Yan Wei: "The Metaphor of the Fuel and the Fire": Zhuangzi's View on Life and Death and His Atheistic Thought
The parable of "fuel and fire" originates from the end of the "Essentials of Cultivating Life" chapter of the Zhuangzi: "Though the fingers may wear out in providing fuel, the fire is passed on, and we do not know when it will be extinguished." This is a significant proposition in Zhuangzi’s philosophy. Interpretations by scholars of the Zhuangzi have been varied, complex, and difficult to unify. The mainstream view posits that this metaphor refers to the relationship between form and spirit. By investigating the central themes of the Zhuangzi and combing through historical commentaries, I argue that the "fuel and fire" metaphor is actually a representation of Zhuangzi’s outlook on life and death, and that it contains atheist thought.
I. Various Misinterpretations of the "Fuel and Fire" Metaphor
Exactly what the "fuel and fire" metaphor means remains an enigma in the history of Zhuangzi studies. The crux of the problem lies in the understanding of what the "fuel" (xin) and "fire" (huo) symbolize. The interpretations provided by various schools are diverse, but they can be broadly summarized into several categories:
First, many use "fuel and fire" as an analogy for the relationship between the physical form (xing) and the spirit (shen). This is the most popular explanation in the history of Zhuangzi scholarship. However, the "spirit" in this relationship must be further specified: "spirit" can mean pure consciousness/vitality, or it can mean a substantial soul. Pan Guiming argues that the boundary between these two meanings in the traditional form-spirit debate is blurred, but "comparatively speaking, the meaning of a substantial soul seems to be used more frequently." Thus, those who compare "fuel and fire" to form and spirit draw from both meanings, though primarily the latter. Those who take "spirit" to mean pure consciousness argue that the metaphor refers to the cultivation of the "master" of life—spirit. For instance, Wang Xiaoyu states: "Spirit residing in form is like fire residing in fuel... a practitioner of cultivation must treat the spirit as the host and the form as the guest." Explaining the metaphor from the perspective of psycho-physical cultivation clearly adopts the "pure spirit" sense, referring to the refinement of the human mind. Many more scholars, however, view "spirit" as a soul, including Qing dynasty scholars Lin Yunming, Liu Fengbao, and Wang Xianqian, as well as modern scholars Xuan Ying, Wang Shumin, Wu Linbo, and Guan Feng. For example, Wang Xianqian says: "Though the form passes away, the spirit remains forever... the fuel has an end, but the fire is inexhaustible." Guan Feng also writes: "When the fuel is exhausted the fire is passed on; the soul does not die." This represents the "substantial soul" interpretation, understanding Zhuangzi's metaphor as the immortality of the soul even as the physical body perishes.
Second, some use "fuel and fire" to represent the relationship between "life" (sheng) and "knowledge" (zhi). This is a result of reading the opening and closing sentences of the "Essentials of Cultivating Life" together. The chapter begins with: "Our life has a limit, but knowledge has no limit." Xi Tong and Liu Wu are among those who link this contrast between life and knowledge to the fuel-fire metaphor. Xi Tong says: "The fingers reaching their limit in assisting the fuel represents the limited; the fire being passed on represents the limitless. This analogy reinforces the meaning of the chapter's opening." Liu Wu adds: "Fuel symbolizes life, fire symbolizes knowledge, and the fuel passing the fire symbolizes using life to follow knowledge." This identifies the metaphor with the finitude of life and the infinitude of knowledge.
Third, some compare "fuel and fire" to the relationship between "form" (xing) and "nature" (xing). Hanshan Deqing and Zhong Tai held this view. Hanshan said: "It means that while the form transforms, nature remains forever, just as the fuel is exhausted but the fire remains." Zhong Tai likewise stated: "When [the hand] is on the fuel, it reaches a limit; when it is in the fire, it moves on and can be passed on endlessly. The beginning says ‘one can complete their years,’ and here it says ‘not knowing its end.’ That which ends is the years (longevity), while that which does not end is nature." This posits the metaphor as the relationship between the physical body and human nature.
Fourth, the metaphor is used to symbolize the transmission of the Dao of culture. This aligns with the modern usage of the idiom "to pass the torch" (xin huǒ xiāng chuán), referring to the transmission of a craft or teaching from master to disciple. For example, Qian Mu wrote: "'Fire' is merely a function with visible form; it is what people today call 'civilization' or 'culture,' or perhaps an abstract 'Dao'." This treats the metaphor as the unceasing continuity of cultural heritage.
