Leonard Cottrell

"Minds which could soar to such metaphysical heights [of the Chuang Tzu] could not fail to be disillusioned by a refined but miniscule civilization constantly threatened with extinction by its own crass folly. Something had to take its place, and, just as today, either the jealous states would have to learn to live together or be crushed out of existence by an authoritarian power. It is not surprising, therefore, that a Chinese poet, faced with this problem, took refuge, as Rousseau did, in a revulsion from civilization itself."