SOURCE: "Monism," in A Brief History of Early Chinese Philosophy, Probsthain & Co., 1914, pp. 25-33.

In the following excerpt, Suzuki characterizes Lieh Tzu as belonging to the mystical and monistic tradition of Taoism, which stood in opposition to the more practical Confucianism.

… There were not lacking, however, in the Ante-Ch'in period certain tendencies that counterbalanced the ultra-practical, positivistic train of thought as represented in Confucianism. Though these tendencies did not attain a full manifestation at any time in the history of Chinese thought, they showed a strong front at this incipient stage to their antagonistic systems. It was quite unfortunate that they were hampered in their development, and had from time to time to lose sight of their essential qualities. Probably this was in the nature of their system. They owe their origin mainly to the teachings of the Tao Teh Ching,²² and may be characterized as monistic, mystic...