Walking and Wandering: Aristotle’s Peripatos (Περίπατος) and Zhuangzi’s Xiāoyáo (逍遙)

The modern Chinese translation of Aristotle’s Peripatētikoi as xiāoyáo (逍遙), a foundational term in the Zhuangzi, brings two independently developed philosophical traditions into unexpected proximity. Such a convergence raises a fundamental question: how can walking and wandering contribute to spiritual transcendence? This article argues that, in both Aristotle and Zhuangzi, walking and wandering are not merely pedagogical techniques or literary metaphors but forms of bodily activity through which spiritual transformation unfolds. For Aristotle, philosophical walking develops through dialogue and habituation toward the contemplative activity of theōria, through which human beings participate in divine rationality while remaining grounded in the conditions of finite existence. For Zhuangzi, wandering unfolds as a graded movement from the natural world through qi (氣) to spiritual wandering and ultimate xiāoyáo. Bodily activity thus develops into a mode of freedom without dependence, in which the human being becomes attuned to the transformations of the Dao. Despite significant differences in their philosophical and cosmological orientations, both traditions understand freedom as a dynamic process grounded in walking and wandering. More specifically, freedom in both traditions is realised through recurrent movement between reflection and practical engagement, through dialogue and responsiveness to others and the world, and through bodily existence as the indispensable condition of spiritual transformation. By comparing Aristotle and Zhuangzi through the shared theme of walking and wandering, this article contributes to cross-cultural dialogue between Greek thought and Chinese philosophy by illuminating both their affinities and their philosophical differences.