The contents of Liezi are mostly folklore, fables and myths.
The content of "Liezi" is mostly in the form of folklore, fables, myths, etc., all of which contain warning lessons, contain profound philosophical thoughts, and have certain literary value. Among them, "Tian Rui", "Li Ming" and "Yang Zhu" are the most popular.
The main idea is that all things are invisible and constantly changing. Nothing is necessarily perfect, including heaven, earth and saints. People must grasp and utilize the laws of nature. The existing annotated version of "Liezi" includes eight volumes of "Chongxu Zhide Zhenjing" annotated by Zhang Zhan in the Jin Dynasty.
The book contains 134 chapters of philosophical prose, fables, mythological stories, historical stories, etc., such as "The Yellow Emperor" has nineteen chapters, "The King Mu of Zhou" has eleven chapters, and "The Legend of Talisman" There are thirty chapters. Basically, it expresses subtle philosophy in the form of allegory.
The spread of Liezi:
The book "Liezi" is one of the important works in the history of ancient Chinese pre-Qin thought. His thoughts are very close to Taoism, and he was later regarded as a classic by Taoism. In the second year of the Qianfeng reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, Li Zhi honored Laozi as Emperor Xuanyuan. In the 25th year of Emperor Xuanzong's reign, Li Longji established a doctorate in metaphysics and designated Laozi, Liezi, Zhuangzi, and Wenzi as must-read books, which were titled Si Xuan.
In the fourth year of Tianbao's reign, Lie Yukou was granted the title of Chongxu Zhenren, and the book "Liezi" was named "Chongxu Zhenjing". In the Song Dynasty, Zhenzong Zhao Heng added the word "Zhi De" after the word "Chongxu", and the title of the book became "Chongxu Zhide Zhenjing". In the sixth year of Emperor Huizong's reign, Zhao Ji issued an edict to establish doctors of the Nei Jing, Tao Te Ching, Liezi, and Zhuangzi.