Looking at these four perspectives, I believe none represent Zhuangzi’s original meaning. First, the popularity of the form-spirit analogy is likely not based on a textual reading of the Zhuangzi, but is rather a result of influence from the "Discourse on Form and Spirit" ([1]) during the Han, Wei, and Six Dynasties periods. Starting with the Eastern Han atheist philosopher Huan Tan, Zhuangzi’s metaphor was appropriated by both sides of the "annihilation of the spirit" debate. It became a theoretical weapon for proponents of the "immortality of the spirit" (mostly Buddhists), represented by Huiyuan and Zheng Xianzhi, against those who argued for the spirit's extinction. From then on, the metaphor was linked to the form-spirit relationship, influencing countless commentators. The fact that some scholars directly used Buddhist concepts of form and spirit to explain the metaphor is strong proof: when Lu Xixing interpreted "fuel" and "fire," he said: "Fuel symbolizes the Four Elements ([2]), and fire symbolizes the Primordial Spirit," while Jiao Hong stated outright: "Buddhist scriptures interpret this as: 'The passing of fire through fuel is like the passing of spirit through form.'"
Furthermore, the metaphor appears immediately after the fable of "Qin Shi mourning Lao Dan," and should thus relate to Zhuangzi’s views on life and death. Zhuangzi views Lao Dan’s death as "the timing" and "flowing with the sequence." His intent was to explain the natural order of life and death—why would he سپس use the end of the chapter to promote the ideas of an eternal spirit or an immortal soul? Moreover, interpreting the metaphor as form/nature or life/knowledge is also untenable. On one hand, "nature" and "form" are not opposites or parallel entities; human nature is fundamentally an attribute of human life, thus nature belongs to form and is not an independent existence. As a spiritual attribute, nature must reside within the form. On the other hand, while the life/knowledge interpretation recognizes the "finite" and "infinite" aspects, it has nothing to do with death or the "cultivation of life" (yang sheng). Finally, Qian Mu’s interpretation of cultural heritage has historical significance but is far from Zhuangzi’s intent. As the "Way of Heaven" chapter says: "The men of old are dead and that which they could not pass on died with them. Then what you are reading, my Lord, is but the dregs of the men of old!" Clearly, Zhuangzi did not highly value cultural transmission. As Liu Wu noted: "Rhetoricians through the ages have used 'passing the fuel' as a metaphor for teacher-student transmission; this error has been passed down for a long time."
Based on these distinctions, interpreting the metaphor through form/spirit, form/nature, life/knowledge, or cultural transmission constitutes a misreading of Zhuangzi’s original intent.
II. The "Fuel and Fire" Metaphor and Zhuangzi’s Outlook on Life and Death
In the Pre-Qin period, Zhuangzi was the foremost thinker to discuss life and death in detail. At the end of "Essentials of Cultivating Life," through the fable of Qin Shi mourning Lao Dan, he clarifies his view on human mortality, which provides a rational explanation for the "fuel and fire" metaphor.
According to Zhuangzi, when Lao Dan died, the people wailed. Qin Shi called them "people who skip out on heaven and turn their backs on feeling, forgetting what they were received with," ([3]) saying: "When the Master came, it was because it was his time to be born; when he went, it was because he followed the sequence. If one is content with the time and follows the sequence, then sorrow and joy cannot enter. The ancients called this 'the release from the hanging' (di zhi xuan jie)." Here, Zhuangzi proposes a view of life and death as natural, adaptive transformations. He advocates that in the face of death, one should follow the transformations of Heaven and Earth. Since birth is "time" and death is "sequence," one should "be content with the time and follow the sequence," accepting both calmly. Only thus can one achieve the state where "sorrow and joy cannot enter." Xuan jie refers to liberation from a state of suspension. Xuan Ying says: "Humanity is pained by life and death as if hung upside-down; by forgetting life and death, the suspension is released (jie)." This "forgetting" does not mean literally forgetting that one lives or dies, but emphasizes that individuals can remain undisturbed by the suffering of mortality, overcoming the fear of death at a spiritual level.
As for how to achieve this "forgetting," Zhuangzi proposes the "fuel and fire" metaphor—specifically, through the "transformation of things" (wu hua), incorporating individual death into the great transformation of the universe to dissolve individual fear. That is, the essence of the metaphor is the process of integrating the individual life (the "small self") into the entire universe (the "great self"), reaching the state of "Heaven and Earth were born together with me, and the ten thousand things and I are one" ("On the Equality of Things"). It replaces the realistic death of the individual with the unceasing life of the cosmic transformation, ultimately achieving a spiritual "forgetting" and the state of "liberation from suspension."
