Decoding Dao: Reading the Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching) and the Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)

Providing a unique focus on the core texts in Daoist philosophy, this lucid introduction to the Dao De Jing and the Zhuangzi offers students a comprehensive understanding of the principles underlying much of Chinese culture. The author′s mastery of the material, combined with her accessible style, enables readers to get to grips with two of the most widely read – and most complex – texts in China’s long literary history. The volume sets the Dao De Jing and Zhuangzi in their historical context and explains the key terms and approaches these two seminal works take. It traces their origins, their authorship, and the reasons they came into being. The author moves on to examine the core philosophical arguments made in the texts, as well as the many ways in which they have been interpreted, both in China itself and in the West. Importantly, the analysis extends to the three primary modes – religious, mystical, and philosophical – of reading these enigmatic volumes. Decoding Dao offers readers unrivalled insight into the multifaceted philosophy of Daoism, informed by the very latest academic scholarship.

Book Notes x Chronology xi Section One: The Context Chapter One The Social and Political Background— Confucianism—Mozi and Mohism (Moe–ds) and (Moe–ism)—Yang Zhu and Shen Dao (Ya–ahng, Jew)— Language and Logicians—Trends During the Warring States Era—Cultural Heroes and Concepts—Summary 3 Section Two: Authors and Texts Chapter Two The Dao De Jing—Why Does the Dao De Jing/Tao Te Ching/Laozi/Lao Tzu Have So Many Names?— Dao De Jing, The Author—Dao De Jing, the Text—The Dao De Jing, the Style of the Text—The Dao De Jing in the West— The Zhuangzi, the Author—The Zhuangzi, the Text—The Zhuangzi, the Style of the Text—The Zhuangzi in the West—Issues in Translation—Summary 27 Chapter Three The Dao? A Dao? Dao? daos? dao?—Images: 49 Water, Women, Baby, Root, and Others—What Is the Problem?—Conventional Values: Pairs of Opposites— Being and Non–Being—Summary Chapter Four Illogical Statements?—Decoding—Not Acting, Not Knowing, Not Desiring—Ziran, Self–So, Natural, Spontaneous—Language—Morality—Summary 70 Chapter Five War—Government, Society, and the Sage– Ruler—The Golden Age—Advice for Would–Be Sages—Losing dao—Summary 90 Chapter Six What Is the Problem?—Anti–Confucians— Anti–Mohists—Being Useless—Point of View—This and That—Knowing How—Knowing What—Summary 111 Chapter Seven Language: Convention and Culture—This/ That, True/False—Language Is OK, Up to a Point— How to Use Language—Clarity—Death— Transformation—Survival of Consciousness and an Afterlife—Immortality—Dao—Summary 132 Chapter Eight Public Life—The Golden Age—What Should We Do?—Mirror—Forgetting—Mind/Heart Fasting—Perfected People—The Relationship of the Dao De Jing and the Zhuangzi—Summary 156 Section Three: Developing Dao Chapter Nine The School of Zhuangzi and Followers of the Dao De Jing—The Han Feizi—The Guanzi—Huang– Lao—The Huainanzi—The Liezi—The Han Dynasty and Beyond—Summary 179 Chapter Ten Organized Daoism—The Search for Immortality—Organized Groups—The Cult of Laozi— Modern Organized Daoism—The Mystical Reading— The Philosophical Reading—Modern Daoism—Dao Lite—A Lao–Zhuang Daoist—What Is Daoism and Other Problems 202 Glossary of Technical Terms 232 Glossary of Pronunciation 235 Further Reading 237 Bibliography 239 Index 252

Lee Dian Rainey is Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. She has taught Chinese philosophy for more than twenty years and has published widely in this area. Her publications include Confucius and Confucianism: The Essentials (Wiley–Blackwell, 2010).