Search Results (16)

This paper examines the challenges of our hyperconnected society through the lens of Daoist philosophy, specifically drawing on the thoughts of Laozi and the Zhuangzi. This study begins by analyzing the broad implications of hyperconnectivity in contemporary society, highlighting how unprecedented levels of interconnection shape modern human experience. The analysis identifies three critical challenges in our hyperconnected world: the individual cognitive level (where connected subjects experience confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance); the structural level (where systemic forces diminish individual autonomy and create unpredictable outcomes); and the amplified social level (where the interaction between individual and structural factors intensifies social division, isolation, systemic risks, and cascading failures). This paper approaches these challenges through three key Daoist concepts: Dao as the foundational principle of reality, Qi as the underlying logic of interconnection, and the complementary principles of Wu-wei (non-action) and Ziran (self-so-ness) as frameworks for managing desire. These concepts yield two crucial insights: the need to deepen our understanding of connectivity’s practical dimensions and the importance of maintaining critical distance between means and ends through persistent questioning of fundamental principles. As technological advancement and material concerns increasingly dominate society, Daoist philosophy offers both a warning about the potential loss of human essence and practical guidance for maintaining purposeful awareness through Wu-wei and Ziran. The concept of Qi further illuminates humanity’s fundamental embeddedness in universal interconnection. This paper concludes by proposing ways to bridge theory and practice, emphasizing expanded awareness of connectivity, philosophical inquiry into essence, and the enduring relevance of humanistic wisdom. Full article

This paper, through a detailed textual analysis of Laozi zhigui 老子指歸, examines Yan Zun’s sophisticated intertextual strategies in elucidating the Daodejing 道德經 and explores the eclectic and inclusive conceptual framework he constructed. First, Laozi zhigui not only directly quotes or adapts phrases from major texts such as the Zhouyi 周易, Zhuangzi 莊子, Huangdi sijing 黃帝四經, and Huainanzi 淮南子, but also incorporates concepts such as yin and yang, qiwu 齊物, and yinxun 因循 from these sources. To a considerable extent, this approach has enriched the ideological connotations of the Daodejing. Second, Yan Zun takes the core ideas of the Daodejing as a foundation to blend the philosophies of the Zhouyi, Zhuangzi, and Huang-Lao Daoism. In this way, he resolves potential conflicts among these diverse textual traditions and preserves the logical coherence and value integration of Laozi zhigui. Third, through his synthesis of these classical texts, Yan Zun develops a more comprehensive cosmological framework, alongside a practical political theory and principles for self-cultivation. Although the primary purpose of the Laozi zhigui is to elucidate the Daodejing, through his remarkable interpretive skills, Yan Zun’s concepts not only clarify the classic text but also generate novel perspectives, innovative concepts, and a distinctive intellectual framework. Full article

This study explores the application of Eastern philosophy in craft innovation education, identifying opportunities for interdisciplinary learning. Drawing on the I Ching and Laozi’s thought, it examines human needs in craft across three dimensions: Qi-form (material), Xin-form (psychological), and Dao-form (philosophical). Taiji theory’s Yin–Yang balance highlights the importance of interdisciplinary thinking in craft innovation. This study introduces the “Spiral Innovation Theory” as a framework for craft education, implemented in the 2024 Taiwan Craft Academy Summer Program with 43 participants. The curriculum covered lacquer, wood, metal, and ceramics, employing a multi-mentor system. Using the Learning Motivation Strategies Scale, Imaginative Thinking Scale, and interviews, the findings reveal that different crafts foster distinct creative abilities. The ANOVA results show woodworking enhances ideation, metalwork and ceramics improve fluency, ceramics and woodworking strengthen flexibility, while woodworking and lacquer work boost creativity. A significant correlation between learning motivation and imagination was found. These findings offer insights into future craft education, advocating the dual mentorship model as a strategy for interdisciplinary innovation. Full article

