杨朱，道家主要代表人物的全性保真。战国初期魏国人，姓杨（或阳），名朱，字子居，又叫做阳子、阳生、杨子或杨生。与大多数“生时惨淡，身后显荣”的先哲有所不同的是，他可谓是“生时显荣，身后惨淡。”其学说在战国时显赫一时，与儒墨抗衡。他不如老庄孔孟那样垂名万古受人景仰膜拜，也没有著述可以流传下来。其思想学说主要依托于《庄子》，《列子》，《孟子》，《韩非子》，《吕氏春秋》等先秦古籍才得以流传，让我们能一窥杨朱学说的究竟。
今天一般人对于杨朱的了解，却仅仅局限于“一毛不拔”、“杨朱泣岐”等成语典故，而误认为杨朱不过是个自私自利的家伙而已。事实果真如此吗？ 《列子 杨朱篇》又名《达生篇》，是集中阐述杨朱思想的名篇。我们在《杨朱篇》里可以清楚的了解“一毛不拔”的真实意义。
其文曰： 杨朱曰：“古之人损一毫利天下不与也，悉天下奉一身不取也。人人不损一毫，人人不利天下，天下治矣。”禽子问Yang Ju 曰：“去substance of one's body by a hair to benefit the world, will you do it?” Yang Ju said: “The world is not benefited by a single hair.”
Priscus asked Yang Ju again: "If gaining ten thousand gold pieces would harm your skin, would you do it?" Yang Ju did not respond. Priscus then turned to Meng Sun-yang and said, "You haven't understood my teacher's heart. I'll explain it to you. If someone were to gain an entire kingdom by sacrificing one part of their body, would they do it?" Meng Sun-yang replied that they would.
Meng Sun-yang then asked Priscus, "Why can't we use the same logic on our teacher? If harming one's own body could bring about great benefits for others, wouldn't that be acceptable?"
Yang Ju argued that neither should individuals sacrifice themselves for the benefit of society nor should society sacrifice itself for the benefit of individuals. This was his theory of individualism which held that individuals and society are equal and should not be harmed or sacrificed for each other.
In contrast with Confucius who valued benevolence (仁), Mencius who advocated frugality (廉), Mozi who promoted universal love (兼爱), Gaozi who emphasized clarity (清) and Zhuangzi who valued emptiness (虚)， YangJu emphasized self-preservation(贵己)and personal life(乐生). He believed in living in accordance with nature without interference from external forces.
Although he was criticized as selfishly holding onto personal interests while neglecting social responsibilities by scholars such as Confucius and Mencius during his time, his ideas were influential in shaping later Chinese thought particularly in Taoist philosophy where he is considered as a founder due to his emphasis on preserving individual essence rather than accumulating material possessions or wealth.
