Zhuang Zhou is the Taoist philosopher traditionally credited as the author of the Zhuangzi.
Zhuang Zhou, also known as Zhuangzi, lived during the Warring States period, traditionally dated to about 369–286 BCE. The book named after him is one of the two major classical texts of Taoism, alongside the Tao Te Ching. It uses parables, dialogues, humor, dreams, and paradoxes to question rigid assumptions about knowledge, language, identity, and social convention.
The traditional attribution does not mean every passage was written personally by Zhuang Zhou. The received Zhuangzi contains 33 chapters, and scholars commonly distinguish an “Inner Chapters” core from later material. The Inner Chapters are most closely associated with Zhuang Zhou.
Zhuangzi is both a person’s name and the title of the book. English translations may render the philosopher’s name as Chuang Tzu or Zhuang Zhou.