Introduction to Classical
Chinese Philosophy
By Masayuki Sato
Lecture Eight
The Formation of Daoism
and the Book of Laozi
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台灣2.5版授權釋出】
The “Work” under the Creative Commons Taiwan 2.5 License of “BY-NC-SA”.
Contents of Today’s Lecture 1/2
 (1) The Origin of Philosophical Daoism
 (2) The Main Arguments in the Book of Laozi
and the Book of Zhuangzi :
 similarities and differences
 (3) On the text and its author(s)
 (4) Main Ideas and arguments
Contents of Today’s Lecture 2/2
 (4) Significance in the Warring States intellectual
history
 (a) The first “truly” philosophical treatise in the
Chinese Intellectual history (prof. Chen Guuying)
 (b) It helped the formation of “the other side” of
intellectual attitude in Chinese history
 → cf. recluese
 (c) Yet, at the same time, it has become the most
cherished guidebook for statecraft, of which
“strategic stance” shares considerable congeniality
with Sunzi’s The Art of War of (Sunzibingfa 孫子兵
The Conception of Dao
by the Jixia master Tian Pian
 田駢以道術說齊[王]。
 齊王應之曰：寡人所有者齊國也，願聞齊國之
政。
 田駢對曰：臣之言，無政而可以得政。譬之若
材木，無材而可以得材。
 願王之自取齊國之政也。駢猶淺言之也，博言
之，豈獨齊國之政哉？變化應求而皆有章，因
性任物而莫不宜當。
Tian Pian’s dialogue with
King of Qi (King Xuan?)
 Tian Pian persuaded the Qi king with the
method of the Way.
 The king of Qi commented on [Tian Pian’s
theory]. He said:“The area I possess is the
state of Qi. I hope to hear about the rule of
Qi.”
 Tian Pian answered:“My words enable you
to attain [orderly] government without
involving yourself in your government. It is as
if you could obtain timber out of nothing.
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
Tian Pian’s dialogue with
King of Qi (King Xuan?)
 I hope that you will be able to obtain [orderly]
government of Qi spontaneously. I will explain [the
essence of my theory] with plain examples or with
a broad array of facts [I collected]. How can I limit
my theory to explaining the government of the
state of Qi! Every process of transformation which
responds to [environmental] demands has its
manifestation. If one is in accordance with the
natural essence [of things] and allows these things
to work spontaneously for him, nothing is attained
inappropriately.
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
The Origin of Philosophical Daoism
Nourishment of
self
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
Mind training
The Origin of Philosophical Daoism
Nourishment of
self
Mind training
Cosmogony
Ontology
(nothing)
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
The Origin of Philosophical Daoism
Yang Zhu’s
Protection of every
parts of a body
Control of desire
Unmovable mind
oblivion in sitting
Consmogony：
Supreme oneness
Constancy
Ontology：Tian
Pian’s conception of
Dao and Evenness
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
The Origin of Philosophical Daoism
Yang Zhu’s
Protection of every
parts of a body
Control of desire
Unmovable mind
oblivion in sitting
Philosophical system of the Book of
Laozi and the Book of Zhuangzi
Consmogony：
Supreme oneness
Constancy
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
Ontology：Tian
Pian’s conception of
Dao and Evenness
The Origin of Philosophical Daoism
Nourishment of
self
Mind training
Cosmogony
Ontology
(nothing)
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
The Origin of Philosophical Daoism
Nourishment of
self
Mind training
Concerning the ability of human
beings, the function of language,
standard of value and ethics
Cosmogony
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
Ontology
(nothing)
The Origin of Philosophical Daoism
Nourishment of
self
Mind training
Concerning the ability of human
beings, the function of language,
standard of value and ethics
Cosmogony
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
Ontology
(nothing)
The Origin of Philosophical Daoism
Nourishment of
self
Mind training
a fundamental doubt
Cosmogony
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
Ontology
(nothing)
The Origin of Philosophical Daoism
養生思想
心術論
a fundamental
doubt
宇宙生成論
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
存在論 (無)
The Origin of Philosophical Daoism
養生思想
心術論
a fundamental doubt
+
Inference by
paradoxical way
宇宙生成論
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
存在論 (無)
The Origin of Philosophical Daoism
Nourishment of
self
Mind training
 Mixed in a
philosophical
 system
Cosmogony
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
Ontology
(nothing)
The Establishment of Philosophical Daoism
The Establishment of Philosophical Daoism
The Origin of Philosophical Daoism
Nourishment of body
Consmogony
Mind training
Ontology
a fundamental doubt plus
Inference by paradoxical way
The Establishment of Philosophical
Daoism
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
The main arguments in the Philosophy in
the Laozi and Zhuangzi
 (1) Both present the Concept of Dao : The origin
of universe and the master of the world, which
cannot be known, nor be spoken by any language
 (2) Both presuppose that the world should be in
the process of “change (bianhua 變化)” and all
living creatures are transient in such process.
