Guo Xiang’s account of ideal personhood : Self-fulfillment without the admiration of sages

Guo Xiang’s philosophy of life, presented in the Commentary on the Zhuangzi, is sometimes characterized as advocating that people should follow their inborn qualities and be content with their given social positions. It is thus criticized as implying a form of passivism and conformism. This paper analyzes Guo’s account of ideal personhood and argues that although Guo does not think that everyone should become a sage or mystic, he allows everyone engage in self-cultivation. This is because one is advised to attain self-fulfillment through following one’s spontaneous tendency (xing 性), which is not equal to inborn qualities and does not preclude learning. Furthermore, since only the existence of sage ruler can ensure that people attain self-fulfillment completely, in reality people are not required to conform to the status quo.