What is Returning as the Movement of the Tao in Taoism 什么是反者道之动
Paul PengWhat is Returning as the Movement of the Tao in Taoism
A core proposition in Daoist philosophy.
It comes from Chapter 40 of the Dao De Jing. It holds that under the operation of the Dao, all things may turn into their opposites.
What is Returning as the Movement of the Tao in TaoismLaozi witnessed the cycles of growth and decay in nature and understood the principle of rise and fall in human affairs. He revealed the law of mutual dependence of opposites: beauty and ugliness, difficulty and ease, long and short, high and low, before and after, existence and non‑existence, gain and loss, firmness and softness, strength and weakness, misfortune and blessing, honor and disgrace, wisdom and folly, skill and clumsiness, big and small, life and death, victory and defeat, attack and defense, advance and retreat, stillness and agitation, light and heavy. He took the transformation of opposites as the basic principle for understanding the world and the guiding method for establishing one’s life.
The methodological meaning of “Reversal is the movement of the Dao” can be understood in two aspects.
As a strategy for overcoming opponents: since “An army that is too strong will be destroyed; a tree that is too stiff will break” (Chapter 76) and “Softness overcomes hardness” (Chapter 78), Laozi advocates creating conditions that push the opponent to an extreme, leading to its downfall. That is:
“To weaken it, one must first strengthen it;
to abolish it, one must first promote it;
to take it, one must first give it.”
This means: first let it grow strong temporarily, then weaken it; first let it flourish temporarily, then destroy it; first give to it, then take from it.
As a way of life: since “Things that are overly vigorous grow old; this is called being contrary to the Dao, and what is contrary to the Dao will soon perish” (Chapter 30), once people refuse to remain soft and instead strive for dominance, violating the principle of non‑action of the Dao, they will inevitably decline prematurely. “The violent do not die a natural death.”
On the contrary:
“To be bent is to be preserved;
to be crooked is to be straightened;
to be hollow is to be filled;
to be worn is to be renewed;
to have little is to gain;
to have much is to be confused.”
Those who accept being bent achieve wholeness; those who do not avoid being humbled achieve their purpose; those who do not discard the old achieve renewal; those who do not crave abundance gain more; those who indulge in excessive desire lose their true nature.
Laozi’s attitude shows that in an unpredictable world, “Misfortune is that upon which happiness leans; happiness is that in which misfortune lurks.” Only by “abandoning excess, abandon extravagance, abandon arrogance,” avoiding extremes, consciously uniting with the Dao, and remaining empty rather than full can one preserve life and avoid harm.
Therefore, one should:
“Know the male, yet keep to the female;
know honor, yet keep to disgrace;
know the white, yet keep to the black” (Chapter 28).
Know the power of strength yet remain gentle; know the glory of honor yet remain humble; know the brightness of the world yet abide in darkness.
As long as one does not lose the constant joy of contentment that comes from attaining the Dao, worldly honor, disgrace, gain and loss can be regarded as floating clouds, leaving the mind unmoved.
From this perspective, “Reversal is the movement of the Dao” expresses the sage’s transcendence over right and wrong, gain and loss.
