經何晏、王弼的正始玄學和阮籍、嵇康的竹林玄學之後，而有向秀、郭象的《莊子注》。郭象的《莊子注》是在向秀注的基礎上「述而廣之」，其寫於西晉由元康「暫寧」走向永嘉滅亡的過程中。郭象的「性分」之說實際上是以氣論為基礎，他認為不同的人、物是因稟受了不同的「氣」而有了不同的「性分」。這種「性分」之說只是肯定了現實的等級秩序，而郭象又補之以「物各自足」的「獨化」。「性分」與「獨化」使郭象一方面寄希望於統治者的「無為而治」，另一方面又追求個體在等級秩序之內的「適性逍遙」。然而，現實的君主政治不僅使前者落空，而且也使一些玄學名士陷入了「吏非吏，隱非隱」的矛盾之中，「散其廉操」、「虛談廢務」是他們的人格缺陷。西晉王朝的滅亡可以說是「慘而不烈」、「悲而不壯」，這也給後人留下了深刻的歷史教訓。

A generation or so after He Yan, Wang Bi and the Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove, Xiang Xiu and Guo Xiang arrived on the Xuanxue (profound learning) scene with their commentaries to the Zhuangzi. Guo Xiang’s Commentaries to the Zhuangzi based on the work of Xiang Xiu. He proposed the theories of allotment of qi determining one’s role. It told that each individual person or thing had been endowed with an allotment of qi from birth, which informed their inborn “nature”. As this allotment entailed an inherent hierarchal order, Guo Xiang complemented it with another theory which regarded that the production and changes of all things being that of “self-production” and “self-transformation.” With allotment of qi determining one’s role and “self-transformation”, Guo Xiang had to put his hope on the ruler’s non-action and each individual pursued their own appropriate carefree wandering. But the harsh reality of politics defeated their hopes, put them into the contradiction of neither official nor recluse, and further led to their personality defect by involving into empty talks and neglect of duties. The miserable collapse of Jin dynasty left deep precept for us.