Chinese Traditional Culture-Political Matters-Taoism

Traditional Chinese Culture - Political Matters - Taoism

An important school of thought centered on the pre-Qin doctrine of Taoism by Laozi. Originally known as "Taoism" ("On the Essentials of the Six Schools"), it was called "Taoism" and listed as one of the "Nine Streams" in the Book of the Han Dynasty (汉书-艺文志). Lao Zi was the founder of Taoism, and Zhuang Zi inherited and developed Lao Zi's ideas, so that Taoism reached its heyday, and stood at the same time with the Confucian-Mexican "obvious science". Taoism is philosophically based on the "Tao" as the foundation of the world, and the role of the "Tao" as the softness of the "Tao", using the "Tao" to explain the nature of the universe, the composition, changes and the origin of everything, denying the domination of ghosts and gods over everything, and denying that ghosts and gods dominate everything. He used Tao to explain the nature, composition, change and origin of all things in the universe, denied that ghosts and gods dominate everything, and advocated that people should follow Tao and let nature take its course in their thoughts and behaviors. Politically, it advocates "rule by doing nothing" and "a small country with few people". In terms of ethics and morality, he advocated "abandoning righteousness for benevolence", "abandoning wisdom for sainthood", "abandoning cleverness for profit", and pursuing the spiritual transcendence of the individual. Before or at the same time with Zhuangzi, there were also Yang Zhu, who advocated the doctrine of "fullness and truth"; Song Li and Yin Wen, who advocated the doctrine of "superficiality of lust"; Peng Meng, Tian Pian, and Shen Zhi, who advocated the doctrine of "abandoning one's own knowledge"; and Tanyan Tanyan, who advocated the doctrine of "tranquilization" and the doctrine of "the absence of the mind. There were also other schools of Taoism, such as Guan Yin, who advocated "living in tranquility and solitude with the gods". Later, Tian Pian, Shen Zhi and others drew on the spirit of Taoism and combined it with legalism and the School of Names to form the Huang-Lao school of thought, while the legalists Shen Buhai and Han Fei also used Taoism's "natural righteousness" as the basis for their theories on the rule of law. Therefore, at the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Huanglao, criminal name, and Huanglao's art is more respected by the rulers, to stabilize the society, the development of production has a positive impact. Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty respected only Confucianism, Huanglao gradually declined, but its view of nature against prophecy and theology still has a great role, but also the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty peasant movement and the influence of Taoist thought. During the Wei and Jin dynasties, metaphysics was prevalent, and Wang Bi, He Yan, and other scholars used Laozhuang to explain Confucianism and integrate Confucianism and Taoism, while Ruan Ji and Jikang used Taoism to repel Confucianism. After the introduction of Buddhism into China, scholars also used Laozhuang to explain the Buddha, and became a Shi Dao merger. Song and Ming philosophy advocate Confucianism and Taoism, and repudiation of Buddhism and the old, but also absorbed Taoist thought. Taoist thought has a long history and has had a profound influence on Chinese thought, politics, science and technology, literature and art, as well as natural science in the contemporary world. The main works of Taoism include Laozi, Zhuangzi, Huainanzi and Liezi.