The last term in particular, being the standard term in the
Laozi, appears much more frequently than "real person." But the term
saintly person had the disadvantage, at a time when the battle between the different schools of philosophy had reached its pitch, of referring also to the Confucian ideal person. In the
Laozi itself, in fact, it refers indifferently to the ruler of men and the person who, even if he does not rule, is worthy of ruling. By Zhuangzi's time the feudal system of the Zhou dynasty (c. 1150 to 256 BCE) was in its final agony, and interstate relationships were characterized by ruse and violence. This political context forced philosophers to choose between "man" and "nature," between politics and integrity, and the term
saintly person came increasingly to serve only as the designation of the Confucian (that is, political) ideal. In its place the Daoists put the "real person." This person does not yet, by definition, refuse all contact with human society and politics, but if he should happen to "get involved," he will not allow himself to "feel involved."
In chapter 21 of the Zhuangzi we thus read of Sun Shu Ao, who had "thrice been named prime minister without considering it glorious and thrice been dismissed without looking distressed." Someone asks Sun Shu Ao whether he has some special way of "using his heart." "Why should I be any better than anyone else?" he responds.
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