Yang Chu's Garden of Pleasure

Yang Chu’s Garden of Pleasure

Yang Chu’s Garden of Pleasure
The Yang Chu chapter of the Lieh Tzu (Book 7) by Lieh Tzu
Translated by Professor Anton Forke (1867-1944),
with an introduction by Hugh Cranmer-Byng

At the Court of Liang at the period of Yang Chu, about 300 B.C., the philosophers were
treated as guests of the reigning king, who reserved for them lodging and maintenance,
and encouraged all who had any pretense to the pursuit of truth and wisdom. Whether or
not Yang Chu was actually a native of the Wei State, or whether he came there drawn by
the attraction of a critical and unrivalled audience, it is at least certain that he settled
there as small proprietor, probably in the reign of King Hwei, and continued there till his
death, about 250 B.C.

One may imagine a condition of life in many respects somewhat analogous to the life of
Epicurus in his famous Athenian Garden. To the philosopher of pleasure and contentment
came pupils and disciples, discourses were held in much the same way as at an identical
period discourses were held in the garden at Athens, and it is to these discourses,
memorised and recorded by his favourite pupil Meng-sun-Yang, that we most probably
owe the single fragment of the teaching of Yang Chu that remains, a fragment complete
and explicit enough to enable us to form a clear estimate of his teaching and philosophy.
(From the Introduction by Hugh Cranmer-Byng)

Read by Chris Masterson. Total running time: 01:36:42.

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Cover picture by Yun Shouping (d. 1690). Copyright expired in US, Canada, EU and all countries with author’s life
+70 yrs laws. Cover design by Janette Brown. This design is in the public domain.

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