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道德经 The Book of Virtue - Brush with officialdom led to philosophy classic
May 19, 2013, Sunday
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"DAO De Jing" - also known as "Tao Te Ching" - is the philosophical foundation of Taoism. For centuries it has strongly influenced many other Chinese philosophical schools, such as Legalism and Neo-Confucianism, as well as Chinese religions.
Written in the 6th century BC, its authorship has usually been attributed to Lao Zi (circa 580-470 BC), one of the most revered philosophers in Chinese history. The author's name at birth was Li Er and Lao Zi is an honorific title, meaning literally "Old Master."
There are numerous legends about Lao Zi's birth, career, teaching and philosophical ideas.
According to one popular legend, Lao Zi was conceived when his mother saw a star falling into her lap and he stayed in the womb for 80 years. When he was born, he was already a grown man with gray beard and long earlobes, a symbol of good fortune and longevity.
For a time he kept the royal court archives for the Zhou Dynasty (1027-256 BC), but resigned and went westward to propagate his ideas and philosophy.
One day, while riding an ox, he approached the Hangu Pass in today's Henan Province and was stopped by Yinxi, a sentinel who manned the pass. A faithful follower of Lao Zi's philosophy, the officer immediately recognized the great master.
But, in order to have Lao Zi to teach him something of his philosophy, the officer demanded the old man produce an official permit to leave the country.
Lao Zi had no such document, so agreed to write a 5,000-word essay about his philosophy in exchange for passage to the West. That essay turned out to be the famous "Dao De Jing," or the "Book of Virtue."
Today, scholars worldwide are still debating whether the book was actually written by Lao Zi or compiled by his students and disciples.
However, they agree that the book reflects Lao Zi's thinking.
Originally, the essay contained just two parts, namely, "Dao Jing" (also "Tao Ching") and "De Jing" (also "Te Ching"). It was later divided into 81 sections or short chapters, with the first 37 sections devoted to "Dao Jing" and the last 44 sections to "De Jing."
Here, Dao (Tao) is often translated literally as "way" and has been interpreted by Chinese philosophers in many different manners. According to the context, it may imply the essential but unnamable process of the universe.
Meanwhile, De (Te) means virtue, personal character, virtuosity or integrity. And Jing (Ching) means canon or classic.
In the book, Lao Zi used the concept of Dao (Tao) to explain all changes in the universe. Dao, also translated as "the Way" or "Great Integrity," is deemed the mysterious source or ideal of all existences.
Lao Zi also put forward many dialectical ideas, such as, "Dao gives rise to one, one gives rise to two, two gives rise to three and three gives rise to all other things." In "Dao De Jing," he wrote: "Great talents mature slowly, great sounds are silent. Great forms look shapeless, transcendent squareness has no corners."
Other famous quotations of Lao Zi include: "All things under Heaven came from something, which in turn came from nothing;" "By the side of misery lies happiness, and beneath the happiness lurks the misery;" and "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Today, Lao Zi's thinking continues to have a great influence on Chinese culture. Almost all young students can recite a famous "Dao De Jing" quotation: "Dao that can be told is not the universal Dao; The name that can be named is not the universal name."
It is said that "Dao De Jing" has been translated several hundred times into English, German, French and other foreign languages.
But due to the fact that the original essay was written in Classical Chinese and some of its parts were deliberately vague, many of the subtexts and nuances of Dao De Jing are lost in modern translations.
Written in the 6th century BC, its authorship has usually been attributed to Lao Zi (circa 580-470 BC), one of the most revered philosophers in Chinese history. The author's name at birth was Li Er and Lao Zi is an honorific title, meaning literally "Old Master."
There are numerous legends about Lao Zi's birth, career, teaching and philosophical ideas.
According to one popular legend, Lao Zi was conceived when his mother saw a star falling into her lap and he stayed in the womb for 80 years. When he was born, he was already a grown man with gray beard and long earlobes, a symbol of good fortune and longevity.
For a time he kept the royal court archives for the Zhou Dynasty (1027-256 BC), but resigned and went westward to propagate his ideas and philosophy.
One day, while riding an ox, he approached the Hangu Pass in today's Henan Province and was stopped by Yinxi, a sentinel who manned the pass. A faithful follower of Lao Zi's philosophy, the officer immediately recognized the great master.
But, in order to have Lao Zi to teach him something of his philosophy, the officer demanded the old man produce an official permit to leave the country.
Lao Zi had no such document, so agreed to write a 5,000-word essay about his philosophy in exchange for passage to the West. That essay turned out to be the famous "Dao De Jing," or the "Book of Virtue."
Today, scholars worldwide are still debating whether the book was actually written by Lao Zi or compiled by his students and disciples.
However, they agree that the book reflects Lao Zi's thinking.
Originally, the essay contained just two parts, namely, "Dao Jing" (also "Tao Ching") and "De Jing" (also "Te Ching"). It was later divided into 81 sections or short chapters, with the first 37 sections devoted to "Dao Jing" and the last 44 sections to "De Jing."
Here, Dao (Tao) is often translated literally as "way" and has been interpreted by Chinese philosophers in many different manners. According to the context, it may imply the essential but unnamable process of the universe.
Meanwhile, De (Te) means virtue, personal character, virtuosity or integrity. And Jing (Ching) means canon or classic.
In the book, Lao Zi used the concept of Dao (Tao) to explain all changes in the universe. Dao, also translated as "the Way" or "Great Integrity," is deemed the mysterious source or ideal of all existences.
Lao Zi also put forward many dialectical ideas, such as, "Dao gives rise to one, one gives rise to two, two gives rise to three and three gives rise to all other things." In "Dao De Jing," he wrote: "Great talents mature slowly, great sounds are silent. Great forms look shapeless, transcendent squareness has no corners."
Other famous quotations of Lao Zi include: "All things under Heaven came from something, which in turn came from nothing;" "By the side of misery lies happiness, and beneath the happiness lurks the misery;" and "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Today, Lao Zi's thinking continues to have a great influence on Chinese culture. Almost all young students can recite a famous "Dao De Jing" quotation: "Dao that can be told is not the universal Dao; The name that can be named is not the universal name."
It is said that "Dao De Jing" has been translated several hundred times into English, German, French and other foreign languages.
But due to the fact that the original essay was written in Classical Chinese and some of its parts were deliberately vague, many of the subtexts and nuances of Dao De Jing are lost in modern translations.
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