Zhuang Zhou, commonly known as Zhuangzi; literally "Master Zhuang"; also rendered as Chuang Tzu), was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BC during the Warring States period, a period corresponding to the summit of Chinese philosophy, the Hundred Schools of Thought. He is credited with writing—in part or in whole—a work known by his name, the Zhuangzi, which is one of the foundational texts of Taoism.
The Chuang Tzu is considered one of the older books of Taoism. The book was written before 300 BC by Zhuang Zhou. The first seven chapters or the “inner chapters” are consider to be part of the original work. The remaining 26 chapters or “outer chapters” are probably written by other authors. All the chapters are dated to be written before 200 BC.