Asia Blog: China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam

Taoism (Daoism): How can we define it?

The two big important schools of thought from early China ought to be Confucianism and Taoism. It seems like they ought to be talked about together, as if one were ying and the other were yang. Talking about Daoism is impossible for two reasons:

1) Taoism believes itself cannot be talked about
2) The term is anachronistic: no one called themselves a Taoist in the warring states period. In the Han dynasty the term began to be used as a textual classifier.

Taoism is best defined as the teachings of ?? and ??:

Laozi (??), wrote the Dao de jing.
Zhuangzi, wrote the inner seven chapters.

His name literally means something along the lines of “old sir” and is not an actual name. An unlikely Han dynasty story goes that Confucius went to Laozi for instruction in the old rituals, although the Dao de jing clearly has no taste for ritual. This is the only biographical information we have about Laozi. However, since Laozi lived in the 6th century and there is no mention of his book until late 4th century (320 - 300 BC), it is hard to know who he is or where he came from precisely.

Religious Daoism from late 1st to 2nd C. AD

The author seems to be anti-Confucian and shares only that with the Zhuangzi. Late in the Han, around 2nd century AD, there emerges a religious cult of Taoism, which is very different from the material in the Laozi/Zhuangzi. Forever after, there are many proliferating competing Taoist sects who read the Laozi, Zhuangzi, and many other “heavenly transmitted” texts of their own inventions.

Even though the term is masked in myth, we still want to know what is a good definition of what Taoism could have been. There are three important components:

• The Dao (The Way) as the underlying essence & process of the Cosmos
• Possibility of intuitive or mythical insight
• Spontaneity, naturalness

The metaphysical use of the term Tao does not exist before the Zhuangzi/Laozi. What they seem to have done is to unify all of the little paths of life into a subsuming path they called the Tao, the fundamental way of life. They also allow for a mystical intuition into the Tao, because regular language and logic will not suffice. Language and logic were invented as tools of the micro earthly realm, but do not pertain to the greater path. Thus, there is some way to gain mystical insight into the workings of the universe, and the Taoists seem to do this. A final characteristic is an emphasis on naturalness and spontaneity in opposition to the artificialness of human civilization, particularly as embodied in Confucianism. The contrived rituals of the Confucians drove the Taoists mad, who just wanted to live simply.

Zhuangzi compares human to fish, and civilization to what happens when you drain the water from a lake. He claims that fish will gather together and spit on each other to keep each other moist. Thus, in absence of the moisture needed to keep fish alive, all humans have accomplished is to spit on each other in a sad parody of the natural.

Oddly, a ruler walks by the kitchen and sees the master chef carving through beef like butter. Wow, he thinks, that’s masterful!! Tell me about your Tao with the knife. The cook says, when I first started, I had to replace my knife every few months, but over time, I learned if you let the knife find its own way through the soft sinews, it cuts easier. Now, after 19 years, I have applied my full mystic concentration to the beef chopping and haven’t had to replace my knife. The point is that you can learn about the way from the lowest possible corner of society, and that you can learn to follow the Tao without thinking.

However, this quality has to be trained over time, and is thus not spontaneous in the modern sense. To learn to be in tune with the Tao, you must expend much effort.

Michelle Kwan every four years we’ve been waiting for her to win her gold medal in Olympic skating. And, four years ago was her last chance, and we all tuned in to watch her win it. There was great competition with Russians and Americans, and a 15 year old kid Sarah Hues from central New York, who went into the first round of the championships with poor placement. However, she gave up, with no hope of winning, and performed from her heart to win the gold. When the reporters asked her, she said, “I had just given up my goals, and went out to have fun.” Laozi and Zhuangzi agreed. Everyone else was Confucian, and were concentrating hard on winning, got stiff and nervous, and eliminated themselves from the competition. Thus, by getting to a place of stillness, you can transcend the normal way.

There are themes in the Laozi that suggest one of the main reasons to learn the Tao is to then become a political leader of men and quietly lead the country to perfection and idealism. In the end, their goals are identical to the Confucians’, just by different means. There’s a strong strain in Confucianism that likes the idea of the effortless government, because the day will come when you transcend your ritual training, and the proper virtue will come effortless to you. However, the Taoists are amoral and believe in a set of natural processes. Human civilization is unnatural to Taoists, but to Confucians, civilization is simply the normal state of the world.

Confucians and music

For the Confucians, ritual and music were not divided; music was an integral part of traditional behavior. This notion that you can divide out music from ritual from poetry and all is artificial and a misunderstanding of their curriculum, which is a set of processes that will lead you to understand the way of the world through self-cultivation. Confucius says, “Don’t come to me about the spiritual realm when you haven’t mastered the human realm.” This makes Confucianism world-bound and not particularly concerned with afterlife.

The Taoists talk about losing themselves in everyday activities, the Confucians want to lose themselves in music, as an image of ideal society. The musicians are subjected to strenuous technical training until they can join a room of other musicians and come together harmoniously. This involves each one accepting their natural born roles to become the best at what they are born to be, their own particular role in society. Then, coming together harmoniously will create a result larger than the sum of its parts.

