ZHUANGZI

Zhuangzi is a Chinese Taoist philosopher. He wrote the ancient religious text named after him, Zhuangzi, which is one of the key foundational texts of Taoism.

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The Zhuangzi had mostly positive portrayals of animals, and almost every single page of the text had a reference to an animal. It explores the link between animals and humans, in terms of being able to connect with nature. Zhuangzi states that the highest level of living life as a human would be to reach the point of self-transcendence, where one is able to fully immerse themselves into nature.

Zhuangzi also states that he had a dream of being a butterfly. When he woke up as a butterfly in his dream, he could not tell whether he was a butterfly who dreamt of being a human or if he is a human dreaming of being a butterfly. His dream illustrates how closely interconnected the minds of animals and humans are, to the point where it is hard to distinguish between the two. This idea brings humans closer to nature.

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The text also advocated that the only way to resolve world conflict and attain world peace is to go back to being one with wild, as we humans were in the past.

 

TAO TE CHING

Laozi was another famous Chinese Taoist philosopher who wrote the ancient Taoist religious text, the Tao Te Ching. The Tao Te Ching is the other key foundational text of Taoism. As opposed to Zhuangzi, the Tao Te Ching largely portrays animals negatively, as the dangerous enemies of humans.

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For example, one of the verses reads, “Wasps and scorpions, snakes and vipers do not sting him, Birds of prey and fierce beasts do not seize him”. These references mostly show how animals are threats to humans, and which paints a negative image of wildlife and nature in the readers and followers of the religion. This thickens the line drawn between man and the wild, which dilutes the connection between humans and the environment.

Hence, while the above two texts are the founding texts of Taoism, the former shows and encourages the positive relationship between mankind and nature, supporting the conservation of the environment. Meanwhile, the latter demonstrates the negative interconnections, which could downplay the pro-environmental sentiments in the readers and the followers of Taoism.

 

Next, I explore the animal references made in the Bible that depict links between nature and Christianity, and how they may influence the values and attitudes of humans towards the environment. Click here to continue to the page.