Rewriting as Reception: Gary Snyder’s Representation of Chuang Tzu in His Eco-Poetic Literature

Abstract

Authored by the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi, Chuang Tzu is another culturally significant Taoist canon, aside from Tao Te Ching. Due to its essential role in the development of Chinese philosophy and literature, Chuang Tzu has drawn the attention of sinologists worldwide to introduce this oriental masterpiece to their cultures and influenced the local literati. Burton Watson’s high-quality rendition The Complete Work of Chuang Tzu(1968) has been well-received by the renowned American poet Gary Snyder, who, based on Watson’s translation, rewrote Chuang Tzu in his eco-poetic literature to show his agreement with Zhuangzi’s philosophies. Most of scholars studying Snyder, however, seem to ignore his reception of Chuang Tzu and are more inclined to credit Tao Te Ching alone for his familiarity with Taoism. Thus, this study explores Snyder’s understanding of Chuang Tzu. Borrowing André Lefevere’s concept of rewriting and seeing it as a method of reception, this article conducts a comparative analysis between Snyder’s compositions and (Watson’s translation of) Chuang Tzu and investigates how Zhuangzi’s philosophies were rewritten and interpreted in Snyder’s context. It is found that Snyder rewrote Chuang Tzu mainly through commentary and imitation, and that some ideas were embraced directly while others were redefined and repositioned.