Taoism 道教

    By the time of fourth century BC, or the latter part of the Zhou Dynasty, Taoism was well established in China. The major tenets（教义）of Taoism stand on a small book of only 5000 words, the Tao Te Ching①, (Book of The Way and Its Virtue), inseparably associated with Lao Tzu in the Chinese mind. Also intimately sustaining and supportive of Taoist thought were the writings of important followers of Lao Tzu, such as Lieh Tzu and the sage（圣人，贤人） Chuang Tzu, both of whom left important works.

    In the context of Chinese cosmology, Dao is a life-giving force responsible for the creation of myriad(无数的) things, and stands for the cosmic order, the way things are. So an appropriate translation for Dao is “the Way”. “The Way,” used in the singular, signifies the existence of a single cosmic order or a single cosmic pattern. It can be loosely rendered as the Truth, or the Reality. Under the holistic（整体的）cosmic picture, the cosmic order also governs human affairs. Consequently, Dao takes on a moral connotation, as the right way for states of affairs in the human world to be. Since Dao is the “right way,” it also comes to stand for “the path (the Way) one ought to take.” In this sense, Dao stands for the highest moral precept for human beings. 

    Another important notion in Chinese cosmology is that of qi, in relation to which Dao should also be understood, since Dao is often seen as the rhythm or pattern of the movement of qi. Everything is comprised of qi, and the various degree of purity and impurity determine the levels of existence. Human beings are made out of the purest of qi, while lower animals are produced by qi with greater impurity. Qi is not volitional(凭意志的), hence, our creation is not the result of any intentional production. Qi pervades the universe, in other words, the universe is simply the totality of qi in perpetual (无限的)motion and constant alteration. 

    In the Chinese conception, qi is divided into two strands: yin and yang. Both strands seem to manifest at once physical differences as well as symbolic differences. On the physical level, yin and yang are both competitive and complementary. On the one hand, the yin qi and the yang qi are competing forces or opposite forms of energy, which constantly work against each other. Since both are part of the totality of qi, when yin grows, yang declines; when yang strengthens, yin weakens. The competition is constant and the flow of qi is always in motion; hence, change(“yi”) is the constant state of qi. On the other hand, yin and yang complement each other, since everything relies on both of them to exist. In the physical world, nothing can be either purely yang or purely yin. We can say that cooperation of yin and yang is based on their mutual competition. Things can change, grow, decline, and get reborn, exactly because yin and yang work against each other. The change of seasons is a perfect illustration of the interaction between yin and yang. 

    Yin and yang do not stand for a simplified polarization between good and evil or light and dark. The apparent competition between yin and yang is actually the motivation force behind their cooperation. Hence, without one, the other could not exist. All things pushed to their extreme point will change into their opposite. It is the spirit which unifies and harmonizes and creatively restores equilibrium（平衡）of forces. In this balancing of opposites lies the harmonious center of creative power, and the harmony is the law of life. 

Abridged and revised from 

Ben Willis, The Tao of art, the inner meaning of Chinese art and philosophy, Century Hudtchinson Ltd, London, 1987.

Liu JeeLoo, An Introduction to Chinese Philosophy: from ancient philosophy to Chinese Buddhism , Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2006.

Notes

①Tao Te Ching，《道德经》，又称《道德真经》、《老子五千文》及《五千言》，是老子的著作，中国春秋战国时期道家学派奉为创始典籍，中国历史上首部完整的哲学著作。据联合国教科文组织统计，《道德经》是除了《圣经》以外被译成外国文字发布量最多的文化名著。