Historical and modern scholars have touched upon this meaning of transcendence. Lin Xiyi said: "This is a metaphor for life and death. Fuel has a time when it is exhausted, but the fire in the world is passed on without end; we never see it finish." Lin's suggestion that "fuel has an end" refers to individual life, while "passed on without end" refers to the "fire in the world," implies the continuation of collective life. While Lin did not elevate the metaphor to the level of cosmic transformation, he successfully broke away from the traditional form-spirit interpretation, using the infinity of collective life to symbolize the "unending fire." This integration of the individual into the collective is a step forward. However, interpreting it solely as a transition between individual and collective life lacks a firm basis in Zhuangzi's text. Therefore, we must elevate "collective life" to "cosmic transformation" and find textual evidence within the Zhuangzi.
Zhuangzi never spoke explicitly of "collective life," but he focused heavily on the transformation of life within the universe. He called this mutual transformation wu hua ("the transformation of things"). While "transformation" is the self-directed movement of things ("The birth of things is like a galloping horse... they transform with every movement," from "Autumn Floods"), it is not aimed at the individual but concerns the entire cosmos. This is evident from his statements that "though Heaven and Earth are great, their transformation is uniform" ("Heaven and Earth") and "the ten thousand things all transform" ("Supreme Happiness"). Thus, Zhuangzi does not link the individual to the collective, but to the Great Transformation of the cosmos—this is the fundamental meaning of the metaphor. Regarding this, Shi Xingtong said: "Form has an end but the Master has no end; forms succeed one another and transformations are infinite, just like the passing of fuel and fire—how could there be an end?" Shi Xingtong's "forms succeeding one another" refers to the cycle of individual lives, while "infinite transformations" refers to the unceasing Great Transformation of the universe. Li Cunshan also stated: "'The fingers reaching their limit as fuel' refers to the end of individual life; 'the fire being passed on, not knowing its end' refers to the continuation of the Great Transformation." Individual life is contained within the Great Transformation; through the "deathlessness" of the universe, the individual achieves "non-extinction." In this process of transcendence, though the individual perishes, because they are one with the cosmos, as long as the transformation persists, the individual "endures." Thus, "fuel and fire" is Zhuangzi’s way of situating individual life and death within the cosmic transformation to achieve transcendence. However, the necessity of death means this transcendence cannot occur in the empirical world; it exists only in the spiritual world of the subject, or within the subject's mind. As Li Zhengang correctly interpreted, "Zhuangzi breaks through the contradiction between the finitude of 'form' and the infinitude of cosmic transformation, emphasizing that the mind transcends the limitations of form to harmonize with the infinite nature of life."
But how is Zhuangzi able to link individual life and death with cosmic transformation through wu hua? This relates to the essence of "transformation." In the "Metaphors" chapter, he says: "The ten thousand things are all seeds, and they succeed each other with different forms." Cheng Xuanying’s Sub-commentary explains: "The myriad things are myriad, born of creation; they receive one kind of qi but their forms and substances differ, moving and flowing in mutual succession." This reveals the essence: the reason different life forms can transform is that their fundamental nature is qi. Qi is the basic material element constituting Heaven, Earth, and all things, including life and death. At the level of the cosmic ontology of qi, all things return to "One." In "Knowledge Rambling North," Zhuangzi says: "If life and death are companions, why should I be troubled?... 'The whole world is just one qi.'" This "one qi" identifies qi as the material substance of the universe; the essence of everything is qi. Therefore, the essence of Zhuangzi's wu hua is qi-transformation (qi hua). It is precisely because of the existence of the qi of Heaven and Earth that Zhuangzi can use "transformation" to unite individual mortality with the cosmic infinite, achieving the spiritual "deathless" (infinite) state where "life and death are companions."
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The ontological nature of "qi" [4] as the core of the cosmos is the key to understanding Zhuangzi's "parable of the fuel and the fire," a point noted by certain scholars in the history of Zhuangzi studies. Lu Xixing remarked: "Within the vast macrocosm, the primordial qi is a blurring expanse, succeeding itself without interruption; it is likened to fire obtaining fuel and thus being transmitted." Guo Songtao also stated: "Man obtains the qi that comes and goes in the Great Void [5] to live, just as fire is transmitted by fuel." Thus, "qi" is not only the ontology of all things in the universe but also the material basis constituting the Great Transformation [6] of the cosmos. The transformation of forms ("the transformation of things") [7] between different entities must occur within the scope of "qi." Therefore, Zhuangzi actually relies on "qi" to situated individual life and death within the Great Transformation of the cosmos, thereby transcending life and death.
