Chapter 9 Chapter nine

The traditional saying is that Lao Tzu was a native of Chu State (now the southern part of Henan Province). He was contemporary with Confucius but older than Confucius.Praise Lao Tzu very much.The book named "Lao Tzu" was later called "Lao Tzu", so it was regarded as the first philosophical work in Chinese history.Modern academic research has made us change this view, and believe that the age of "Lao Zi" is much later than that of Confucius. There are two problems in this regard.One is the age of Laozi himself, and the other is the age of Laozi and his books.There is no necessary connection between the two, because it is entirely possible that there was indeed a person named "Laodan" who was older than Confucius, but the book "Laozi" was written later.This is also my opinion, and there is no need to deny the traditional view, because the traditional view does not say that Laozi really wrote the book "Laozi".So I am willing to accept the traditional view of Lao Tzu as a person, and at the same time put the book "Lao Tzu" in a later age.In fact, I now believe that the book is later than I assumed when I wrote History of Chinese Philosophy.I now believe that this book was written (or edited) after Hui Shi and Gongsun Long, not before them.In "History of Chinese Philosophy", I assumed it was before Huishi and Gongsunlong.This change is because there are many discussions about "namelessness" in "Laozi", and to discuss "namelessness", one must first discuss "name", so it appeared after Huishi and Gongsunlong.

This position does not require me to insist that Laozi has absolutely no connection with Laozi and his book, because this book does contain some of Laozi's original words.All I want to insist on is that, taken as a whole, the ideological system of this book cannot be a product of Confucius before or at the same time.But in order to avoid pedantry, I would rather use "what Lao Tzu said" instead of "what Lao Tzu said", just as we still say "sunrise" and "sunset" today, although we know exactly what the sun is. Neither come out nor fall. In the previous chapter, we have seen that philosophers of names succeed in discovering the world "beyond images" through the study of names.But most people's thinking.All are limited "within the image", that is, limited to the actual world.They saw reality.All should be limited to "within the image".That is, limited to the real world.They have seen reality, and it is not difficult to express it; although they use names to refer to reality, they do not realize that they are names.So when philosophers of famous schools start to think about names themselves, this kind of thinking marks a big step forward.To think about the name is to think about the thought.It is thought of thought, so higher level thought. Everything "inside the image" has a name; or at least has the potential to have a name.They are all "famous".But Lao Tzu talks about "nameless" as opposed to "famous".Not everything that is "beyond image" is "nameless".For example, the universal is beyond the image, but it is not "nameless".But on the other hand, the nameless must be beyond the image.The "Tao" of Taoism is this "nameless" concept. The first chapter of "Lao Tzu" says: "Tao can be Tao, it is very Tao; name can be named, it is very famous. The beginning of the unknown world is named the mother of all things." The thirty-second chapter says: "Usually there is no name, Pu....beginning It has a name." Chapter 41 says: "Taoism has no name." In the Taoist system, there are distinctions between "existence" and "nothing", "named" and "nameless".These two differences are actually only one, because "yes" and "wu" are the omissions of "named" and "unnamed".Heaven, earth, and all things are famous.Because the sky has its name, the earth has its name, and every kind of thing has such a name.There are heaven, earth, and all things, and then there are names of heaven, earth, and all things.This is what Lao Tzu said, "the first system is famous".But the Tao is nameless; at the same time, everything that is named comes from the nameless.That's why Lao Tzu said: "The beginning of heaven and earth is nameless, and the mother of all things is named."

Because the Tao has no name, it cannot be spoken.But we still hope to have something to say about Tao, so we have to forcefully give it some kind of code name.So we call it Tao, but Tao is not a name at all.In other words, we call the Tao the Tao, which is different from calling the table a table.We call a table a table, meaning that it has certain properties due to these properties.It can be called a table.But when we call Tao the Tao, we don't mean that it has any such well-known attributes.It is purely a code name. In the common saying in Chinese philosophy, Tao is a name without a name. Chapter 21 of "Laozi" says: "From ancient times to the present, its name has not been removed, so as to read it." Everything and everything is born of Tao.There are always things, so the Tao will never go away, and the name of the Tao will never go away.It is the beginning of all beginnings, so it has seen the beginning of all things ("Yi [have] read the public [the beginning of all things]").A name that never goes away is a permanent name, and such a name is not a name at all.So it is said: "The name can be named, but it is very famous." "The beginning of the world without a name."This proposition is only a formal proposition, not a positive one.That is, it makes no affirmations of reality.Taoists think this way: since there are all things, there must be something from which all things live.This "person", they code-named "Tao", "Tao" is actually not a name. The concept of "Tao" is also a concept of form, not an active concept.That is to say, this concept says nothing about what it is from which all things arise.There is only one thing that can be said, that is, since "Tao" is what all things come from, it must not be one of all things.For if it is one of all things, it cannot at the same time be from which all things arise.Every kind of thing has a name, but "Tao" itself is not a thing, so it is "nameless, Pu".