The distinction between philosophical Daoism and religious Daoism is widely influential yet highly controversial. The current popular empirical methods often overlook the vicissitude of the concepts underlying the reception history of this distinction. Therefore, this article adopts the method of intellectual history, based on the transmission and transformation of the concept of philosophy, to examine the rationales of the establishment and reception of this Daoist distinction. Here, we present that, though the Confucian tradition of ranking Daoist figures provided soil for this Daoist distinction, the establishment of the dichotomy with terminological awareness should be attributed to the cooperation between Victorian Protestant intellectuals and their late Qing Confucian collaborators. The concept of philosophy that pursues eternal wisdom and truth and traces the origin of all things has played an essential role in the establishment of this distinction. The thought of Laozi and Zhuangzi was valued and preferred in mainland China because of its deemed congruence with this Western concept of philosophy, while other more religious branches of Daoism were belittled. However, the philosophies of anti-metaphysics engender a new paradigm of thinking. On the one hand, under the influence of logical positivism and its successors, natural science has become an excellent model for other studies. In light of empirical methods, the distinction between philosophical Daoism and religious Daoism becomes an erroneous and inefficient metaphysical distinction. On the other hand, inspired by continental philosophers such as Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Derrida, scholars gained a new perspective on understanding the thought of Laozi and Zhuangzi. Thus, a new consensus emerges: eternal truth based on concepts and logic distorts the real world of life. According to this, the distinction between philosophical Daoism and religious Daoism is only an imaginary and conceptual distinction, which does not apply to the understanding of living Daoism. Full article

This paper proposes examining the central notion of Oneness (一 yi) in Daoist thought by offering an analysis of its uses in the early writings of the Daoist tradition, beginning with the Laozi 老子 and the Zhuangzi 莊子 before moving on to Huang-Lao 黃老 texts. While Oneness in the Laozi primarily appears as another “name” for Dao, it was used in discussions of cosmogony and cosmology, political governance, and personal cultivation. These multiple aspects of Oneness in the Laozi were later developed along two different paths in Daoist thought. The first, exhibited in the Zhuangzi, the Baopuzi 抱樸子, and other similar documents, treated Oneness as the ultimate source of all things and extended its meaning in the context of personal cultivation. In resonance with this path, their central teachings concerned “maintaining Oneness” (守一 shou yi). In the second path, expressed in the Huang-Lao tradition’s understanding and interpretation of the Laozi, Oneness acquired a certain concreteness and was singled out as the criterion and standard for social order, while the notion of Dao gradually devolved into abstraction. Huang-Lao writers hence emphasized Oneness in the sense of unification, uniformity, a singular decree, or law, which opened a theoretical gap between Oneness and Dao, and their central teachings concerned “utilizing Oneness” (用一 yong yi) and “holding Oneness” (執一 zhi yi). Full article

For a long time, scholars have been applying the view of Confucius on Wen (文) and Zhi (質), centering on liyi (rites and rituals 禮儀) and renyi (benevolence and righteousness 仁義), to the Daoist concepts of them. This inevitably leads to many misunderstandings and overlooking the unique characteristics of the Daoist view. In the philosophy of Laozi and Zhuangzi, Zhi represents the natural state of human nature that is simple and desireless, while Wen refers to the corresponding expressions of speech and behavior generated based on Zhi. Under the Daoist Dao (the way 道)–Wu (object 物) model, the relationship between Wen and Zhi in Laozi and Zhuangzi is closely related to human nature and emotions, presenting Ti (source 體)–Yong (function 用) as the unity with nature as Ti and emotions as Yong. Secondly, Laozi and Zhuangzi’s view on Wen and Zhi is closely related to the thoughts of self-cultivation and governing the country, with the latter as the foundation for the former. Their view of Wen and Zhi shows the relationship of Ben (root 本)-Mo (branch 末). The probing into the Laozi and Zhuangzi’s concept of Wen and Zhi helps to understand the unique characteristics of the Daoist view, thereby further excavating the theoretical value and practical significance of the relationship between Wen and Zhi. Full article

Lao-Zhuang thought and the Laozi in particular is frequently interpreted as providing a critique of the dominant social values of its time. In English language literature, this often entails utilizing thinkers from the Western tradition of philosophic critique from Kant onwards, thereby obscuring the critical methods unique to the text itself. Chinese language literature, on the other hand, rarely uses the semantics of philosophic critique which thereby prevents the text from contributing its own unique voice to the discourse of critique. This paper attempts to put the Laozi into discourse with the wider tradition of philosophic critique, broadening the tradition with a unique “Chinese voice”, but allowing it to speak in its own terms according to the text itself, the commentarial tradition, and modern scholarship. Full article

