China & East Asia · c. 4th c. BCE – today
Daoism
The Dao, the nameless way of all things, works without forcing; people flourish by returning to spontaneity and acting through non-action (wuwei).
How can we live in accord with the way things naturally go?
While the Warring States schools competed to offer rules for restoring order, Daoist texts questioned the whole project of names, rules and striving, which they saw as a cause of disorder. The Laozi (Daodejing) took shape over the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE, and the writings gathered under Zhuangzi’s name developed a playful, sceptical voice.
Every distinction we make, such as good and bad or useful and useless, depends on its opposite and on a point of view. Imposing such distinctions on the world distorts its natural course. So the sage acts without forcing, and the best ruler interferes least.
- The Dao that can be spoken of is not the constant Dao.
- Softness and yielding overcome hardness.
- All distinctions depend on a point of view.
It shaped Chinese religion, painting, poetry, medicine and political thought, and fed Xuanxue and Chan Buddhism; the Daodejing is among the most translated books in the world.
Thinkers
traditionally 6th c. BCELaoziLegendary sage credited with the Daodejingc. 369–286 BCEZhuangziDaoist writer of parables, paradoxes and freedomKey texts
Where it came from
Reacted againstConfucianismThe Daodejing treats Confucian virtues as symptoms of decline: “when the great Dao is abandoned, there are humaneness and righteousness.”
What it led to
Borrowed byLegalismHan Feizi wrote chapters explaining the Laozi and borrowed its image of a still, empty ruler who acts through non-action.Carried on by
Xuanxue (“Profound Learning”)Wang Bi and Guo Xiang built their metaphysics as commentaries on the Laozi and the Zhuangzi.Borrowed by
Chan / Zen BuddhismDaoist ideals of spontaneity and the inadequacy of words gave Chinese Buddhists a native language for awakening beyond concepts.Borrowed by
Neo-Confucianism (Cheng–Zhu school)Zhou Dunyi’s Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate is traditionally traced to Daoist cosmological diagrams.