Zhuangzi glossary

 

Jie Yu

接輿 Jiēyú, known as 楚狂 chǔkuáng, "the madman of Chu," is famous from Analects 18.05: "Jie Yu, the madman of Chu sang as he passed Confucius. 'Oh Phoenix, oh Phoenix, how your virtue has died! The past can't be corrected, but the future can still be sought. Stop! Stop! Those who govern today are in danger!' Confucius got down and wanted to talk to him, but he hurried off and ran away so he didn't get to talk to him." According to Cheng Xuanying, he feigned madness in order to avoid taking office and then fled to the mountains when the king of Chu kept asking him. He appears in Zhuangzi 1:05, 4:08, and 7:02It may be debatable exactly what he was saying in these different places but he seems to have been a respected dissenter.