評Kim-Chong Chong, Zhuangzi’s Critique of the Confucians: Blinded by the Human

Here I will briefly review the chapters and content of Kim-Chong Chong’slatest book, entitled Zhuangzi’s Critique of the Confucians: Blinded by theHuman. My critique of the book focuses on what I find to be missing or onlyimplied in the work. In particular I will focus on the neurophysiology ofZhuangzi’s meditation or breathing exercises that comprise a bi-modal or nondualperception of the world and human life. I propose that Zhuangzi’s use ofmetaphor is closely linked to the brain’s learning patterns by embodied analogyand comparison. The non-dual logic that Zhuangzi employs plays an importantrole in his worldview and the way of life that he advocates. The correlativethinking or non-dual logic offers a unique vision that complements the breathingexercises and flow experience of achieving a sort of freedom, release or cuttinglose (jie 解), by living beyond the limitations of the Confucian way of moral,social and political order. Chong’s excellent and comprehensive scholarship willcontinue to stimulate debate on the meaning, purpose and significance ofZhuangzi’s critique of the Confucians for some time to come.