Daoism in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States

During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, when hundreds of vassal states engaged in intrigues, military conflicts, and the law of the jungle, various ideological schools such as Taoism, Confucianism, Military Strategy, Mohism, Legalism, Diplomacy, and Yin-Yang emerged, creating a spectacular scene of "contention of a hundred schools of thought." Works like Zuo Zhuan and Spring and Autumn Annals, which meticulously recorded the history of the time, were also born successively. This grand "contention of a hundred schools of thought" occurred nearly 2,000 years earlier than the European Renaissance.

Laozi, the founder of Taoism, preserved most of his thoughts in the book Laozi. Composed of 81 chapters and over 5,000 characters, it is later called Tao Te Ching because it discusses the concepts of "Tao" (the Way) and "Te" (virtue). The current version of Laozi is not the original work but was expanded by scholars during the Warring States period, though its core ideas belong to Laozi. Its fundamental ideological category is "Tao," hence the name "Taoism." While many regard Laozi as a great philosophical work, others view it as a method for Taoist cultivation, believing it can lead to the life goal of returning to simplicity. As Laozi stated at the beginning: "The Tao that can be spoken of is not the eternal Tao." His "Tao" is not the "ordinary way," and those who attain it differ profoundly from ordinary people. Laozi Chapter 20 says: "The world is bright and clear, but I alone am dim. The world is sharp and discerning, but I alone am muddled. Everyone has their purpose, while I alone seem ignorant and humble. I alone am different from others, valuing the nourishment from the Mother (Tao)."