 (3) The Zhuangzi attempts to demonstrate the
sheer contrast between infinite and omnipotent
power of Heaven (tian 天) and minute and vain
existence of human beings.
 (4) The articulation of the concept of nothingness
(wu 無) and non-action (wuwei 無為)
The main arguments in the Philosophy in
the Laozi and Zhuangzi
 (5) The Laozi admires maternal power as the
source of procreation and the condition of the
existence of things.
 (6) The Zhuangzi argues that everything including
human beings constitute the inseparable
oneness.
 (7) The Zhuangzi cherishes life, yet does not
cling to it.
 (8) The Zhuangzi claims that in order to reach the
aforementioned realm, a person should involve
him/herself into body/mind training.
The Image of Laozi as a person
Biography of Laozi by Sima Qian
 老子者，楚苦縣厲鄉曲仁裏人也，姓李氏，名
耳，字摐，周守藏室之史也。
 孔子適周，將問禮於老子。老子曰：「….君
子盛德容貌若愚。去子之驕氣與多欲，態色與
淫志，是皆無益於子之身。」孔子去，謂弟子
曰：「….吾今日見老子，其猶龍邪！」
 老子脩道德，其學以自隱無名為務。居周久之
，見周之衰，乃遂去。至關，關令尹喜曰：「
子將隱矣，彊為我著書。」於是老子乃著書上
下篇，言道德之意五千餘言而去，莫知其所終
。《史記‧老子韓非列傳》
The Anecdote: Confucius asked Laozi
about Rituals and propriety (li 禮)
 Confucius visited the state of Zhou,
met Laozi. Confucius asked Laozi
about Rituals and Propriety. Laozi
answered: “Exclude your arrogance
and greed. Your aggressive
character and greedy will do not
help you.” Confucius told his
students, saying: “When I met
Laozi, It was my sincere feeling that
It is not until today that I met the
person who are really like a dragon.
 From “the Biography of Lao Dan”
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
Life (cited from the Biographies of Laozi)
 Laozi cultivated Dao and virtue, and his learning was
devoted to self-effacement and not having fame. He
lived in Zhou for a long time; witnessing the decline of
Zhou, he departed. When he reached the northwest
border then separating China from the outside world,
Yin Xi, the official in charge of the border pass, asked
that he put his teachings into writing. The result was
a book consisting of some five thousand Chinese
characters, divided into two parts, which discusses
“the meaning of Dao and virtue.” Thereafter, Laozi
left; no one knew where he had gone
 （quoted from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,
slightly altered）
This work is from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/laozi/,
and used subject to the fair use doctrine of:
•Taiwan Copyright Act Articles 52 & 65
•The "Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for OpenCourseWare 2009
(http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/sites/default/files/10-305-OCW-Oct29.pdf)" by A Committee of Practitioners of
OpenCourseWare in the U.S. The contents are based on Section 107 of the 1976 U.S. Copyright Act
Suspicion on “historical” Laozi
 (1) Sima Qian enumerated three names who
could be identified as the author of the Laozi
 http://www.xysa.com/xysafz/sj/t-063.htm
 Li Er, 李耳
 Laolaizi of the state of Chu 楚人 老萊子
 The Zhou Scriber, Lao Dan 周史 老儋
 Cf. Sima Qian recorded that the nine
generation’s offsprings lived during mid-Han
Period. If this was the case, the person Laozi
should have lived during mid-Warring States
period.
The textual structure
 The text consists 5635 (815 characters)
words .
 It consists of 81 Chapters
 It divides into two parts:
 The former part (Chps.1- 37) has been called
“The Canon of the Way” and the latter (Chps.
38-81) “Canon of Virtue (or Procreative
Power)”.
 Thus, the whole text has been also called
Daodejing 道德經, namely, The Canon of
Way and Virtue
Three Kinds of excavated text of the
Laozi, or Daodejing
 The Guodian 郭店 version of the Laozi is the
oldest text (buried in ca 300 BCE)
 Mawandui 馬王堆 version is the one which was
transcribed in the early Han period and buried in
168 BCE, whose contents is basically identical to
extant text, yet the “Canon of the Virtue”
precedes “the Canon of the Way.”
 In 2009 Peking university has acquired a very
complete (99% of the whole characters have
been reserved) bamboo text of the Laozi.
