On the Human Condition in the Zhuangzi

Abstract: This article argues that xing 性 in the Zhuangzi 莊子 should not be understood as “human nature” but as “human condition.” It introduces the problem of interpreting xing as “human nature” by surveying relevant English-language literature before detailing the interpretive paradigm of Chinese accounts, showing how the latter’s appropriation of the language of substance ontology hinders an accurate portrayal of Daoist xing . It argues that xing should be interpreted in connection to the concept of ming 命 understood as contingent, natural, and temporal “external conditions.” It argues that xing are “internal conditions” that function in conjunction with ming as “external conditions” where “habit” ( xi 習) mediates their interaction.