When one thing is born, it is one being; when all things are born, it is all beings.All things are born, which implies that there is firstly "being". The word "first" here does not mean "first" in time, but "first" in logic.For example, we say "there are some kind of animals first, and then there are people", this "first" is the first in time.But when we say "people must first be animals", this "first" is a logical first.The assertion of "Origin of Species" is an affirmation of reality, and it required Charles Darwin's years of observation and research before he could make it.But the second sentence we said above is not sure about reality.It just says that the existence of human beings logically implies the existence of animals.By the same principle, it can be concluded that the existence of all things implies the existence of "being".This is what Lao Tzu said, "Everything in the world is born of 'being', and 'being' is born of 'nothing' (Chapter 40).

Lao Tzu’s words do not mean that there was a time when there was only “nothing”, and then there was a time when “being” was born from “nothing”.It simply says that if we analyze the existence of a thing, we see that there must be something before it can be anything. "Tao" is "nameless", it is "nothing", and it is the one from which all things live.Therefore, there must be "nothing" before "being", and "being" is born from "nothing".What is mentioned here belongs to ontology, not to cosmogenesis.It has nothing to do with time and reality.Because in time, in reality, there is no "being", only the all.

Although there are all beings, there is only one being. Chapter 42 of "Laozi" says: "Tao begets one, one begets two, two begets three, and three begets all things." The "one" mentioned here refers to "existence".Saying "Tao begets One" is equivalent to saying "Being" is born out of "Nothing".As for "two" and "three", there are many explanations.However, to say "One life is two, two is three, and three is all things" may just mean that all things are born of "being". "There" is "one", and two and three are the beginning of "many".

The article said that Lao Tzu's main concepts are "too one", "existence", "nothing", and "eternity". "Taiyi" means "Tao".Dao generates oneness, so Dao itself is "the oneness". "Chang" means unchanged.Although all things are always changeable and changing, the laws that all things change follow remain unchanged.Therefore, the "chang" yu in "Laozi" means something that never changes, or something that can be regarded as a fixed rule.Laozi said: "Taking the world is always nothing." (Chapter 48) He also said: "The way of heaven has no relatives, and it is always with good people." (Chapter 79)

The most fundamental of the laws followed by the changes of all things is "things must be reversed at extremes".This is not the original words of Lao Tzu, but a Chinese idiom, and its ideas undoubtedly come from Lao Tzu.Lao Tzu's original words are "rebellion is the movement of Tao" (Chapter 40), and "When death is far away, far away is rebellion" (Chapter 25).It means that if certain properties of anything are developed to extremes, these properties must be transformed into their opposites. This constitutes a law of nature.Therefore, "misfortune is now where blessings rest, and blessings are now where misfortunes lie" (Chapter 58), "less is gain, more is confusion" (Chapter 22), "the wind never ends, and the rain never ends." All day long" (Chapter 23), "The softest thing in the world rides the hardest in the world" (Chapter 43), "Things benefit from loss, or loss from benefit" (Chapter 42 ).All these contradictory statements are no longer contradictory once the fundamental laws of nature are understood.But in the eyes of ordinary people who do not understand this law, they are indeed contradictory and very ridiculous, so Lao Tzu said: "The corporal heard the Tao and laughed it out loud. It is not enough to be the Tao if you don't laugh." (Chapter 41)

Or ask: Assuming that something has reached the extreme and turned to the opposite, what does the word "extreme" mean?Is there an absolute limit for the development of anything, beyond which is extreme?In the Laozi no such question is asked, and therefore no answer is given.But if you really want to ask such a question, I think Lao Tzu will answer that there is no such absolute boundary that can be applied to all things and all situations.As far as human activities are concerned, the limit of a person's advancement exists relative to his subjective feeling and objective environment.Take Isaac Newton as an example. He felt that his knowledge of the universe compared with the entire universe was as much as a child playing on the seashore knew about the sea.Newton felt this way, so that despite his great achievements in physics, his knowledge was still far from the limit of progress.However, if there is a student who has just finished studying the physics textbook and feels that he already knows everything that science needs to know, his knowledge will definitely not advance, but will definitely retreat instead.Lao Tzu told us: "If you are rich and proud, you will blame yourself." (Chapter 9) Pride is a sign that people have advanced to the extreme limit.Pride is the first thing a man should avoid"