However, this version has not been open to
public yet.
The oldest version of the Laozi
《郭店老子》
The Guodian Laozi (ca. 300 BCE)
http://www.shodo.co.jp/blog/hidai/
馬王堆漢墓《老子》
http://www.shodo.co.jp/blog/hidai/
 Mawangdui text of the
Laozi, which was
transcribed in silk in ca. 200
BCE.
 cf. There is not any
archeological evidences
that both Guodian and
Mawangdui version of text
have been called under the
name of the Laozi when
they were circulated.
Historical evidences on
the formation of the text
 The Guodian bamboo manuscripts contains 2/5 of
the whole extant text with different chapter order
 Xunzi, a late Warring States thinker, states that
“Laozi has insight on how to yield, yet not on how
to exhibit (one’s ability)” : 老子有見於詘，無見於信。
 The Book of Hanfeizi includes two commentarial
chapters on selected of passages. So far, these
“chapters can be regarded as the first
commentaries to the Laozi. They have also
demonstrated the fact that the authors of these
chapters was believed that the text which we call
the Laozi was written by Laozi.
Some characteristics
in the way of argument
 No proper (unique) noun, except for hinting
present “Yangzi River.”
 A large parts of contents are written in verse.
 It includes maxims.
 →→Is the Book of Laozi no more than a
collection of proverbial sayings?
 It contains ample example paradoxical
expressions and metaphors.
“A Double structure”
 The words “wu 吾” or “wo 我” (both denote “I” or “my”) is
used as subject.
 →→ Readers sense a very strong personality of a “author”
who has “written” this text.
 The term “shengren 聖人” (sage or wiseman) appears 31
times.
 →→Since the text does not associate the image of sage
with any concrete name of historical personages, the realm
of sagehood are easy to be connected to the realm of self.
In such a way, the Book of Laozi show its double structured
nature: private aspect (sage as undesignated “I”) and public
aspect (sage as a ruler of a country or even All-underHeaven).
Proverbial statement and
argumentative statement
 A number of chapters consist of “proverbial
statement” and “argumentative statement”
through the connection of term “gu 故” or
“shiyi 是以” (therefore).
 The term “therefore” is followed by the
statement which starts “the sage…”
An example
五色令人目盲；五音令人耳聾；五味
令人口爽；馳騁田獵，令人心發狂；
難得之貨，令人行妨。
是以聖人為腹不為目，故去彼取此。
〈第十二章〉
An example from Chapter 12
 Colour’s five hues from the eyes their sight will
take; Music’s five notes the ears as deaf can make;
The flavours five deprive the mouth of taste; The
chariot course, and the wild hunting waste Make
mad the mind; and objects rare and strange,
Sought for, men’s conduct will to evil change.
Therefore the sage seeks to satisfy (the craving of)
the belly, and not the (insatiable longing of the)
eyes. He puts from him the latter, and prefers to
seek the former.
This work comes from Chinese Text Project, http://ctext.org/dao-de-jing,
edited by Donald Sturgeon, English translated by James Legge, and used in
accordance with the FAQ of Chinese Text Project by GET
An example from Chapter 12
 Colour‘s five hues from the eyes their sight will
take; Music’s five notes the ears as deaf can make;
The flavours five deprive the mouth of taste; The
chariot course, and the wild hunting waste Make
mad the mind; and objects rare and strange,
Sought for, men‘s conduct will to evil change.
Therefore the sage seeks to satisfy (the craving
of) the belly, and not the (insatiable longing of
the) eyes. He puts from him the latter, and prefers
to seek the former.
This work comes from Chinese Text Project, http://ctext.org/dao-de-jing,
edited by Donald Sturgeon, English translated by James Legge, and used in
accordance with the FAQ of Chinese Text Project by GET
An example from Chapter 12
 Colour‘s five hues from the eyes their sight will
take; Music’s five notes the ears as deaf can make;
The flavours five deprive the mouth of taste; The
chariot course, and the wild hunting waste Make
mad the mind; and objects rare and strange,
Sought for, men‘s conduct will to evil change.
Therefore the sage seeks to satisfy (the craving of)
the belly, and not
the (insatiable
longing of the)
Proverbial
part
eyes. He puts from him the latter, and prefers to
seek the former.
This work comes from Chinese Text Project, http://ctext.org/dao-de-jing,
edited by Donald Sturgeon, English translated by James Legge, and used in
accordance with the FAQ of Chinese Text Project by GET
An example from Chapter 12
 Colour‘s five hues from the eyes their sight will
take; Music’s five notes the ears as deaf can make;
argumentative part by
The flavours“philosophical”
five deprive the
mouth
author
or of taste; The
chariot course,
andcompiler
the wildofhunting
a final
the text waste Make
mad the mind; and objects rare and strange,
Sought for, men‘s conduct will to evil change.
Therefore the sage seeks to satisfy (the craving of)
the belly, and not the (insatiable longing of the)
eyes. He puts from him the latter, and prefers to
seek the former.
This work comes from Chinese Text Project, http://ctext.org/dao-de-jing,
edited by Donald Sturgeon, English translated by James Legge, and used in
accordance with the FAQ of Chinese Text Project by GET
Textual structure and
possible author
 Such structural characteristics can make
readers associate the author (I) with the
image of the sage.
 On this basis, the present text provides a
integrated image of single author in spite of
an appearance of a miscellany of proverbs at
first sight.
 The final compiler or its author of present text
could have been a person who lived during
mid-late Warring States period.
Main aruguments
 Disbelief in language
 A “reverse” of widely accepted value as “good”
and “beauty”
 Paradoxical articulation of the Image of the Way
 Adoption of procreative and naturally growing
power for attaining socio-political order (cf. nonaction)
Main aruguments
 Approval of “original state”,
 “femaleness” “weakness” and “softness” as a
means of attaining longevity and the protect
of life
 Double modes of “knowing”
The condition for ruling the world in the
philosophy of the Laozi
 The level of principle
 The person who can reach the power of generating
 The person who can follow the rule of revolution of
Heaven and providence of earth
 The person who can control the change of the world
 The level of adoption
 The person who can nourish one own body and
heart/mind
 The person who can stand at the position of humble part.
 The person who can rule without verbal ordinance.
The condition for ruling the world in the
philosophy of the Laozi
 The level of principle
 The person who can reach the power of generating
 The person who can follow the rule of revolution of
Heaven and providence of earth
 The person who can control the change of the world
 The level of adoption
 The person who can nourish one own body and
heart/mind
 The person who can stand at the position of humble
part.
 The person who can rule without verbal ordinance.
The condition for the ruling the world
Questions
 (1) All denial or all affirmative?
 (2) For Statecraft or for recluse ?
 (3) For anarchical rule or a worldwide Empire
 (4) Philosophy or mysticism ?
Introduction to Classical
Chinese Philosophy
Thank you very much!
Lecture Eight
The Formation of Daoism
and the Book of Laozi
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Licensing
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田駢以道術說齊[王]…因性任物而莫不
宜當。
劉安《淮南子‧道應訓》
頁5-6
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
Copyright Declaration
Work
Licensing
Author/ Source
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
a
fundamental
宇宙
存在
doubt
生成
論
論
(無)
養生思
a fundamental
心術論
想 dobut
+
Inference by
宇宙生
存在論
paradoxical way
成論
(無)
Nourishm
ent of self
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
Mind
training
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
Cosmogo
ny
Ontology
(nothing)
Copyright Declaration
Work
Licensing
Author/ Source
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
Wiki Zhang Lu (張路)
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Zhang_LuLaozi_Riding_an_Ox.jpg
2011/11/17 visited
老子者…莫知其所終。
司馬遷《史記‧老子韓非列傳》
Confucius2000,
http://www.confucius2000.com/tao/kzlz.htm in public
domain under section 30 of Taiwan Copyright Act.
頁25
National Taiwan University Masayuki Sato
Copyright Declaration
Work
頁26
Licensing
Author/ Source
This work is from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/laozi/,
and used subject to the fair use doctrine of:
•Taiwan Copyright Act Articles 52 & 65
•The "Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for OpenCourseWare 2009
(http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/sites/default/files/10-305-OCW-Oct29.pdf)" by A Committee of
Practitioners of OpenCourseWare in the U.S. The contents are based on Section 107 of the 1976 U.S.
Copyright Act
天来書院, http://www.shodo.co.jp/blog/hidai/2008/10/2300.html in public
domain under section 30 of Taiwan Copyright Act.
天来書院, http://www.shodo.co.jp/blog/hidai/2008/10/2300.html in public
domain under section 30 of Taiwan Copyright Act.
天来書院, http://www.shodo.co.jp/blog/hidai/2008/10/2300.html in public
domain under section 30 of Taiwan Copyright Act.
老子有見於詘，無見於信
荀子《荀子‧天論》
Copyright Declaration
Work
Licensing
Author/ Source
五色令人目盲…故去彼取此。
老子《道德經第十二章》
頁38-41
This work comes from Chinese Text Project, http://ctext.org/dao-de-jing
, edited by Donald Sturgeon, English translated by James Legge, and used
in accordance with the FAQ of Chinese Text Project by GET