Zhuangzi above all others says, “leave me alone to play by my self with my flute.”

Solve the problem of casting perfect two-toned sets of 64 bells all a fifth apart and in tune with every other bell in the set. So, it must be trial and error, but not on a per-bell basis. Professor Robert Bagley suggests that several bells in older sets are in tune with each other, even though the bells have separate origins. Then you can create molds from the previous bells that happen to be in tune, stealing them from your enemies as you go. This was a phallic musical status symbol.

Through a state’s musical performances, and the spirit you feel from the music performed, you could judge the morality of the ruler and the desires of his subjects. This was a cornerstone of early Chinese. The Chinese recognized the power of music to affect mood, to mobilize men to war, to spur the national spirit, and to generally persuade.

Periods:

• Eastern Zhou (722 - 221 BCE)
• Spring Autumn (722 - 481 BCE)
• Warring States (475 - 221 BCE)

People:

• Confucius (522 - 479 BCE)
• Mencius (370 - 300 BCE)
• Xunzi (310 - 215 BCE)
• ?? (?)

Five relations:

• Father-son
• Ruler-minister
• Husband-wife
• Old-young
• Friend-friend

Morality:

• Compassion
• Filial Piety
• Righteousness
• Propriety
• Loyalty
• Reciprocity

Today’s lecture is a condensed overview of Confucianism, one of the most important men in the formation of Chinese culture. We will focus on the historical context surrounding Confucius, the end of the Spring & Autumn period, when the Zhou move down the yellow river valley to the east. In theory, the eastern states trace their ancestry to the founders of the Zhou, but after 770 the Zhou have lost their central power, so their claims of lineage are to fuel intra-state competition.

Eastern Zhou: Breakdown of nobility

By the time Confucius arrives in the 6th century, the nobility has begun to wipe itself out as Eastern Zhou states begin to war with each other. Even the branch lineages inside a state war among themselves. In between the high nobility and the commoners are a huge new class of disenfranchised noblemen who hold no formal office, but are nonetheless not commoners. This dilutes the value of “nobility.”

Increased scale of war

Over time, the scale of war greatly increases as armies become better equipped and trained. New weapons are invented, better generals are found. However, the native Chinese literati looked at this period as a great period of decline, even though strong competition produces numerous inventions in industry, war, and science. Instead, they longed for a so-called ancient golden age.

Social mobility

From the military of administrative realm, the best craftsman and warriors are promoted up to give their lords an edge in conquering their neighbors. For the first time in history men are able to be recognized for their talent and not their birth-line.

Confucius (551 - 479 BCE)

A low-ranking member of the noble class, without any other familiar of government distinction. He was born in the state of Lu when the Western Zhou enfiefed the Duke of Zhou in that region just after the conquest of the Shang. The Duke of Zhou is the model of all great sage ministers, so there is a strong tradition of his personality cult in the state of Lu. So, Confucius celebrates the Duke of Zhou as a great minister of the past. His job is to train vagrant young noblemen in the rituals and habits of a great gentleman of old, high Zhou. This may be the first “royalty” school we know of in China to train young men in the ways of the court.

In his social vision, which ignores bloodline for intelligence, there is an element of the revolutionary. After him, there were no others to formulate great wisdom and pass it down for future generations.

Key moral terms

Filial Piety - do whatever you parents tell you to do. It’s very clear from early Zhou inscriptions from 10th, 9th century BC that the term was an old cultic term used in the ancestral cult, which literally meant to offer food to your dead parents and grandparents. From that core meaning, it extends quickly to the living parents and any parental caring act. If you are the primary son in a noble lineage, you are the only one able to mediate between the living and dead members of your family and its honor.

There is also a homology between family and state: “As to the family, so to the state.” This creates a relationship of undying service to their parents and the states. If you assume that children believe it’s natural to offer service to their family, linking family and the state produces useful minions.

Righteousness - The set of morals for behavior that are linked to social status and other circumstances. Thus, it is the execution perfect of justice.

Benevolence - A common kindness that should be exhibited to all human beings. For example, the Geneva convention is a modern example of law which codifies this notion.

Virtue (de2) / Charisma - In latin, it means “to have the power or capacity of doing something” which is closer to the Chinese original meaning. Everyone has an innate capacity to behave a certain way which can be developed through virtue, leading to great charisma. De2 is a form of non-coercive power over others. These three ideas are related to each other, where a ruler is constantly doing good for the people he rules over, cultivating his de2, so that those people later will naturally return the favours without coercion. Thus an economy of good will is built up in the people through gift giving.

From nobleman to Confucian gentleman (??)

? means “my lord” and ? is a respectful suffix. Confucius is a Latinized version of Kongfu ?. At first, ?? was used as a signifier of blood rank, but Confucius reversed the meaning to be entirely based on moral quality. To be a nobleman has nothing to do with your birth, but rather if you can follow a moral code.

Rites & Music: Confucian curriculum for becoming ??

