themselves more keenly than the good” (Quoted by Durant: 1963:679).
Notes
- [Emerson, Jonn J. Yang Chu's Discovery of the Body Philosophy East and West, Volume 46-4, October 1996, pp. 533-566]
Naissance | |
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Décès | |
Activité |
Précurseur hédoniste, sophiste, égoïste éthique se détournant du courant Confucéen, des bribes de la pensée de Yang Zhu apparaissent dans le chapitre 7 de Liezi
Il diverge du taoïsme, ces idées contrairement à ses contemporains n'a pas effectué de percée et reste relativement obscure mais son influence sur la philosophie chinoise jadis semblait être omniprésente.
Mort
Yang Zhu acquiesce avec la recherche du bonheur, mais il sent que l'Unique ne doit pas s'acharner à vivre plus que la période naturelle dont-il dispose, ou ne devrait, sans nécessité, raccourcir la vie d'autrui .La mort est aussi naturel que la vie.Yang Zhu tomba, et derechef il ne doit point être craint ou vénéré.Les cérémonies funéraires n'ont pas de valeur à l’égard des trépassés.Les gens morts ne sont pas concernés à propos de leur corps qu'il soit enfouis dans un cercueil, brûler, jeter à l'eau, balancer; de même à ce que le corps soit paru de chics vêtements.Ce qui importe, c'est que la mort arrive à celui qui aura, déjà vivant, mené sa vie pleinement (Liu 1967:358)
Résumé
"La vie est pleine de souffrances, et sa principale essence relève du plaisir. Il n'y a pas de Dieu ni de vie après la mort ; les hommes sont des pantins aveuglés par les forces de la Nature qui les ont engendrées, et cela leur a donné une lignée, qui leur est imposée et une individuelle inaliénation . Le sage acceptera son sort sans se plaindre,mais il ne sera pas dupe de tous les sornettes de Confucius et Mozi concernant l'inhérence de la vertu, de l'amour universelle, et d'un bon nom (position social?) : La morale est une déception des rusés sur les simples; l'amour universel tient d'une désillusion infantile ,c'est-à-dire ceux qui ne connaissent pas l'universelle hostilité formant la loi Naturelle; et un bon nom n'est qu'un titre post mortem que les fous ayant cher payer ne peuvent jouir . Vivant le bon souffre comme le mauvais, et les perfides(décadents?) semblent prendre aigrement plus de plaisir que les bons”
Voir aussi
Références
- Graham, A.C., Disputers of the Tao: Philosophical Argument in Ancient China (Open Court 1993). (ISBN 0-8126-9087-7)
- Will Durant, Our Oriental Heritage, MJF Books 1963. (ISBN 1-56731-012-5)
- Liu Wu-Chi, Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Vol. 8, Macmillan Inc. 1967.
- Portail de la philosophie
- Portail du monde chinois