It has been nearly 200 years since the Daodejing and Daoist thought was first introduced to Russia in the first half of the 19th century. Although the study of Daoist philosophy and Laozi in Russia started relatively late, the Daodejing has been the most translated classic of Chinese culture in Russia. The early dissemination of the Daodejing in Russia was deeply influenced by the government and religion, and there were some controversial and neglected materials that were difficult to verify due to the lack of documents and manuscripts. For example, the first translation manuscript of the Daodejing in Russia has almost become a rare book that is nearly impossible to find and inconvenient to read; the authorship of the first article introducing Laozi’s thought in Russia remains a mystery; the first complete translation was completed by a Japanese theologian living in Russia, but it has not received enough research attention. The insufficient research on the early dissemination of Laozi studies in Russia has had a negative impact on the studies of Laozi in Russia. Therefore, this paper, on the basis of various documentary and manuscript references, aims to conduct an in-depth analysis of the early dissemination of Laozi studies in Russia, paying particular attention to the three early Russian documents in the 19th century about the Daodejing, namely, the first translation manuscript of the Daodejing, the first article introducing Laozi’s thought in Russia, and the first complete Russian translation of the Daodejing. A detailed review of these three documents can help to correct some misconceptions and misunderstandings of the early dissemination of the Daodejing in Russia, and, to some extent, reveal the early dissemination characteristics of Laozi studies in Russia. Full article

The concept of time in Laozi’s philosophy is more complicated than it appears. Its complexity stems from the fact that there are two distinct concepts of time: the temporality of empirical things, which is constructed as a finitely continuous temporal succession that is perceptible, and the temporality of the shapeless dao 道, which is conceived of as a transcendental and infinitely continuous temporal succession that is imperceptible. Referring to the excavated Laozi texts, we find that most of the heng 恆 characters were replaced by the character chang 常 in the transmitted versions of the text. In addition, inspired by the excavated text Hengxian 恆先, the concept of heng in Spring and Autumn period philosophy has become an important subject of study. These two factors collectively lay a thought-provoking foundation for understanding Laozi’s ideas about the continuous, large-scale temporal eternality of dao. This article argues that both the daoheng 道恆 and hengdao 恆道 are used in the Laozi to describe the temporality of dao but that the latter has long been forgotten and overlooked by modern scholars. In the compound word hengdao, the character heng is a noun that acts as an attribute; whereas in the compound word hengdao, the character heng is a noun that acts as the predicate. This article argues that Laozi introduced the theory of “dao is eternal” (dao yongheng 道永恆) as evidenced by the use of heng and several time concepts such as “it seems to have even preceded the first ancestors” (xiangdi zhi xian 象帝之先), “the spirit of the valley never dies” (gushen busi谷神不死), “he who lives out his days has had a long life” (si er buwang 死而不亡), “the way … by which one lives to see many days” (changsheng jiushi 長生久視). The temporality of material things originates from the temporality of dao. Moreover, things can possess and expand their own time if they act in accordance with the universal law of dao. Full article

Where do ethics or morals come from? We arrive at vastly different answers, given that these answers are contingent upon various sources, such as legendary stories, the theology of various religions, Western and Eastern philosophies, etc. In the Chinese tradition, Laozi, Confucius, and Sunzi are considered as the three ancient sages from approximately 2500 years ago. Their thoughts and teachings have shaped Chinese culture and characterized the Chinese way of life. This essay attempts to demonstrate a new understanding of their philosophy on ethical principles. Herein, we present select analyses of their literary works—Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing), The Analects, and The Art of War. These three sages posited ethical ideas inspired by nature, and a single thread—the way of nature—sewed those ideas together. Full article

Many Chinese and Western scholars have looked into the relation between Daoist and Greek thought, implementing Greek philosophical vocabularies to explain or highlight the distinctness of Daoist terms. This paper offers a view of an alternative and unexplored area of such endeavors: the translation of Daoist philosophy in modern Greek. More specifically, I offer an account of the reception and interpretation of the text by looking at three renderings of the Daodejing 道德經 (or Laozi 老子) in modern Greek. I first summarize the translators’ methodologies, overall understanding of the Daodejing’s focus and current relevance, and views on authorship and translation, and identify a set of translative trends: reliance on familiar notions, frameworks, and cultural experiences; mystification; attention to poeticity; and emphasis on a perceived remedial function of the text for a modern Greek readership. I then look at the renderings and explications of the key notions dao 道 and de 德 in four passages as case studies. The final section sums up the findings and concludes that the dominant interpretive tendency and translative trend in the examined translations is the assumption of similarity between Daoist and more familiar beliefs and frameworks. Full article

