Figures of Taoism: Dugu Ji 独孤及

Dugu Ji (725—777) was a litterateur of the Tang Dynasty, with the courtesy name Zhizhi, and he was from Luoyang, Henan.

He passed the imperial examination in the late Tianbao period and served as an official in prefectures and counties, achieving remarkable administrative achievements. He eventually held positions such as Sanqi Daifu (a senior court official) and Shangshu Sifeng Langzhong (a position in the central government).

In literature, he was equally famous as Li Hua and Xiao Ying. His works were generally used to establish constitutions, admonish the world, praise the virtuous, and curb evil, and he excelled in argumentation. In philosophy, he adhered to Laozi and Zhuangzi's thoughts of quietness and inaction, preserving one's nature and truth, and being free and unrestrained. He believed that "the Dao, as a thing, is nameless and formless" and that "the Dao" has differences between essence and dross. One should take its essence for self-cultivation and use its dross to help things. He said that the basic spirit of Taoism is "taking tranquility and stillness as the ancestor and emptiness as the substance", thus advocating treating all things from the perspective of emptiness and eliminating the boundaries between right and wrong, good and evil.

He said: "The sage does what should be done and refrains from what should not be done; he engages in affairs and remains free from affairs; he plans and does not plan; he has goodness yet is free from the concept of goodness; he has evil yet is free from the concept of evil. He merges good and evil into one, and unites similarities and differences among all kinds of things." He regarded preserving one's nature and truth as the highest philosophical principle, asserting that "there is nothing greater than preserving truth in equalizing heaven and earth and making all things indistinct". He also divided preserving one's nature and truth into three levels: concentrating vital energy to achieve softness is the foundation of preserving truth; being quiet and pure is the middle level; and "each affirming what it affirms and each approving what it approves" is the superficial level. However, he believed that these three are unified, and even the unrestrained indulgence of "each affirming what it affirms and each approving what it approves" belongs to the natural nature, which should not be corrected by etiquette, music, punishment, and politics.

He said: "If one corrects the nature of indulgence to comply with the norms of punishment and politics, it is like lengthening the legs of a duck or shortening the legs of a wild duck, which impairs its completeness." In terms of health preservation, he advocated focusing on preserving essence to achieve the combination of internal and external aspects. He said: "All those who preserve health take the fundamental as the essence and things as the dross. They close the external, are cautious about the internal, and do not set foot in dangerous situations. Therefore, weapons cannot harm them; their hearts do not dwell in violent places, so how can forceful power extend its claws! If one adheres to the essence and abandons the dross, they will gain internally but lose externally. If there is no way to maintain the distinction between internal and external, then the principle of health preservation is violated." (All the above are from Reply to the Policy on Understanding the Mysterious Classics)

He adhered to Laozi and Zhuangzi's philosophy of life and could elaborate on Laozi's view that "the reason I have great troubles is that I have a body". He regarded life itself as a burden and trouble, fame as a rein, and official position as a cage. He thought that life itself is suffering: "My body grows along with all kinds of worries", "My life arises along with delusions, evil qi takes advantage of it, and all kinds of karmic conditions come together, bringing worries, troubles, losses, and gains" (Ode to Dreaming of a Distant Journey). He asserted that life is impermanent: "Gain has not ended yet, but loss has already followed"; before the sun sets, "prosperity and decline change in a myriad of ways" (Ibid.). He sighed that "the universe is so narrow", thinking that the universe is too small to allow for freedom and that the world is too shabby to stay. He stated that he would never "be immersed in the realm of honor and disgrace, or be willing to stay in the garden of joy and sorrow" (Ibid.). He hoped to be with the Creator and wander freely in the void.

He said: "My true self exists forever, like still water without waves, like floating clouds without roots. It waxes and wanes with time, entrusting itself to heaven and earth. Fortune and misfortune alternate, good and bad share the same source, and all things are as they are. I have nothing to say to the world; how carefree I am, just to pass the years" (Ibid.).

His biography can be found in Volume 168 of The Old Book of Tang and Volume 160 of The New Book of Tang. His deeds can also be seen in Cui Youfu's Epitaph of Dugu Gong, Former Prefect of Changzhou. His works include Collected Works of Pilin. Ten volumes of his works are compiled in Volumes 384 to 393 of The Complete Prose of the Tang Dynasty.