Views

Menciuss view of Yang Zhu

According to Mencius, 「Yang』s principle is, 『Each for himself』—which does not acknowledge the claims of the sovereign. Mo's principle is, 『To love all equally』—which does not acknowledge the peculiar affection due to a father. To acknowledge neither king nor father is to be in the state of the beast. If their principles are not stopped, and the principles of Confucius set forth, their perverse speaking will delude the people, and stop up the path of benevolence and righteousness」.

Mencius criticized Yang Zhu as one 「who would not pluck a hair from his body to benefit the world.」 However, Yang Zhu emphasized that self-impairment, symbolized by the plucking of one's hair, would in no way lead to others』 benefit. Although he would not toil for others, he would not harm them for personal gain or advantage, which should be avoided as external to one's nature.

Yang Zhu taught, 「If everyone does not harm a single hair, and if everyone does not benefit the world, the world will be well governed of itself.」 In other words, everyone should mind their own business, neither giving nor taking from others, and be content with what he has, and in that way one will be happy and also contribute to the welfare of the world. When personal interests conflict with collective interests or national interests, more respect and protection of personal interests should be taken. On the surface, this seems to be unfavorable to society and the collective, and it is also the most vulnerable to questioning and criticism. In fact, on the contrary, this has safeguarded both personal interests and social interests. Because the foundation of society exists for people, not people to exist for society.

Philosophy of nature

Although his detractors present him as a hedonist, Epicurean, and egoist, Yang Zhu was, according to contemporary sources, an early Daoist teacher identified with a new philosophical trend toward naturalism as the best means of preserving life in a decadent and turbulent world.

All beings, thought Yang Zhu, have the survival instinct, but man, the highest of creatures, lacking the strength of animals, must rely on intelligence to survive rather than strength. He felt that strength was despicable when used against others.

Philosophy of life

Yang Zhu directed his thought to attainment of the spiritual self through self-expression and finding contentment.

Henri Maspero described Yang's philosophy as "a mixture of pessimism and fatalism". The Yang Zhu chapter of Liezi says:

One hundred years is the limit of a long life. Not one in a thousand ever attains it. Suppose there is one such person. Infancy and feeble old age take almost half of his time. Rest during sleep at night and what is wasted during the waking hours in the daytime take almost half of that. Pain and sickness, sorrow and suffering, death (of relatives) and worry and fear take almost half of the rest. In the ten and some years that is left, I reckon, there is not one moment in which we can be happy, at ease without worry. This being the case, what is life for? What pleasure is there? For beauty and abundance, that is all. For music and sex, that is all. But the desire for beauty and abundance cannot always be satisfied, and music and sex cannot always be enjoyed. Besides, we are prohibited by punishment and exhorted by rewards, pushed by fame and checked by law. We busily strive for the empty praise which is only temporary, and seek extra glory that would come after death. Being alone ourselves, we pay great care to what our ears hear and what our eyes see, and are much concerned with what is right or wrong for our bodies and minds. Thus we lose the great happiness of the present and cannot give ourselves free rein for a single moment. What is the difference between that and many chains and double prisons?

Philosophy of death

Yang Zhu agreed with the search for happiness, but he felt one should not strive for life beyond one's allotted span, nor should one unnecessarily shorten one's life. Death is as natural as life, Yang Zhu felt, and therefore should be viewed with neither fear nor awe. Funeral ceremonies are of no worth to the deceased. 「Dead people are not concerned whether their bodies are buried in coffins, cremated, dumped in water or in a ditch; nor whether the body is dressed in fine clothes. What matters most is that before death strikes one lives life to the fullest」.

生平

在先秦各家的著述如《孟子》、《荀子》、《莊子》、《韓非子》、《呂氏春秋》等，他的名字曾多次出現。他的行蹤多在魯、宋、梁一帶。據《莊子》記載，他曾經見過老子。其活動的年代，比墨子稍後，而又早於孟子。楊朱學說在當時相當著名，但早已散佚不存，散見於《孟子》、《列子》、《莊子》、《呂氏春秋》、《韓非子》、《淮南子》等書中。如《列子·楊朱》篇云：楊朱曰：「伯成子高不以一毫利物，舍國而隱耕。大禹不以一身自利，一體偏枯。古之人損一毫利天下不與也，悉天下奉一身不取也。人人不損一毫，人人不利天下，天下治矣。」

楊朱學派屬道家的激進派，《孟子·滕文公》篇云：「楊朱、墨翟之言盈天下，天下之言，不歸楊，即歸墨。」可知春秋之世，楊朱之學與墨家齊驅，並屬先秦流行天下的學說。孟子說墨翟、楊朱「無父無君，是禽獸也」，是憤怒之詞，感性的攻訐大過于理性分析。但孟子也說，「逃墨必歸於楊，逃楊必歸於儒」，簡稱「逃墨歸楊，逃楊歸儒」，所以許多後人詮釋，孟子認為「楊近墨遠」，楊朱思想較接近於儒家思想。

《呂氏春秋》中的《重己》、《貴生》、《本性》、《情慾》、《盡數》等篇都受到了楊朱學派的影響，探討了愛己、利己中的智慧與包含的「道」就是道理也就是意義。

思想內容

許多人認為楊朱曾和老子會面，曾受到老子思想的影響。後來，有感於動亂的環境，困惱於越來越大的社會壓力，於是棄老子學說中的部份內容，朝著「養生」、「存性」的方向不斷深化，發展成以「為我」為中心的思想體系。楊朱的思想在戰國初年一度風行，與儒、墨兩家形成鼎足而三的形勢。

• 首先，從其中心要旨而論，楊朱學說實際是以「我」作為自然的中心。他認為人的生命，往往由於外界的蒙蔽、組織所拘束，因而無法明察生命的真象，使個人失去主體性。於是楊朱主張探求內在自我安身立命的境界，以擺脫社會的束縛，偏向於個人人性的追求。他認為只有重視人類本有的自然性，人才會快樂，才能「全生（性）保真」。

• 其次，在政治方面，楊朱既然反對社會的束縛，所以在政治上也反對強權獨佔的霸道，主張「天下為公」，要「公天下之身，公天下之物。」，就是強調公平公正，也就是強調追求公共利益然後人人身份地位相對比較平等還有每個人的權利都有得到保障，他認為一切外在的道德倫理法律法令刑法，皆不可妨害一個人的自由。政府只是象徵式的，不可對個人過份約束。由此可見楊朱的政治觀是自由的，與現代自由主義有共同之處。

• 第三，在人與人的關係上，楊朱極力主張個人的「為我」主義。他說：「古之人損一毫利天下，不與也；悉天下奉一身，不取也。人人不損一毫，人人不利天下，天下治矣。」他的意思是說社會是由各個「我」所組成，如果人我不相損、不相侵、不相給，那麼天下便無竊位奪權之人，便無化公為私之輩，這樣社會便能太平。

• 第四，在對生命的態度上，楊朱既重說「全性保真」，因而重視「貴生」、「樂生」。他認為人生短促，故在生時必須享盡人生之樂，所以要充份縱慾也就是要充份發洩慾望。在《列子》的楊朱篇中，他要求「豐屋、美服、厚味、姣色。有此四者，何求於外？」此種重生、貴生的激進思想，被認為是反對儒家剋制慾望的禮法道德，又放棄了墨家的禁慾及道家老子的寡慾，傾向自我中心主義。

道教

道教尊南華微妙真人莊周、沖虛真人列圄寇、通玄真人辛文子、洞靈真人康桑楚，稱為「四大真人」，加上文始真人尹喜、質初真人徐甲、貴生真人楊朱，則稱「老君門下七真」。