The Department of Philosophy Colloquium Series Presents

On the Political Philosophy of the Zhuangzi and Opening of a Feminist Political Space

by Dr. Jin Liu

Date: Friday June 27, 2025
Time: 2:30pm
Location: Sakamaki Hall C-308

This essay investigates some fundamental questions in Zhuangzi’s political philosophy and explores its significance to the opening of a feminist political space. According to Zhuangzi, a good society must be able to keep the dao in the world so that the nature of a I I beings and humans can be well kept. What does keeping the dao in the world mean? What is the original nature of humans? What is a good way to govern a state according to the Zhuangzi? I try to answer these questions. The first part investigates the alienation of humans in the Zhuangzi. The second part explores the original nature in the Zhuangzi. The third part examines what constitutes good governance for Zhuangzi. I use the example of the Mosuo matriarchal society to illustrate Zhuangzi’s ideal society free of oppression and dominance, wherein equality and
freedom of the social members are realized through communitarian work. Due to its advocacy for equality and freedom of all beings, in the last part I examine the significance of Zhuangzi’s political philosophy to the opening of a feminist political space.

Dr. Jing Liu is an Associate Professor at the Department of Philosophy and Social Development at Shandong University. She earned her MA and PhD from the Department of Philosophy at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa.