page_title: Taoist philosophy
section_title: Ideas in Taoist "classics"
hierarchical_section_title: Taoist philosophy / Early sources / Ideas in Taoist "classics"
caption_attribution_description: English: Bagua diagram by Zhao Huiqian ("River Chart spontaneously [generated] by Heaven and Earth" 圖河.自地天). This image may in fact be a reproduction of the diagram by Hu Wei in his Yitu mingbian ("Clarification of the diagrams in the book of changes"), dated 1706. Reproduced in: François Louis, 'The Genesis of an Icon: The "Taiji" Diagram's Early History', Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 63.11 (June 2003), p. 171. Joseph A. Adler, Reconstructing the Confucian Dao: Zhu Xi's Appropriation of Zhou Dunyi, SUNY Press, 2014, p. 158
context_page_description: Taoist philosophy also known as Taology refers to the various philosophical currents of Taoism, a tradition of Chinese origin which emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao. The Tao is a mysterious and deep principle that is the source, pattern and substance of the entire universe.
  Throughout its history, Taoist philosophy has emphasized concepts like wu wei, ziran, yin and yang, Ch'i, Wu, and personal cultivation through meditation and other spiritual practices. Taoism differs from Confucianism in putting more emphasis on physical and spiritual cultivation and less emphasis on political organization.
  Since the initial stages of Taoist thought, there have been varying schools of Taoist philosophy and they have drawn from and interacted with other philosophical traditions such as Confucianism and Buddhism. While scholars have sometimes attempted to separate "Taoist philosophy" from "Taoist religion", there was never really such a separation. Taoist texts and the literati and Taoist priests that wrote and commented on them never made the distinction between "religious" and "philosophical" ideas, particularly those related to metaphysics and ethics.
context_section_description: The Tao Te Ching (also known as the Laozi, terminus ante quem third century BCE) has traditionally been seen as the central and founding Taoist text, though historically, it is only one of the many different influences on Taoist thought, and at times, a marginal one at that. The Laozi changed and developed over time possibly from a tradition of oral sayings, and is a loose collection of aphorisms on various topics which seek to give the reader wise advice on how to live, govern and also includes some metaphysical speculations. The Laozi commonly mentions the idea of a subtle universal force or cosmic creative power called Tao (literally "way" or "road"), using feminine and maternal imagery to describe it. Tao is the natural spontaneous way that things arise and exist, it is the "organic order" of the universe. The Laozi states that the true Tao cannot be captured by language (cannot be named).
  The Laozi also mentions the concept of wu wei (effortless or non-forceful action), which is illustrated with water analogies (going with the flow of the river instead of against) and "encompasses shrewd tactics—among them “feminine wiles”— which one may utilize to achieve success". Wu wei is associated with yielding, minimal action and softness. Wu wei is the activity of the ideal sage (sheng ren), who spontaneously and effortlessly express Te (virtue), acting as one with the universal forces of the Tao, resembling children or un-carved wood (pu). They concentrate their internal energies, are humble, pliable and content and move naturally without being restricted by the structures of society and culture. The Laozi also provides advice for rulers, such as never standing out, keeping weapons but not using them, keeping the people simple and ignorant and working in subtle unseen ways instead of forceful ones. It has generally been seen as promoting minimal government.
  
  Like the Tao Te Ching, the lesser known Nei-yeh (literally: "Inner cultivation") is another short wisdom sayings text but with a different focus. The Nei-yeh is an important early textual source for Taoist personal cultivation of the heartmind (hsiu-hsin), which advocated the cultivation and refinement of ch’i (“life-energy”), ching (“vital essence”), and shen (“spirit”). The Nei-yeh's idea of a pervasive and unseen "vital force or energy" called ch'i and its relationship to acquiring Te (virtue or inner power) was very influential for later Taoist philosophy. Similarly, important Taoist ideas such as the relationship between a person's hsing (“inner nature”) and their ming (“life-realities”) can be found in another lesser known text called the Lüshi Chunqiu. In these texts, as well as in the Laozi, a person who acquires Te and has a balanced and tranquil heartmind is called a sheng-jen (“sage”). According to Russell Kirkland:  
  The “heart/mind” is the ruling agency within an individual’s biospiritual nexus, i.e., in the entire personal complex of body/mind/heart/spirit. The Nei-yeh’s principal teaching is that a person should work constantly to ensure that his/her “heart/mind” is balanced and tranquil—without excessive cogitation or emotion. If one maintains a tranquil “heart/ mind,” one will become a receptor of life’s healthful energies, and will be able to retain them and live a long life.
  Another text called the Zhuangzi is also seen as a classic of Taoism though it was also often a marginal work for Chinese Taoists. It contains various ideas such as the idea that society and morality is a relative cultural construct, and that the sage is not bound by such things and lives, in a sense, beyond them. The Zhuangzi's vision for becoming a sage requires one to empty oneself of conventional social values and cultural ideas and to cultivate wu wei. Some scholars see primitivist ideas in the Zhuangzi, advocating a return to simpler forms of life.
  According to Kirkland what these three texts have in common is the idea that "one can live one’s life wisely only if one learns how to live in accord with life’s unseen forces and subtle processes, not on the basis of society’s mo
caption: Bagua diagram from Zhao Huiqian's (趙撝謙) Liushu benyi (六書本義, 1370s).
exif: {}