Video: Peng Yu on Zones of Indeterminacy: Art, Body and Politics in Daoist Thought

Peng Yu introduces the article ‘Zones of Indeterminacy: Art, Body and Politics in Daoist Thought‘ 

Abstract

This paper examines the elusive concept of Xu in Zhuangzi’s philosophy to find out how specifically Xu addresses relationality through its distinct cultivation of ambiguity in this Daoist philosopher’s theory. The paper chooses liubai and body as two examples to unravel the ways in which the concept of Xu is manifested. Embedded in the meanings of blandness and lack of substance, Xu enlivens change, transformation and process. Evident in liubai, Xu creates a unique ecological space of metamorphosis that nourishes mutual becoming. For Zhuangzi, body is neither understood as the object to be acquired nor as the means to acquire knowledge. Rather, body is a void to become. The political implication of Xu suggests a politics of indeterminacy – an alienation from preordained power structures and a reconstruction of power relations.