The Biography of Liezi, the Revered Void-Seeker

The Wind Rider: The Tale of Liezi is a full-length biographical novel centered on Lie Yukou, the Daoist master of the Warring States period. Drawing on fragments from texts such as the Zhuangzi and the Lüshi Chunqiu, it reconstructs his life, from orphaned child amid the wars in Zheng to enlightened master. He begins his studies under Nanguo Ziqi in the archives, cultivates himself on Mount Meng and creates the parable of “Foolish Old Man Moves the Mountains,” then establishes the Hall of the Empty Boat at Putiantze to practice the philosophy of “valuing emptiness,” eventually composing the True Scripture of Perfect Emptiness. Images such as the pottery urn, the cicada's cast skin, and the empty boat run throughout the book, turning abstract ideas like “following nature” and “stillness and non-action” into vivid scenes of drought relief and debate on the Hao River. Surreal passages depicting jade slips showing their power and starlight turning into a boat bring to life wondrous moments, while the story traces a lineage of transmission from the Han, Wei, Jin, Tang, and Song dynasties to the present day, revealing the vitality of Daoist thought across time.