but goes directly to the problems of governing well. (Not, we may note, "good government" in a theoretical sense, but sensible administration. There is no Chinese counterpart to such Greek political speculation as that devoted to the relative merits of democracy, aristocracy, and monarchy.) All the major threads of Chinese philosophy are supremely practical.
With this held in mind, we may inquire more closely into one of the later "outer chapters" of Chuang-tzu, specifically the "discourse on swords." This was Chapter 30 of the traditionally collection of Chuang-tzu; Graham groups it under the so-called Yangist miscellany (pp. 244-47). The Yangists were a distinct school of philosophy that emerged for a time in the classical era, but failed to establish itself as a dominant school of Chinese thought; the central premise of the Yangists was the physical protection of the self from harm (pp. 221-24).
The main outward point of the discourse on swords is a rejection of swordplay and violence as useful pursuits; it is no doubt for this reason that Graham groups it with Yangist works. It also has a moral tone--the story concerns calling a king back to his duty from indulgence in watching gladiatorial shows--that gives it a somewhat Confucian flavor. In his headnotes to the passage, Graham remarks (p. 244) that "of all the chapters in Chuang-tzu this is the one most remote from Taoism. In so saying, Graham doubtless has in mind that the role that the character of Chuang-tzu plays in the story, as in effect a councillor calling a king back to his duty--is not a role we could readily imagine the historical author of the seven Inner Chapters as having performed.
This analysis of the discourse on swords will argue that there is a distinctly Taoist flavor both to the way in which the character of Chuang-tzu presents his argument, and to the argument itself. In making his case to the king, Chuang-tzu does not, strictly speakin...