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Essence of China
P13
DECEMBER 13 – 19, 2012
Lao Zi: Saint and founder of Daoism
ZONA YEH/THE EPOCH TIMES
BY CINDY CHAN, DAVID WU &
CAROLINE YATES
EPOCH TIMES STAFF
Lao Zi (Чʪ) is venerated as a saint
and a great philosopher in China.
He is regarded as the founder of
the Dao School (道家, pronounced
dào jiā), the philosophical tradition of Daoism.
Dao (道) means the “Way,” referring the “Way of Heaven,” or the
right or proper path. It is also written as Tao.
It is commonly recognized
among scholars that Lao Zi lived
around 571–470 B.C. and was a
contemporary of Chinese philosopher Confucius (孔子) (551-479
B.C.).
Chinese culture is said to have
begun over 5,000 years ago with
the Yellow Emperor—Huang Di
(黄帝), who was a cultivator of
Dao and had great power and
wisdom.
Lao Zi systemized Daoist
thought about 2,500 years ago.
His teachings are contained in the
“Dao De Jing,” also called “Tao Te
Ching” (道德經), or “The Classic of
Dao and Virtue.”
The classic, which consists of
81 chapters, uses concise verses
and vivid expressions to discuss the meaning of Dao and its
manifestation in virtue, or de (德,
pronounced dé).
Lao Zi believed that Dao is the
root and creator of all things, and
that virtue is the foundation of
Dao; it is behaviour that adheres
to the Dao—sincere morality and
manifestation of good deeds.
The essence of his teachings
is to honour the Dao, value and
aspire to virtue, and do so not due
to command but spontaneously
and naturally.
The ultimate purpose is to
attain the Dao, or rather, to reattain it—to return to one’s original level of the Dao.
Imparting the Dao
Lao Zi’s family name was Li (李),
while his given name was Er (耳).
The name Lao Zi, literally “Old
Master,” is an honorific title. “Lao”
means old age and great virtue,
while “zi” is a laudatory way of
addressing a man or a “master” in
ancient China.
Lao Zi, heralded
by a purple aura,
appeared on a
water buffalo.
To enable people
to return to their
true nature, Lao
Zi disseminated
the Dao during a
chaotic period in
the Zhou Dynasty.
Lao Zi was born during the
Spring and Autumn Period (770–
476 B.C.) of the Eastern Zhou, in
the later part of the Zhou Dynasty
(周朝) (approximately from the
11th century B.C. to 221 B.C.).
Some legends say he was born
with white hair and this is why
he came to be known as Lao Zi.
Legends also say he was endowed
with extraordinary natural abilities.
He lived in the capital of Zhou
for a long time and was the curator of the imperial library and
archives. He was familiar with
ceremonial systems and had
extensive knowledge of nature.
While the earlier Western Zhou
(until 771 B.C.) saw great peace and
unity, the Eastern Zhou (770–221
B.C.) was characterized by fragmentation and war.
Lao Zi witnessed the decline
of the Zhou. In 520 B.C., he was
dismissed from his position after
SHIOUJEN WEN/THE EPOCH TIMES
being implicated in a power
struggle among Zhou officials.
Deeply feeling the evilness of
the human world, he obscured
his identity and began a life of
wandering.
According to legend, when
Lao Zi reached the border of the
Zhou empire to cross into the
northwestern regions, the border
official saw a purple aura rising
in the east, foretelling the arrival
of a saint. He then saw Lao Zi
approaching on a green water
buffalo.
The official requested that Lao
Zi transmit his wisdom before
departing. Lao Zi left behind
some 5,000 Chinese characters.
This is the well-known “Dao De
Jing.”
Following what is natural
Lao Zi pointed out that the
source of good fortune—virtue—and the source of bad
The disappearance
of kindness,
righteousness,
filial piety, and
loyalty indicated
the deterioration
of social morality.
fortune—a result of committing wrongdoing—are mutually
transformable; good fortune
can turn into bad, and vice versa,
Loss of innocent nature
Lao Zi stated that societal developments led to people’s pursuit of fame and profit at the
expense of virtue, and people
lost their innocent nature.
The disappearance of kindness, righteousness, fi lial piety,
and loyalty indicated the deterioration of social morality.
If everyone could be kind to
each other and government
officials were decent and honest, morality would be part of
daily life and there would be
no need to advocate it, Lao Zi
believed.
Returning to the origin
To enable people to return to
their true nature, Lao Zi disseminated the Dao during a
chaotic period.
