Taoism is one of the most important schools of thought in China during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, Emperor Wen of Han and Emperor Jing of Han ruled the country with Taoist thoughts, so that the people could recuperate from the tyranny of the Qin Dynasty. History calls it the rule of cultural scene. Later, Confucian scholar Dong Zhongshu advocated the policy of "ousting a hundred schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone" to Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, which was adopted by later emperors. Taoism has since become a non-mainstream thought. Although Taoism has not been officially adopted, it continues to play an important role in the development of China's ancient thoughts. Metaphysics in Wei and Jin Dynasties and Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties were developed by combining Taoist thoughts. After Buddhism was introduced into China, it was also influenced by Taoism, and Zen was inspired by Zhuangzi in many ways. Among the pre-Qin philosophers, Taoism did not have as many disciples as Confucianism and Mohism, and its status was not as lofty as Confucianism. However, with the development of history, Taoism, with its unique understanding of the universe, society and life, presents eternal value and vitality in philosophical thought.
The difference between Taoism and Taoism
Taoism is a school of philosophy and Taoism is a religious belief. Taoist thought was formed in the pre-Qin period, and it was not until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty that the word "Huang Lao" was combined with the concept of immortal worship. As far as it is concerned, this worship has nothing to do with Taoist thought. Both Lao Zi and Zhuangzi treat death with a fairly calm mind. The reason why the two are related may be that Taoist literature describes the image of a fairy who understands and embodies Tao. Therefore, it is absurd for Taoism to respect Laozi as the Sect and pursue cultivation into immortality, which has always been a misunderstanding. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wang Chong, based on Taoist thought, wrote an atheistic book, Lun Heng, which made a comprehensive criticism of the popular fairy magic at the end of the Han Dynasty and gained a high position in the history of China's thoughts.
In the west, Taoism and Taoism are collectively called Taoism, and they are distinguished by religious Taoism and philosophical Taoism. Western scholars generally believe that Taoism is the product of the corruption of pure philosophy, while Taoist supporters believe that Taoism and Taoism are complementary in thought.
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The Development and Composition of Taoist Thought
Taoism originated from Laozi at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, and there was no such name in the pre-Qin period. The word "Tao" was used to summarize this school initiated by Laozi, which began in the early Han Dynasty. Taoism was also called a moralist at this time. Sima Qian's father, Sima Tan, once wrote a paper entitled "On the Essentials of Six Classics", which summarized the pre-Qin philosophers into six schools: morality, Confucianism, Mohism, fame, dharma and Yin and Yang, and expounded the essence, gains and losses of the Six Classics. Taoism prevailed in the early Han Dynasty, and Sima Tan was also a disciple of Taoism, so he gave the highest evaluation to Taoism. He pointed out that Taoism has the advantages of the other five schools, while avoiding their shortcomings. Used to govern the country and cultivate self-cultivation, get twice the result with half the effort. In the Han Dynasty, King Huainan committed suicide because of rebellion. The theoretical weapon used by conspirators is the theory of Huang Lao, and the theory of Huang Lao's inaction is seriously challenged, which gradually leads to the decline of Taoist thought. After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty respected Confucianism alone, it no longer became the mainstream thought in China. Since then, Taoism has penetrated into all aspects of China culture, and metaphysics in Wei and Jin Dynasties is the most obvious revival trend.
In the pre-Qin period, many factions can be generally distinguished, and Taoism is no exception. There are 37 Taoist works and 933 articles in the History of Chinese Literature and Art written by Ban Gu in the Eastern Han Dynasty, most of which are works in the pre-Qin period. The main schools of Taoist thought are: Lao Zi, Zhuangzi and Huang Lao School. In addition, Yang Zhu's ideological trend may have influenced Laozi and Zhuangzi, but at the same time it merged into them. Different schools have different ideological centers, either tending to govern the country or governing the body. Taoism in Sima Tan mainly refers to the Huang-Lao School.
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Taoist thoughts and concepts
Although the schools of Taoism are different, the main idea is the same: taking "Tao" as the foundation, doing nothing and being natural, and attaching importance to things.
The core of Taoism is "Tao". Laozi once said in his works: "Things are born in harmony, and they are born naturally. Little ha! How rare! Independent and unchanging, it can be the mother of heaven and earth. I don't know its name, so I say it. " (Chapter 25 of Laozi) This idea evolved from Heaven, but it is different from Heaven. Laozi put forward that Tao is the origin of the universe and the law of the movement of all things in the universe. This view was later supported by various schools of Taoism and became the most basic core of Taoism. Different schools have different understandings of "Tao", but in the history of China's philosophy, the concept of "Tao" was used to explore the origin of all things in the world for the first time, which opened China's tradition of discussing metaphysics. This is one of the outstanding contributions of Taoism.
"Inaction" is regarded by Taoism as one of the important characteristics of "Tao". Not inaction, but aimless action without careful consideration. "Its inaction, its shun also? What is a husband? Gong Ji is in the south. " Didn't Shun Di rule by doing nothing? What did he do? Just to maintain their dignity, let people respect the ground to the south. Taoism believes that any purposeful behavior may lead to the deviation of the behavior itself. "Six parents are unfilial." When we advocate filial piety and harmony, family members themselves are not honest and harmonious, otherwise they don't need these. Statements expressing similar views can be found everywhere in Taoist works. Seeing how to deal with problems, the attitude of "inaction" can be applied to politics as well as self-cultivation. On the premise of adhering to the essence of "inaction", Taoist factions usually give "inaction" richer connotations.
Taoism regards the value of life as more important than external things, mainly referring to fame and fortune. Laozi emphasized that rulers must pay attention to their own health, not fame and goods. Since then, various schools have put forward the view that light things and heavy body. Zhuangzi and Liezi raised the idea of "inner sainthood" to a new height.
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