Certain activities also have their limits relative to the objective environment.If a man eats too much, he will get sick.If you eat too much, what is good for your body becomes harmful.A person should eat only moderate amounts of food.The appropriate amount depends on the person's age, health and the quality of the food they eat. These are the laws that things change.Lao Tzu called them "chang".He said: "Knowing the constant is bright." (Chapter 16) He also said: "Knowing the constant, Rong. Rong is the public. The public is the king. The king is the sky. The sky is the way. The way is long, and the body is not perilous." (same as before)

Lao Tzu warns us: "If you don't know what is normal, you will act recklessly, and you will be fierce." (Ibid.) We should know the laws of nature and guide our personal actions according to them.Lao Tzu called this "Xi Ming".The general rule of people's "Xi Ming" is that if you want to get something, you must start from its opposite; if you want to keep something.It is necessary to accommodate something opposite to it.Whoever wants to be strong must start by feeling weak; whoever wants to maintain capitalism must contain some elements of socialism in it. That’s why Lao Tzu told us: “The sage puts his body in front of him, and saves his body in front of him. Isn’t it because he is selfless? That’s why he can become selfish.” (Chapter Seven) He also told us: “If you don’t see yourself, let it be clear. If you are not self-righteous, you will be outstanding. If you are not self-defeating, you will be meritorious. If you are not self-defeating, you will grow up. If you do not compete with your husband, then no one in the world can compete with him." (Chapter 22) These words illustrate the first point of the general principle . Lao Tzu also said: "If a great achievement is lacking, its use will be harmful. If a great surplus is rushed, its use will be endless. If it is straight, it will be crooked. If it is ingenious, it will be clumsy. If it is arguing, it will be dull." (Chapter 45) He also said: " Benevolence leads to completeness. Crookedness leads to straightness. Hollowness leads to fullness. Hollowness leads to newness. Lessness leads to gain. Too much leads to confusion.” (Chapter 22) This illustrates the second point of the general principle. In this way a prudent man can dwell securely in the world and achieve his purpose.The central question of Taoism is to avoid harm throughout life and avoid dangers in the world.This is how Lao Tzu answered and resolved this question.Those who live prudently must be weak, humble, and content.Weakness is the way to preserve strength and thus become strong.Humility is just the opposite of pride, so if pride is a sign that you have reached the limit, humility is the opposite, a sign that the limit is far from being reached.Contentment keeps one from going too far, and therefore from going to extremes.Lao Tzu said: "Conscientiousness is not humiliated, and knowledge is not perilous." (Chapter 44) He also said: "It is the sage who goes to extremes, extravagance, and luxury." (Chapter 29) All these theories can be deduced from the general theory of "moving against the Tao".The famous Taoist doctrine "Wuwei" can also be deduced from this general theory. The meaning of "Wuwei" is not to do nothing at all, but to do less and not to act arbitrarily against nature. For, like so many other things.If a person does too much, he becomes harmful and unprofitable.Besides, the purpose is to do something well.If there is too much to gain, the matter has been overdone, and the result may be worse than not doing it at all.There is a famous Chinese story of "drawing a snake and adding feet". It is said that two people compete to draw a snake, and whoever draws first wins.One man had finished his drawing, and seeing that the other was far behind, he decided to embellish his snake drawing by adding some feet.Then another person said, "You've lost because snakes have no feet." This story shows that overdoing it can backfire. "Laozi" said: "To take the world is always to do nothing; and even if you have things, it is not enough to take the world." (Chapter 48) The "nothing" here means "doing nothing", and it actually means not to do anything. To get too much. Man-made and arbitrary are the opposite of nature and spontaneity.Lao Tzu believes that Tao produces all things.In the process of this birth, each individual thing gets something from the universal Tao, which is "De"'. "De" means power (force) or virue (Germany). "De" can be moral.It can also be non-moral. What a thing naturally is is its virtue.Lao Tzu said: "All things respect Tao and value virtue." (Chapter 51) This is because Tao is the source of all things, and virtue is the reason why all things are all things. According to the theory of "inaction", a person should strictly limit his actions to the necessary and natural range. "Necessary" means that it is necessary to achieve a certain purpose and must not be excessive. "Natural" means to act according to one's virtue, without making artificial efforts.In doing so, "simplicity" should be the guiding principle of life. "Simplicity" is an important concept of Lao Tzu and Taoism. "Tao" is "Pu" ("Uncarved Block", uncut stone), and "Pu" itself is "Pu".There is nothing more "simple" than the nameless "Tao".The second most "simple" thing is "morality". People who follow "morality" should live as simple a life as possible. A life of morality transcends the distinction between good and evil.Lao Tzu told us: "Everyone in the world knows that beauty is