Figures of Taoism: Xie Guan 谢观

Xie Guan was a scholar and Taoist in the Tang Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Wenzong, he served as an assistant official in Jingzhou.

In philosophy, he put forward the ontology of emptiness/non-being, holding that emptiness is the ontological foundation of all things in the world. All tangible things will eventually return to the ontological emptiness. He stated: "Once established from emptiness as its substance, and with the aid of the divine through the One, when unfolded and put into use, all phenomena emerge from emptiness; when gathered and brought to an end, all phenomena return to emptiness" (Ode to the Great Evolution of Emptiness and the One).

He put forward the proposition that "the non-being is the origin of being," believing that "being" arises from "non-being." He said: "Submitting to the non-substantial substance, returning to form in the spontaneous and natural way, then non-being is the origin of being, and being is the basis of non-being" (Ibid.). He equated the non-being, which serves as the ontological foundation of all things, with the "Dao," believing that the "Dao" existed before heaven and earth, gave birth to heaven and earth, and endures through all ages.

He stated: "Before the beginning of heaven and earth, it already existed in a massive form; after the end of heaven and earth, it will still exist in tranquility. What is existence? What is birth? It gives birth to all things, yet my form is not manifest; it completes all things, yet my form does not appear. Called 'being,' yet it has no trace; called 'non-being,' yet it has essence. Therefore, the Dao that can be described is not the eternal Dao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name" (Ode to the Image in Trance).

Proceeding from the view that emptiness and the primordial are the foundation, he denied the objective reality of the material world, regarding the world as an illusion that seems to exist yet not exist. He said: "Trance cannot be seen, without smell or sound; vagueness cannot be heard, ethereal and profound. Within the realm of the impossible, there is an indescribable form. One can follow the trance and the vagueness, and between non-right and non-wrong, see images that seem to exist yet not" (Ibid.).

He denied the knowability of the world, arguing that the empty ontology and all things derived from it are unknowable, have no laws to follow, and cannot be measured or gauged by any rules or standards.

He stated: "Therefore, those who seek by clinging to non-being are wrong in principle; those who seek by clinging to being are also wrong in principle. Entrusting essence to the realm of non-being, hiding brilliance in the power of entering being, its image is empty, its substance is profound. Called 'clear,' yet it remains silent; called 'deficient,' yet it returns to wholeness. Its square does not fit the carpenter's square, and its circle does not fit the compass. Seeking the hidden through heartfelt understanding, one can forget form in the conceptual trap" (Ibid.).

He advocated grasping the meaning and forgetting the words (see Ode to Grasping the Meaning and Forgetting the Words) and promoted "abandoning the external realm, preserving the ultimate unity within" (Ode to the Image in Trance), that is, obliterating objective objects to bring the inner mind to the utmost emptiness ("ultimate unity"). He believed that achieving this would allow one to enter the realm of inaction: "As the words of Laozi suggest, how can inaction not be attained" (Ibid.). This thought of inaction is derived from his ontology based on emptiness. One volume of his works is compiled in Volume 758 of The Complete Prose of the Tang Dynasty.