Human and natural : the function of the Myriad Things (Wanwu 萬物) in the Zhuangzi 莊子

Lacertosa, Massimiliano (author)

This paper analyses the function of the myriad things (wanwu 萬物) in the Zhuangzi 莊子, arguing that the text’s conception of the “myriad things’ transformation (wanwu zhi hua 萬物之化)” destabilises anthropocentrism and reconfigures the human-nature relationship. Through close analysis of key passages, I elucidate the ways in which the Zhuangzi’s non-hierarchical framing of wanwu subverts materialist paradigms that privilege human agency over the nonhuman world. Central to my thesis is the paradox that the absence of environmental preoccupations in the text enables its radical decentring of anthropocentrism. This aligns with decolonial critiques of the nature/culture binary, shifting ethical responsibility away from preservationist approaches towards refusal of self-harm through unobstructive action (wuwei 無為). Such attunement prevents injury both to the self and the relational continuum of wanwu, fostering adaptation to constant transformation. Consequently, the Zhuangzi offers a pluralistic framework for rethinking human-world relations beyond anthropocentric paradigms. It grounds ethics in participatory responsiveness to wanwu’s irreducible plurality, positioning adaptability—rather than domination—as the cornerstone of coexistence.

• Language: English
• Keywords: anthropocentrism, nature, Chinese philosophy, Daoism, decolonisation
• Organization: FF - Faculty of Arts
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 01.01.2026
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: Str. 331-348
• Numbering: Vol. 14 (30), 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-187599
• UDC: 1
• ISSN on article: 2232-5131
• DOI: 10.4312/as.2026.14.1.331-348
• COBISS.SI-ID: 290860803
• Publication date in RUL: 11.09.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Asian studies = Azijske študije
• Publisher: Založba Univerze v Ljubljani
• ISSN: 2232-5131
• COBISS.SI-ID: 265206272

Licences

• License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
• Description: This Creative Commons license is very similar to the regular Attribution license, but requires the release of all derivative works under this same license.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian

Abstract

V tem članku avtor analizira funkcijo desettisočih stvari (wanwu 萬物) v Zhuangziju 莊子 in zagovarja tezo, da pojem »preobrazbe neštetih stvari« (wanwu zhi hua 萬物之化) v tem besedilu spodkopava antropocentrizem ter ponuja drugačno razmerje med človekom in naravo. Z natančno analizo ključnih odlomkov pokaže, kako nehierarhična zasnova wanwu v Zhuangziju negira materialistične paradigme, ki dajejo prednost človeškemu delovanju pred nečloveškim svetom. Osrednje izhodišče razprave je navidezno protislovje, ki se v Zhuangziju kaže v tem, da prav odsotnost okoljevarstvenih skrbi omogoča radikalno razsrediščenje antropocentrizma. To se sklada s postkolonialnimi kritikami binarne opozicije narava/kultura, saj preusmerja etično odgovornost od ohranjanja k zavrnitvi samopoškodovanja prek nedelovanja (wuwei 無為). Takšna uglašenost preprečuje poškodbo človeškega sebstva kot relacijskega kontinuuma wanwu in hkrati spodbuja fleksibilno prilagajanje nenehnim preobrazbam. V tem okviru Zhuangzi ponuja pluralistični okvir za ponovni razmislek o odnosih med človekom in svetom onkraj antropocentričnih paradigem. Tovrstno etiko utemeljuje v takšnem odzivanju na nerešljivo mnogoterost wanwu, ki temelji na zavesti dejstva, da smo vsi njegov del. Poudarja tudi, da je treba namesto prevlade kot temelj sobivanja postaviti prilagodljivost.

• Keywords: antropocentrizem, narava, kitajska filozofija, daoizem, dekolonizacija