Chapter 25 Section 6 "Laozi" and Chinese scholar-bureaucrats

Intellectuals in ancient China had to become officials after studying, just like farmers had to farm.However, there are many scholars, few official positions, and even fewer high-ranking officials, so there are scheming, flattery, bribery, and conspiracy.In order to curb this bad trend, ancient countries would also praise some virtuous and talented people who were unwilling to be officials. Before the Qin and Han Dynasties, those who were talented but unwilling to be officials were generally called hermits.Some hermits lived in the mountains, and some lived with ordinary people. They just did jobs that were considered humble by people at that time: farming, working, fortune-telling, etc., but not many were in business.After the Han Dynasty dominated Confucianism, most of the hermits were Confucian scholars.After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, with the rise of Buddhism and Taoism, many hermits were often regarded as Taoists, especially those who lived in seclusion in the mountains.For example, Zhuge Liang was a hermit at the beginning, but now he is often dressed up as a Taoist priest in dramas, because people regard him as a Taoist priest.In fact, Taoism had just emerged during the Three Kingdoms period, and he had nothing to do with Taoism at all.In the early years of the Song Dynasty, there was a Chen Tuan (tuan group), originally a fallen Confucian student, who fled into the mountains.It was rumored that he could refine gold, and the emperor of the Later Zhou Dynasty found him and observed him for a while, seeing that he was not capable, he let him go.It is also said that he has health preservation skills, which can make people live forever.The emperor of the Song Dynasty called him again.He said: "I really don't have any health-preserving skills. Besides, what is the use of health-preserving skills for the emperor? The best way is for the emperor to heal the country." In the eyes of future generations, Chen Tuan is the most famous Taoist priest.

After the Song Dynasty, those who did not want to be officials but did not flee to the mountains were still Confucianists.Those who fled into the mountains were often regarded as Taoist priests. There are also some fake hermits who use seclusion as a shortcut to fame and officialdom.For example, Zhong Fang, who was at the same time as Chen Tuan and had a great reputation, later became a bully bureaucrat with a bad reputation. There are many reasons for hermits to live in seclusion, but most of them are frustrated on the road to seeking officials and see the dangers and ugliness in the real society.They are indifferent to fame and wealth, do not pursue material enjoyment, and do not compete with others.All this is completely consistent with the claims of "Lao Zi".Laozi and Zhuangzi themselves were hermits, and their theories naturally became the banner of hermits.Hermits will also appreciate the claims of Laozi consciously or unconsciously.Moreover, unless he has a special statement, later generations often wear a Taoist robe for them.

Among the hermits, there are many who are talented and noble.Frustrated scholar-bureaucrats often take them as role models, which also promotes the spread of the thought of "Lao Tzu". Even those proud scholar-bureaucrats often like to talk about "Lao Tzu" in order to flaunt their magnanimity, or to escape the complicated contradictions in reality. The era when I like to talk about "Laozi" most is the era of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.Talk about "Laozi" well, and even be an official.During the Southern and Northern Dynasties (AD 420-589), the atmosphere of talking about "Lao Zi" became more prosperous, and it became a fashion to talk about "Lao Zi" from the emperor to the officials.Liang Yuan Emperor Xiao Yi (reigned 552-555 A.D.) when he was besieged by the enemy and was about to become a prisoner, still gave lectures on "Lao Tzu" to all the officials, and all the officials wore armor to listen.This shows that the scholar-bureaucrats at that time had a strong interest in Laozi.

Until the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127 AD), scholar-bureaucrats still liked Laozi.The famous historian Sima Guang (AD 1019-1086) and the famous reformer Wang Anshi (AD 1021-1086) both wrote annotations for Laozi.Many scholar-bureaucrats even gave themselves Taoist names, such as "Liuyi Layman", "Dongpo Layman", "Valley", etc., are all Taoist names.The famous writer Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072 AD) often wore Taoist robes in his later years, just like a Taoist priest.In fact, the above-mentioned people are all considered to be pure Confucians. After the Northern Song Dynasty, with the rise of Confucianism, the boundaries between Confucianism and Taoism gradually became stricter.At this time, whoever talks about "Laozi" is considered to be obsessed with heresy, and will be looked down upon immediately.However, Neo-Confucians also blame each other.Some people attack others for confusing with Buddhism, and others attack these people for confusing with Lao Tzu.Later generations believe that the spirit of Laozi has penetrated into the blood and bone marrow of Confucianists, and their opposition to Laozi is only superficial.

The thoughts of Laozi and other Taoist figures in ancient China were really like shadows, accompanying the scholar-bureaucrats in ancient China.As long as there are frustrated people in society, as long as people are frustrated or have the possibility of being frustrated, the influence of Lao Tzu's thought will exist. On the other hand, Lao Tzu's thoughts have also been fiercely criticized.