beautiful, but it is evil; everyone knows that what is good is good, but it is not good for oneself." (Chapter 2) Therefore, Lao Tzu despises the benevolence and righteousness of Confucianism, thinking that these virtues are "Tao ", the degeneration of "virtue".Therefore, he said: "If you lose the way, you will be virtuous, if you lose your virtue, you will be benevolent, if you lose your benevolence, you will be righteous, and if you are unrighteous, you will be polite. Those who are polite, loyal and trustworthy, are the first in chaos." (Chapter 38) From this we can see Taoism direct conflict with Confucianism. People lose their original "virtue" because they have too much desire and too much knowledge.People want to satisfy their desires in order to seek happiness.But they strive to satisfy too many desires, and they get the opposite result.Lao Tzu said: "The five colors make people blind. The five sounds make people deaf. The five flavors make people happy. Galloping and hunting makes people crazy. Rare goods make people hinder." There is nothing more to blame than desire to gain." (Chapter 46) This is the reason why Lao Tzu emphasizes few desires. Laozi also emphasizes abandoning wisdom.Knowledge itself is also an object of desire.It also enables one to know more about the objects of desire as a means of obtaining them.It is both the master of desire and the slave of desire.With the increase of knowledge, people are no longer satisfied with the status of contentment.Therefore, it is said in "Lao Tzu": "When wisdom comes out, there is great hypocrisy." (Chapter 18) Lao Tzu deduced his political theory from the above theory.Taoism agrees with Confucianism: the ideal country is one with a sage as its head.Only a sage can rule a country, and should rule a country.But there are differences between the two. According to Confucianism, once a sage becomes a king, he should do many things for the people; according to Taoism, the duty of a sage king is to do nothing, and he should do nothing at all.The reason of Taoism is that the world is in chaos not because there are many things that have not been done, but because too many things have been done. "Laozi" said: "There are many taboos in the world, but the people are poor. The people have many sharp weapons. The country grows faint. There are many people with clever tricks, and strange things grow. Laws and laws are prospered, and there are many thieves." (Chapter 57) So the first act of the Holy King was to abolish all this.Lao Tzu said: "Abandon the sage and abandon wisdom, and the people will benefit a hundred times. Absolutely abandon the benevolence and righteousness, and the people will return to filial piety and kindness. Absolute ingenuity and abandon the profit, and there will be no robbers." Precious and hard-to-get goods keep the people from stealing. They don’t see what they want, so that the people’s hearts are not disturbed. It is the rule of the sage to empty their hearts, strengthen their stomachs, weaken their wills, and strengthen their bones, often making the people ignorant and without desires. ( third chapter) The sage king must first eliminate all the causes of chaos in the world.Then, he ruled by doing nothing.Do nothing, but do nothing. "Laozi" said: "I do nothing and the people transform themselves. I am quiet and the people are righteous. I have nothing to do and the people are rich. I have no desires and the people are simple." (Chapter 57) "Inaction, but Do nothing."This is another seemingly contradictory statement of Taoism. "Laozi" said: "Tao is always doing nothing and doing everything." (Chapter 37) Tao is the reason why all things are born.Tao itself is not a thing, so it cannot "be" like all things.But everything is born.Therefore, Tao does nothing and does nothing.Tao, let each thing do what it can do.According to Taoism, the monarch himself should follow Tao.He should also do nothing, and should let the people do what they can.There is another meaning of "inaction" here, which later became one of the important theories of the Legalists after certain revisions. Children have only limited knowledge and desires.They are not far from the original "virtue".Their simplicity and innocence are characteristics that everyone should try to maintain as much as possible.Lao Tzu said: "Eternal virtue is inseparable, and it returns to the baby." (Chapter 28) He also said: "The depth of virtue is better than that of a child." (Chapter 55) Since the life of a child is close to the ideal life, So the sage king likes his people to be like children.Lao Tzu said: "All sages are children." (Chapter 49) He "not to enlighten the people, but to fool them." (Chapter 65) "Foolish" here means simplicity and innocence.The sage not only wants his people to be stupid, but also wants himself to be stupid.Lao Tzu said: "I am a fool!" (Chapter 20) "Stupidity" mentioned by Taoism is not a shortcoming, but a great advantage. However, is the "stupidity" of a sage really the same as that of a child or an ordinary person?The sage's ignorance is the result of a conscious process of self-cultivation.It is higher than knowledge; more than knowledge, not less.There is an idiom in China: "Great wisdom is like a fool".The ignorance of saints is great wisdom, not the ignorance of children and ordinary people.The latter kind of ignorance is a product of nature, while the ignorance of a sage is a spiritual creation.There is a huge difference between the two.But Taoism seems to confuse the two in some places.This can be seen more clearly when discussing Zhuangzi's philosophy.