In just 5,000 words, he
explained the meaning of the
Dao, its relationship to the formation of the universe, and the
origin of all things.
Lao Zi discussed how to
behave as a human being and
how to finally return to one’s
original, true self. He provided
many examples to explain
these main issues, paving the
way for people to achieve this
final purpose.
Chinese dynasties and the ‘Mandate of Heaven’
BY CINDY CHAN & BLAKE LI
EPOCH TIMES STAFF Dragons in the East have a positive connotation and are said to
have accompanied several great emperors in the third millennium
B.C. when they descended from Heaven and later when they
reascended to Heaven after completing their mission.
under certain circumstances.
To guard against losing virtue,
Lao Zi taught people to follow
the course of nature and have
no intent, as even something
that looks like a good deed may
turn out to be wrongdoing.
By having no intent, practising what is called wuwei (無為),
or non-action, one avoids committing wrongdoing and thus
will not lose virtue.
Lao Zi said, “Heaven follows
the Dao. The Dao follows what
is natural.”
A philosophical belief was established by the founders of the
Zhou Dynasty (周朝) around
1100 B.C. that Heaven bestowed
the divine right of ruling to
those who were morally worthy.
This belief, known as the
“Mandate of Heaven” (天命, pronounced tiān mìng), is rooted
deeply in Chinese culture and
has had a fundamental and
enduring influence on Chinese
history.
It established that a ruler
must be wise and just, follow
the Dao—the Way of Heaven—
and be attuned to destiny.
The ancient Chinese regarded
the emperor as a “son of Heaven,”
with Heaven above him.
Lao Zi (老子) expressed his idea of
the unity of Heaven and humans
in the Dao De Jing (道德經): “Man
follows the Earth, the Earth
follows Heaven, Heaven follows
Wise and
capable rulers
in ancient China
revered Heaven
and cherished,
respected, and
protected their
subjects.
the Dao, and the Dao follows
what is natural.”
Wise and capable rulers in
ancient China revered Heaven
and cherished, respected, and
protected their subjects. Historians recorded all the words and
deeds of the emperor, and the
Sudoku Sudoku
Fill in the boxes using numbers
between 1 and 9 so that each column,
each row, and each 3x3 square contain all nine numbers only once.
emperor’s behaviour was judged
by the Confucian classics.
Sage kings had wise and virtuous officials serve as their teachers or advisers. One example is
Yi Yin (伊尹), who helped Shang
Tang (商湯) found the Shang
Dynasty (商朝) and became its
first prime minister.
Jiang Ziya (姜子牙) is another
example. He assisted both
King Wen (周文王) and King Wu
(周武王) in establishing the Zhou
Dynasty.
Enforcing the Dao on behalf
of Heaven
If a ruler is immoral, he would
be criticized by his ministers
and the people, and the people
may overthrow him, such as
Shang Tang’s defeat of Xia Jie (
夏桀), the last emperor of the
Xia Dynasty (夏朝), who was a
tyrant.
Another example is King
Wu’s removal of Emperor Zhou
(紂王), the last ruler of the Shang
Dynasty.
Traditional Chinese culture
did not consider these uprisings
as violations of loyalty or the
Dao, but rather as enforcing the
Dao on behalf of Heaven.
The ancient Chinese also
believed that natural disasters
were Heaven’s warning signs
that the government had moved
away from the Dao.
If the government ignored
these rebukes, Heaven would
send stronger warnings in
attempts to awaken conscience.
If warnings continued to be
ignored, calamities would follow.
These patterns were believed
to be the ways in which Gods
showed their compassion to
human beings.
Throughout Chinese history, the Mandate of Heaven is
recorded as having influenced
changes of dynasties and
emperors, with the rise and
fall of dynasties and emperors
linked to the morality of human
beings.
GEOGRAPHY GURU
Growing Your Geography Knowledge
Quiz 399
CONNECTING COUNTRY:
What is the only nation on the North American continent that
shares land borders with four other nations and has coastline
on both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean? BONUS: Name
the four nations sharing the land borders.
Read The Epoch Times next week for the answer!
nswer for Quiz 398:
This week's solution
FORTY EAST: The 40 degrees east longitude line passes
through 11 nations in three continents. From north to south:
RUSSIA and UKRAINE in Europe; TURKEY, SYRIA, IRAQ, and SAUDI
ARABIA in Asia; and ERITREA, ETHIOPIA, KENYA, TANZANIA, and
MOZAMBIQUE in Africa.