EALC 275: Masterpieces of East Asian Literature Lecture #3 Daoism: Dao De Jing and Zhuang Zi Benjamin Ridgway September 4, 2013Laozi and the Daodejing: Two principal texts in the philosophy of Daoism (Taoism): Daodejing and Zhuangzi. The Daodejing (The Book of the Way and Its Power) is the Chinese text most frequently translated into foreign languages. It has often been regarded as a book of profound wisdom and mysticism. Its influence on Chinese philosophy and culture is second only to the Analects of Kongzi.- The Daodejing has traditionally been attributed to Lao Zi or Li Er who lived in the 6th century BCE. - According to legend Li Er was a keeper of records (a librarian) at the court of the ancient Zhou dynasty. - These legends state that Confucius consulted Li Er on ritual. - His dates and existence are disputed. Some scholars believe the Daodejing was complied by different hands over a long period of time.According to legend Lao Zi left the Daode Jing to the gate-keeper at Hangu Pass as a record of his teachings.The Text of the Daodejing Itself: It’s a text containing 81 poem-like statements, laden with metaphors and paradoxes. Difficulties of the text: 1). Attempt to convey the inexpressible; 2). The problem of two levels of meaning: the philosophical / mystical (oneness with Dao) vs. the commonsensical (“the philosophy of camouflage”). Title of the text: Dao: Way; De: Power; Jing: Classic / Book.Main Ideas in Daoism: 1 1. Critical of government, progress, civilization, and technical skills. 2. In Confucianism, the ultimate touchstone of values is people; in Daoism, it is nature. 3. Daoism sees all man-made standards, distinctions, classifications, and technical innovations as destructive to the healthy state of nature. Human values are always binary, interdependent, and relative, never absolute.Main Ideas in Daoism: 2 1. Confucianism emphasizes learning, while Daoism stresses reducing and stripping away artificial distinctions : “Turning back is how the Way moves.” 2. Daoism advocates to “Take the low position.” We see this in recurring metaphors for Daoist ideal behaviour: water, rivers, valleys. 3. Daoists mistrust language: language always chops things up into this and that, right and wrong, large and small . . . Thus it is an inadequate medium for conveying the experience of Dao which is conceived as unchanging, unlimited, and unconditional. 4. Therefore Daoists resort to using poetic language, paradox, and shock to express the Dao.Dao/The Way I • Origin of the universe: -- “The Way begets one; one begets two; two begets three; three begets the myriad creatures.” -- 0, 1, 2, 3…Dao/The Way II Nameless: -- Chapter 1 (p.7) “The way that can be spoken of is not the constant way; The name that can be named is not the constant name. The nameless was the beginning of heaven and earth…” -- Skeptical of human languageDao/The Way III An inexhaustible void: -- Chapter 4 (p.9) “The way is empty, yet use will not drain it. Deep, it is like the ancestor of the myriad creatures…” -- Chapter 11 (p.11) “Thirty spokes share one hub. Adapt the nothing therein to the purpose at hand, and you will have the use of cart…”Yin-Yang concept in Daoism • Chapter 2 (p.8) “Thus Something and Nothing produce each other; The difficult and the easy complement each other; the long and the short off-set each other; the high and low incline towards each other…” seemingly opposite forces that are in fact interconnected and interdependentYin-Yang concept in Daoism Diagram 1 Diagram 2Yin-Yang Concept in Daoism Characteristics: Perfect harmony, unity Art of changes Opposites exist within each otherReversal of hierarchies in Daoism • Valuing the sides of dualities which were usually seen as inferior: • Yin rather than Yang (Chp.28) • Metaphor of the water (Chp.77) • Metaphor of the valley (Chp.18) • Ideal Daoist village (Chap.80)Wu-wei or “Non-action” Chapter 37 (p.17): “The way never acts yet nothing is left undone. Should lords and princes be able to hold fast to it, the myriad creatures will be transformed of their own accord.” -- Non-action, or rather doing nothing unnatural -- Action without action (無爲而無不為) --Non-action applied to governance (Chp.80, p.19)Zhuangzi: the Text, the Man, and the Times, Our present text Zhuangzi consists of three parts: Inner Chapters (1-7), Outer Chapters (8-22), and Mixed Chapters (23-33). This received text is derived from the Guo Xiang (d. 312 CE) edition. Only the Inner Chapters are generally considered by scholars as the work of Zhuang Zhou (ca. 369-286 BCE), a contemporary of the second leading Confucian thinker Mengzi.Zhuangzi, the Master Player: John Huizinga, Homo Ludens: “[Play] is a free activity standing quite consciously outside ordinary life as being ‘not serious,’ but at the same time absorbing the player intensely and utterly. It is an activity connected with no material interest, and no profit can be gained by it. It proceeds within its own proper boundaries of time and space according to fixed rules and in an orderly manner.” [Zhuangzi would find the last sentence objectionable.] Zhuangzi plays with language, with contemporary thinkers’ or other earlier thinkers’ ideas, with culture, and with life itself.The Usefulness of UselessnessSkepticism of human knowledge The matter of perspectives Limitation of human knowledge, “Autumn Floods,” p. 26: “You can’t discuss the ocean with a well frog – he’s limited by the space he lives in. You can’t discuss ice with a summer insect – he is bound to a single season…”Cook Ting (pp. 25) Parables of skilled artisans What does butchering an ox have to do with the cultivation of life? -- attune oneself to the environment as a whole -- effortless doing -- Wuwei or “non-action” applied to an individual’s life, spiritual freedom -- metaphor for an accomplished artistThe Butterfly Dream: pp.24On Death (pp.35) Zhuang Zi sees death as part of the flow of nature “Chuang Tzu’s wife died. When Hui Tzu went to convey his condolences, he found Chuang Tzu sitting with his legs sprawled out, pounding on a tub and singing…”Daodejing and Zhuang Zi Compared Daodejing seems to have been written for the ruling elite, while Zhuangzi is for the common, individual person. “How to govern?” is one important concern in Daodejing, while Zhuangzi is concerned with