Based on Chinese and Arabic literature, this paper summarizes the spread of Laozi’s text and thought in the Arab world. The specific course of dissemination can be divided into two stages: from 1966 to 2000, the Dao De Jing was disseminated on the basis of indirect translations; from 2000 to today, the spread of the Dao De Jing in the Arab world reached a climax when the first direct translation was published. Laozi’s text and thought have gained acceptance and popularity largely because of their soothing function and similarity to the Sufi spirit found in Arab culture. The spread of Laozi’s text and thought in the Arab world presents three features: a long and friendly history of cultural exchange has served as a foundation; languages such as English and French have functioned as intermediaries; and similarities between Sufism and Daoism have provided points of connection. Full article

Negativity is an important dimension in both Adorno’s inverse theology and the theological thought of pre-Qin Daoism. Firstly, both have a negative thinking and approach. Adorno inherited the Jewish idea of “forbidden images” and negative theology, and his negative dialectics is just a negative method. The pre-Qin Daoist description of the Dao and its laws are also negative. Secondly, in terms of negative language, Adorno insists on a negative discourse, arguing that concepts cannot fully express objects, and that the purpose of philosophy is to “express the inexpressible”. The pre-Qin Daoist idea of “no name” is also a negative discourse. Adorno and Zhuangzi both attempted to express truth in a non-conceptual language. Finally, negativity is the essence of social criticism and redemption. Both Adorno and the pre-Qin Daoists were in the midst of social collapse. Adorno argued that redemption could only be expected from an inner criticism of society and through the art of negativity. And the philosophy of Laozi and Zhuangzi was ultimately understood as the spirit of Chinese art. However, Adorno’s negativity contains the idea of intermediation, while the negativity of Laozi and Zhuangzi’s thought is based on the idea of interconversion. The ideas of the two can be informed by each other. Full article

How to treat others is a key topic in Laozi’s thought. Laozi not only advocates “non-action” (wuwei 無爲), or not interfering with others, but also hopes that actors will take some positive responsibilities for others. He expects that actors can implement the instructions of Dao 道 and fulfill the role of “assisting others to achieve their self-so-ness but not daring to interfere” (chapter 64). He believes that “one person will become more abundant when he contributes to others” (chapter 81); that is to say, actors and others are always in the process of mutual attainment. What he claims can be summarized by the dual assertion “to do V₁, but not to do V₂” (V means a type of action), containing two kinds of responsibilities: the situations represented by “not to do V₂” are concrete manifestations of “non-action,” which refers to the negative responsibility of non-interference with others, while the situations signified by “to do V₁” are essentially a kind of action of assisting others, which is a positive responsibility for others. There is a subtle cooperative relationship between “assistance” and “non-action.” In a nutshell, what Laozi expects is a responsibility to support others to actualize their authentic self on the premise of earnestly respecting the spontaneity and autonomy of others. When the focus on “non-action” is broken through, we can grasp Laozi’s thinking deeply and expand our understanding of his thought. Full article

“Dao” is not only a core concept in the Daodejing, but is also an important keyword in Chinese classical philosophy. It encompasses the origin of all things in the universe, the laws of nature, and the laws of dealing with the world. A historical review of Russian sinologists’ interpretation and conceptualization of “Dao” reveals the differences in philosophical understanding and translation strategies of those sinologists, and reflects the translation loss and compensation of Chinese classical philosophical keywords in the process of foreign dissemination. During the Imperial Russian Period, researchers regarded “Dao” as the revitalization of religious theology. During the Soviet Period, the aim of the Soviet researchers was to find the struggle between materialism and idealism in “Dao”. In the Post-Soviet Period, researchers gradually threw off the shackles of ideology, and began to conduct more diversified and multi-level research on “Dao” and the Daodejing. This article aims to discuss the research and translation of the Daodejing in Russia, paying particular attention to the dissemination and reception of “Dao” in Russia. It also endeavors to explore the interpretive trends of “Dao” in Russia and highlight the dissemination and understanding of Laozi thought in Russia. Full article