장자(莊子)·제물론(齊物論)은 3천 여자로 이루어진 소박한 대화와 자연현상, 몽 환(夢幻)의 경지를 드나드는 언어를 통해 깊은 철학의 이치와 자연이 가르치는 자유 평등(自由平等)의 사상을 일깨워 준다. ｢제물론(齊物論)｣은 근본의 추구에 대한 종합 적인 문장으로 장자(莊子)철학과 도가(道家)사상의 정수(精髓)라고 할 수 있다. 노 장(老莊)사상은 자기주장과 그것의 실천을 강조하는 유·묵가(儒·墨家)와는 다른 도가 (道家)철학의 초탈(超脫)을 내세움으로써 형이상학(形而上學)적인 관점으로 부터 사 회문제에 대한 해답을 제시하고 있다. 장자(莊子) 사상연구는 소요유(逍遙遊), 도 (道), 제통(齊通) 등에 집중되어 있으면서 ‘물(物)’이라는 요소와 깊이 연관되어 있다.

Confucianism and Taoism both played very important roles in the history of China. On the whole, such a trend can be found that when the nation is united and the society is stable, Confucianism would prevail and dominate the political orientation. However, Taoism would become the mainstream of social ideology and the main theme of thought together with Buddhism when the nation is in the state of war and there is social unrest. Therefore, it’s obviously necessary to figure out what the characteristics of the two schools are. Confucianism emphasizes on “Difference”, however “Equality” is an important part of Taoism. The refined two terms probably reflect the difference in expounding ideas and practicing theoretical path between them. Confucian politeness rule “being harmonious then respectful” (亲亲尊尊) standardizes Chinese millenarian civilization. Since the existence of Confucianism, it has great influence on each dynasty. It, meanwhile, explicitly specifies a class difference between the young and the old, and between the lower class and the upper class, which is also an equidifferent logic paradigm. On the other side, it appears that Chuang Tzu’s “On Leveling All Things”(齐物论) is unruly uninhibited. However, the “Equality” philosophy builds strong inner strength in a large context and it also has great soft influence on the social framework which is composed of Confucianism on the surface and legalism beneath the surface. Up to now, the intertexture between “Equality” and “Difference” can probably still contribute to the rebuilding of the Golden Rule by means of their distinctive characteristic of thought and profound historical accumulation.