Now, carefully, the stereotypical view of the Confucian curriculum is that through being a ??? you will become a ??. Yes, they used the Book of Documents and the Book of Poetry, but the Confucians didn’t have written versions of the poems. Instead, they embraced ancient traditions that were archaic and out of date, in almost foreign language, of the old ways. The Confucians were convinced that performance of the rituals was enough to become a sage. For us, this is difficult to understand. How, following a book of etiquette, can I become a moral person. Confucius, however, wants to tell us that there’s no difference. (Note that Plato had a similar idea of ritualized habit to culture virtue). By performing mundane things over and over again with the rite attitude, you can achieve a higher form of development.

Feudalism

Small territories are doled out to relatives and allies who share marital, sacrificial, family, and other ceremonial or real bonds. These rulers share the same authority as the king, albeit on a smaller scale, possibly leading to conflict of authority in the future. Because authority spreads with fiefdoms, power is diluted out away from the center towards individual fringes. Eventually the Zhou are invaded by raiders from the North, and the false impression of Zhou power fades away, even though their culture has spread everywhere. Later, even their culture will differentiate across various regions.

Because of the desire to have many offspring from which to select the best heir, and the limited potential for expansion, the social structure becomes top-heavy with noblemen, while the potential use for nobility is limited. By late in the Western Zhou period, you see even in bronze inscriptions legal cases about land tenure–remember, bronze inscriptions are almost always positive. So, inter and intra-state war begins to help differentiate conflicts.

Book of Documents (11th - 2nd Century BCE, compiled by multiple authors)

• “Metal Bound Box”
• “The Tribute of Yu” - From a later period of the Eastern Zhou period, talking about Yu’s creation of order from the chaos of the floods, and how he divides China into 9 major provinces and a single political center. Tribute is given by the provinces to the central system.

There are five classics of ancient Zhou China: the spring and autumn annals, the book of changes, the book of poetry, and the book of documents. While there are some documents that claim to be Shang, most if not all are from the Zhou. We thought the story of the tribute of Yu came from 4th century Zhou, but then we found a 9th century Zhou bronze with an inscription which reads, “heaven ordered you to divide up the lands and to follow the course of the mountains and to follow the course of the rivers”, the same as the opening lines of the tribute of Yu in the book of documents. The story of Yu, therefore, is an old myth, but rewritten in a political context in the book of documents. Even to up to 150 years ago, maps of China were forced into the grid of 9 provinces as established by Yu.

Yu, founder of Xia, Tamer of floods and the creation of order, civilization, and empire

One may identify Yu by the two-pronged forky tool he uses to dig things. The original myth started with floods and chaos, which Yu the great renders habitable for civilization. However, there is a state-sponsored myth in which there was a great age invaded by a flood, which Yu then restored.

• Book of Odes, poems, songs
• Book of Changes
• The Spring and Autumn Annals (722 - 479 BCE, State of Lu)

A history of the years kept in local courts, but only one of these annals survives, and only for 722 - 479 BCE. It is an annal of the State of Lu, Confucius’s home state, preserved by his personal copying for personal didactic use. The spring and autumn annals is a boring record of the interactions between states, but since Confucius used it to teach, it has been slowly reinterpreted by commentators (Zuo, for example, in the Zuo Chuan). However, it is not an objective history. It is heavily edited to make a moral point–the gradual decline of morality.

The peasant’s view of military life is far more interesting to me than the cultured opining of the old Zhou Chinese elite. The abstract philosophy of war may be appealing to certain philosophers, but to get a thorough understanding of how war was waged one must look to the common warriors’ accounts. The last poem from the Book of Songs presented on page 13 of the sourcebook asks a series of rhetorical questions whose implied answers flesh out the nature of ancient war in China. I will present an annotated parallel version of the poem which presents the rhetorical answers:

Which plant is not yellow?
All plants are green.
Which day don’t we match?
We march every day.
Which man does not go
We have all been conscripted
to bring peace to the 4 quarters.
to conquer and enslave our neighbors.

Which plant is not brown?
All plants are green.
Which man is not sad?
We are all sad.
Have pity on us soldiers,
treated as though we were not men.

One could also look a little beyond the literal responses and note the apparent progression through the summer to the end of the hot dry season. Imagine looking out over the fields and asking yourself about the color of plants. At the start of war, the plants are yellowed but still alive, indicating that the common soldiers are not entirely happy with their forced service, but tolerating it. Then the plants, and the men, wither and sustain losses. The soldiers are sad, and want to return home, but they are only treated as so many little grasslings herded en masse to their deaths.

The last stanza seems to reflect fatalism on the part of the men:

A thick-furred fox
scurries through the dark grass.
Our loaded carts
proceed along the Zhou road.

There is a contrast between the fox that lurks and slinks through the grass along the road, and their heavily loaded caravan. Tied to the official army, these common men are unable to range freely and engage the enemy at will. They are vulnerable to surprise attacks from hidden positions and other unknown evils. Above all, the agrarian imagery and metaphor indicates their desire to return home, to symbols and habits that are familiar, and throw off the chains of war.