Yang ZhuWade-Giles romanization Yang Chu  ( born 440 , China—died 360? BCE ,  China  China )  Chinese philosopher traditionally associated with extreme egoism but better understood as an advocate of naturalism. He may also have been the first Chinese philospher to discuss human nature (xing; literally “natural tendencies”).



Little is known about him beyond the information provided in several sources that mention his teachings, most notably the seventh chapter of the Daoist work Liezi (, which is attributed to a philosopher of that name [(flourished 4th century BCE] ) but dating dates in its current form to about the 4th century CE. His thought was also an apparent influence on some of the later chapters of the philosophical and literary classic the Zhuangzi, which is attributed to a Daoist sage of that name (flourished 4th century BCE).