To this point, the conceptual essence of the "parable of the fuel and the fire" has become clear: through the mode of "the transformation of things" based on "qi" as the ontological foundation, Zhuangzi situates individual life and death within the Great Transformation of the cosmos. He transforms the finitude of individual life into the infinity of the cosmic transformation at the level of human spirit, thereby achieving the transcendence of life and death for the existing individual.
III. The Atheistic Thought in the "Parable of the Fuel and the Fire"
Having clarified the conceptual essence of Zhuangzi's "parable of the fuel and the fire," we find that the view of life and death expressed through this parable contains a strong atheistic color. It is not, as the Buddhist followers of the Wei and Jin dynasties claimed, a promotion of the theory of the "immortality of the spirit" (the existence of the soul). Some scholars argue that Zhuangzi's atheistic thought is an inheritance and development of Laozi’s atheism, which is reflected not only in the "philosophical discourse of the Zhuangzi centered on the Dao, but also specifically in Zhuangzi's elucidations on ghosts and gods, immortals, and the problem of life and death." In fact, the core tenets of Zhuangzi's atheistic thought are mainly concentrated in his understanding of human life and death, particularly in two aspects: the naturalness of life and death and the negation of the concept of the soul. Both aspects can be glimpsed in the "parable of the fuel and the fire." The fundamental difference between atheism and theism lies in the former's negation of the concept of the soul. The concept of the soul is the foundation of all religious theory; the atheist's insistence that no soul exists is not only an affirmation of the necessity and extinction of individual death but also implies a total negation of the existence of ghosts and gods. In Zhuangzi’s view of life and death, the necessity and extinction of individual death are expressed through the concept of the naturalness of life and death, while the total negation of ghosts and gods is reflected in his negation of a substantialized "spirit" (the shen [8] in the Wei-Jin debates on "form and spirit," which was essentially an eternal, immortal soul).
On one hand, the "parable of the fuel and the fire" reflects Zhuangzi’s concept of the naturalness of life and death. As mentioned previously, Zhuangzi’s phrase "the fingers reach their limit in supplying the fuel" refers to the death of the actual individual life. This is Zhuangzi's affirmation of the fact of individual mortality; it is, in effect, the concept that life and death are natural. That is to say, Zhuangzi believes that in the actual world, living individuals must necessarily die, and there is no possibility of eternal life or reincarnation. In the chapter "The Master of Cultivating Life" (Yang Sheng Zhu), Zhuangzi criticizes those who wept for the death of Lao Dan (Laozi) for "evading Heaven and doubling human emotion." Cheng Xuanying’s Subcommentary states: "To evade Heavenly principle and double the vulgar emotions—with grief and joy occupies the breast, the mind and spirit suffer." Cheng Xuanying’s "vulgar emotions" [9] refers to the common person's love of life and hatred of death, while "Heavenly principle" refers to the natural principle of life and death—that is, knowing that human life and death are the result of the natural operations of Heaven and Earth. The chapter "The Great and Most Honored Master" (Da Zong Shi) says: "Life and death are fated; that they have the constancy of night and dawn is Heaven." According to Zhuangzi, human life and death are like the alternation of day and night between Heaven and Earth; both are "fate" (ming) and both are "Heaven" (tian). "Heaven" means nature; thus, the chapter "Autumn Waters" (Qiu Shui) says: "That horses and oxen have four feet is called Heaven." Since the phenomena of human life and death are entirely natural, then if a human has life, they must necessarily have death; this is an acknowledgment of the necessity of death. Furthermore, because Zhuangzi believes life and death are purely natural, this determines that the existence of an individual life is not only finite but limited to this world, with no possibility of rebirth such as the Buddhist "reincarnation." Although Zhuangzi possesses the concept of transcending life and death through "the transformation of things," this transformation no longer targets the individual life but refers to the unceasing vitality of the entire cosmic Great Transformation. Therefore, while affirming the necessity of death, Zhuangzi also affirms the extinction inherent in individual death. The necessity and extinction of human death are manifestations of Zhuangzi's philosophy of the naturalness of life and death; they also contain his negation of the concept of a substantialized soul, constituting a typical atheistic thought.
