Key words and ideas we have learned 1, Confucius 孔 (kǒng) 子 (zǐ); 仁 (rén) His major concern: a good government should be built on rather than.

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1 Key words and ideas we have learned 1, Confucius 孔 (kǒng) 子 (zǐ); 仁 (rén) His major concern: a good government should be built on rather than. 2, Mencius 孟 (mèng) 子 (zǐ) 仁 (rén) 义 (yì) 礼 (lǐ) 智 (zhì) He said, Man s nature is naturally just as water naturally flows downward.

2 The Natural Way of Laozi 1, An Overview of Laozi 老 (lǎo) 子 (zǐ); 道 (dào) 德 (dé) ; 无 (wú) 为 (wéi) Both the person Laozi and the small book of about 5250 characters named after him are open to debate till now. But most scholars take the traditional view that he was about twenty years senior to Confucius who, learned as he was, was believed to have consulted him on the rites and praised him lavishly (Sima Qian). Laozi is also called Daodejing because its key issue and word is Dao[ 道 (dào)]and De [ 德 (dé)].

3 Taken together, Dao and De literally means morality. But in the writings of Laozi, its meaning is much richer than that. It is the way of the world rather than the way of man s moral life.

4 There are more English translation of it than of any other Chinese book, already over forty. Many follows the tradition that Laozi was about twenty years senior to Confucius. 2, The origin and invariable way of the world: the nameless and unnamable Tao ( 道 ) We know namable things. But Laozi says there are unnamable things and he called them Tao.Laozi writes in the beginning: The Tao (way) that can be told of is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth; The named is he mother of all things. 道, 可道, 非恒道 名, 可名, 非恒名 无名, 天地之始 ; 有名, 万物之母

5 Tao is eternal and has no name. Though its simplicity seems insignificant, none in the world can master it. 道常无名 朴虽小, 天下莫能臣 This is the first and most influential ontology in ancient China. Tao is sometimes called One by Laozi. The world is produced as follows: Tao produced the One. The One produced the two. The two produced the three. And the three produced the ten thousand things. 道生一, 一生二, 二生三, 三生万物 3, The Tao of nature and man A Chinese proverb says: when a thing reaches one extreme, it reverts from it ( 物极必反 ). This is derived from Laozi, but not his original words. Laozi says: Reversion is the action of Tao ( 反者道之动 ). Upon his observations, Laozi made the generalization that Calamity is that upon which happiness depends; Happiness is that in which calamity is latent ( 祸兮, 福之所倚, 福兮, 祸之所伏 ). To have little is to possess. To have plenty is to be perplexed.

6 ( 少则得, 多则惑 ). A whirlwind does not last a whole morning. Nor does a rainstorm last a whole day ( 飘风不终朝, 骤雨不终日 ). Unaware of Tao, we will run into danger. Laozi warns us: Not to know the eternal is to act blindly to result in disaster( 不知常, 妄作, 凶 ). The sage places himself in the background, but finds himself in the foreground. He puts himself away, and yet he always remains. Is it not because he has no personal interests? This is the reason why his personal interests are fulfilled ( 圣人后其身而身先, 外其身而身存 不以其无私邪? 故能成其私 ) How does the sage act? He does not show himself; therefore he is luminous. He does not justify himself; therefore he becomes prominent. He does not boast of himself; therefore he is given credit.

7 He does not brag; therefore he can endure for long. It is precisely because he does not compete that the world cannot compete with him. ( 不自见, 故明 ; 不自是, 故彰 ; 不自伐, 故有功 ; 不自矜, 故长 夫唯不争, 故天下莫能与之争 ) Laozi despised Confucian virtues because they did not go so far as to reach Tao. So Laozi said: only when Tao is lost does the doctrine of virtue arise. When virtue is lost, only then does the doctrine of humanity arises. When humanity is lost, only then does the doctrine of righteousness arises. When righteousness is lost, only then does the doctrine of propriety arises. Now, propriety is a superficial expression of loyalty and faithfulness, and the beginning of disorder ( 失道而后德, 失德而后仁, 失仁而后义, 失义而后礼 夫礼者, 忠信之薄, 而乱之首 ). Laozi couldn t see in advance that Mencius would provide an ontology for Confucianism one hundred and eighty years later.

8 In politics, Laozi argued that a ruler is bad not because he does too little, but because he does too much. A sage ruler will undo all these unnecessary things. I take no action and the people of themselves are transformed. I love tranquility and the people of themselves become correct. I engage in no activity and the people of themselves become prosperous. I have no desires and the people of themselves become simple. ( 我无为, 而民自化 ; 我好静, 而民自正 ; 我无事, 而民自富 ; 我无欲, 而民自朴 ). How to run a state with no activity? Laozi said: Abandon sageliness and discard wisdom; then the people will benefit a hundredfold. Abandon humanity and discard righteousness; then the people will return to filial piety and deep love. Abandon skill and discard profit; then there will be no thieves or robbers. ( 绝圣弃智, 民利百倍 ; 绝仁弃义, 民复孝慈 ; 绝巧弃利, 盗贼无有 ).

9 With limited knowledge and few desires, children are not far away from the original Tao or De. He *the sage+ will never depart from eternal virtue, but returns to the state of infancy. ( 常德不离, 复归于婴儿 ). This is the ideal state of man by Taoism. Do you agree with Laozi?