On the other hand, the "parable of the fuel and the fire" reflects Zhuangzi’s negation of the "spirit" (soul). Zhuangzi’s statement that "the fire is transmitted, and we do not know when it will come to an end" is a description of the perpetual regeneration of the cosmic Great Transformation. "The fuel is consumed but the fire is transmitted" situates individual life and death within the Great Transformation and transcends individual death through the concept of "the transformation of things" based on "qi," thereby realizing the eternity of life. In this process of transcending life and death, we find that Zhuangzi is actually negating the existence of a substantialized "spirit"—that is, directly negating the concept of the soul's existence. As the Japanese scholar Fukunaga Mitsuji stated: "Zhuangzi believed life is immortal, but what Zhuangzi referred to was not the so-called immortality of the soul or religious eternal life... the immortal thing is the trend of change itself, rather than the individuals within the change. The fire in the text represents the trend of change itself, symbolizing the continuously flowing characteristic of the Dao." What Fukunaga Mitsuji calls the "trend of change itself" actually refers to the Great Transformation of the universe—the unceasing continuation of life within the cosmos. Compared to the life-and-death phenomena of individual lives, the continuation of the Great Transformation will not be extinguished. However, this continuation of life is not individual; it pertains to the cosmic life as a whole. Therefore, there is no soul present to act as the subject of individual reincarnation.
In view of the fact that many past Zhuangzi scholars interpreted the "parable of the fuel and the fire" as the theory that "the form is exhausted but the spirit is immortal," we maintain that there is absolutely no existence of a substantialized "spirit" in its philosophical thought. Using "fuel and fire" to analogize the relationship between form and spirit began with the Eastern Han materialist philosopher Huan Tan. In the "Extinguishing Delusion" chapter of his New Treatises (Xin Lun), he said: "The spirit dwells in the physical form, just as fire burns in a candle." Huan Tan used Zhuangzi's "fuel and fire" to analogize the human form and "spirit" (actually referring to the soul), merely changing "fuel" (xin) to "candle" (zhu). From then on, the "parable of the fuel and the fire" was linked to the relationship between form and spirit, later becoming a theoretical weapon in the Wei-Jin debates on form and spirit. For example, Huiyuan said: "The transmission of fire to fuel is like the transmission of the spirit to the form." This was an appropriation of the parable by proponents of the immortality of the soul. However, based on the text of the Zhuangzi, the parable does not refer to the relation between form and spirit, but speaks to the transformational relationship between individual life and death and the cosmic Great Transformation at the level of "the transformation of things." In Zhuangzi's thought, the essence of the "transformation of things" is the "transformation of qi" (qihua). This "transformation of life and death through qi" determines the change in life forms; this is no longer the continuation of an individual's form and spirit, but the regeneration and existence of a different life form. Guo Songtao once explained the parable through the circulation of "qi." Liu Xiaogan argues this view "largely conforms to the characteristics of Zhuangzi's thought; in essence, Zhuangzi believed human life is the gathering of qi and death is the dispersion of qi, and he did not have thoughts like the immortality of the soul or the spirit." "Qi" serves as the material basis for the "transformation of things." Explaining life and death through the aggregation and dispersion of "qi" means that form and spirit are not separate but are one; there is no "spirit" independent of the "form." When the "form" is exhausted, the "spirit" vanishes with it. Here, "spirit" refers to pure consciousness, and more often to a substantialized soul. Regarding this, Wang Zhongling also said: "Since the circulation of life across various forms is achieved through the transformation of things, there is no spirit separate from the form (lixing zhi shen) involved; it is a concrete and direct conversion of living beings, and there is no transfer of a spiritual entity. This is where most Zhuangzi scholars have erred." Fundamentally, the "transformation of things" is a circulation of "qi" throughout the universe. The conversion between "living beings" is a repetition of the gathering and dispersing of "qi." In this process, there is naturally no place for a "spirit separate from the form"—that is, an eternal soul. It is based on this that we say Zhuangzi's "parable of the fuel and the fire" actually thoroughly negates the existence of a substantialized "spirit" (the soul), which is the manifestation of the atheistic thought in Zhuangzi's view of life and death.
Conclusion
In short, there have been many misinterpretations of the "parable of the fuel and the fire" in the history of Zhuangzi studies. Its original meaning is that Zhuangzi, through the form of "the transformation of things," connects the relationship between individual life and death and the cosmic Great Transformation, speaking to the transcendence of life and death. Zhuangzi’s "parable of the fuel and the fire" contains atheistic thought, mainly reflected in the naturalness of life and death and the idea that "human life and death are the result of the transformation of qi, negating the existence of an eternal soul." This parable was widely cited and used as a theoretical weapon in the debates on form and spirit during the Han, Wei, and Six Dynasties, where its atheistic meaning was distorted. This part of the content requires further exploration, but given the focus of this article, it will not be elaborated upon here.