Who is Laozi 老子?

Laozi (approximately 571 - 472 BC) was a philosopher during the Spring and Autumn Period and the founder of Taoism.

According to "The Biography of Laozi" in Records of the Grand Historian, "He had the surname Li, the given name Er, and the courtesy name Dan." Taoist books state that "Laozi had the surname Li, the given name Er, the courtesy name Boyang, and the posthumous title Dan"; some in the academic community believe that "He had the surname Lao, the given name Dan, and the courtesy name Boyang." He was from Qurenli, Lixiang, Ku County of the State of Chu (now in the east of Luyi, Henan Province).

He served as the Chief Archivist of the Zhou Dynasty, in charge of books. Later, he lost his official position, left the Zhou Dynasty, and went to the State of Qin. When passing through Hangu Pass, at the request of the gatekeeper, he wrote the Tao Te Ching.

Laozi established an ideological system with "Tao" as the highest category.

The "Tao" he mentioned is the "unusual Tao", that is, the "Tao" that goes beyond conventional common sense. He advocated using this "Tao" to explain the world.

Firstly, Laozi used "Tao" to represent the original state of the universe. He believed that the original universe was something "chaotically mixed" without a fixed form. It had already come into being before the formation of heaven and earth, was independent and had nothing to rely on, and kept circulating continuously. Its objectivity was affirmed by Laozi.

Secondly, Laozi used "Tao" to represent the origin of the world: "Tao begets One, One begets Two, Two begets Three, and Three begets all things." All things in heaven and earth are born from "Tao". The birth, destruction, and changes of all things are endless, and so is "Tao". It is "empty yet inexhaustible, the more it moves, the more it gives out." This infinite "Tao" cannot and should not be compared with the image of any specific thing. Therefore, in terms of its infinity, it is "a form without form, an image without an object." It is also impossible to give it a definite name, so it is called "Nothingness" or "Namelessness". However, "Tao" contains all things, gives birth to all things, makes all things distinct from each other, and has qualitative determinacy. Precisely because "Tao" is related to various specific things, it is called "Being". In terms of the finiteness of "Tao", it "has things within it, has images within it." Therefore, "Tao" is a unity of "Being" and "Nothingness", "Substance" and "Emptiness", infinity and finiteness.

In the process of using "Tao" to represent the original state of the universe and the origin of the world, Laozi emphasized clarifying the natural nature of "Tao".
He put forward the propositions of "Tao follows nature" and "It is not commanded by anyone but always follows nature." He believed that from the vast universe to all things in heaven and earth, they all evolve and develop spontaneously, that is, "self-transformation through inaction." This view of self-transformation through inaction negates traditional theology of the mandate of heaven, believing that there is no supernatural power and that all things in the world are not dominated by the Heavenly Emperor or gods.

Laozi said, "Tao gives birth to them, Virtue nurtures them, things take shape, and objects are completed." (Chapter 51 of Tao Te Ching) He pointed out that from birth to growth, all things follow their own laws, which is a process of "self-transformation." Laozi also applied the view of self-transformation through inaction to the field of social politics and opposed policies that harassed the people. He said, "Without desires and in tranquility, the world will be settled by itself." (Chapter 37 of the same book) "I take no action, and the people transform themselves; I love tranquility, and the people correct themselves; I have no affairs, and the people enrich themselves; I have no desires, and the people become simple." (Chapter 57 of the same book) "When the work is done and the task is achieved, the people all say, 'We did it naturally.' " (Chapter 17 of the same book) This view of self-transformation through inaction can lead to positive results under certain conditions.

Laozi believed that after all things are generated by "Tao", in the process of their development and change, the negative factors play a particularly important role. He emphasized the "opposite" within the "positive" everywhere and further put forward the proposition of "The movement of Tao is in returning" (Chapter 40 of Tao Te Ching), believing that the "opposite", that is, the negative factor, is the basic force of the movement of "Tao" itself. This proposition reflects the basic characteristics of Laozi's dialectics and shows profound insight.
It contains three key points:

(1) Other things are contained within things themselves, and any thing is a unity of opposites between the positive and the negative, affirmation and negation: "Therefore, being and non-being give birth to each other, difficulty and ease complete each other, length and shortness are manifested by comparison, height and lowness incline towards each other, sound and voice harmonize with each other, and front and back follow each other." (Chapter 2 of the same book) Being and non-being, difficulty and ease, length and shortness, height and lowness, the loudness, strength, clarity and turbidity of sound, as well as front and back, etc., these contradictory aspects are not only opposite to each other but also interconnected and interdependent. The so-called "give birth to each other", "complete each other", "be manifested by comparison", "incline towards each other", "harmonize with each other", "follow each other", etc., all refer to the unity between opposites. Since there is the "opposite" within the "positive", Laozi believed that there is no and cannot be an absolutely perfect thing in the world: "The bright Tao seems dim, the advancing Tao seems retreating, the smooth Tao seems rough, the lofty virtue seems like a valley, the great purity seems sullied, the ample virtue seems insufficient, the established virtue seems slothful, the genuine substance seems changeable, the great square has no corners, the great vessel takes time to complete, the great sound is faint, the great image has no shape." (Chapter 41 of the same book) "The greatest straightness seems crooked, the greatest cleverness seems clumsy, the greatest eloquence seems hesitant." (Chapter 45 of the same book) The bright Tao actually contains darkness, the advancing Tao actually contains retreat, the smooth (flat) Tao actually contains obstacles, and the same is true for other concepts like "lofty virtue", "great purity", etc. Laozi also said, "Misfortune is where fortune depends, fortune is where misfortune lurks." (Chapter 58 of the same book) He believed that misfortune and fortune are connected, and fortune also harbors the factors of misfortune. In Laozi's view, an absolutely pure thing without opposites simply does not exist. Here, Laozi not only touches on the issue of the universality of contradictions but also reminds people to pay special attention to the "opposite" within the "positive" to prevent superficiality and one-sidedness and thus maintain a clear mind.

(2) The value of the affirmative factor lies not only in itself but also in the existence of its opposite, that is, the negative factor. The affirmative factor is reflected and manifested in the negative factor: "When all in the world know beauty as beauty, there arises the recognition of ugliness; when all know the good as good, there arises the recognition of evil." (Chapter 2 of the same book) That is to say, everyone knows that beauty becomes beauty because there is ugliness to contrast with it; everyone knows that goodness becomes goodness because there is evil to contrast with it. In other words, as affirmative factors, beauty and goodness need their negative factors, ugliness and evil, to fully manifest their values and essences. Laozi further believed that the negative factor not only shows the value of the affirmative factor but also has its own unique value that the affirmative factor does not have. It is precisely because of its existence that the affirmative factor obtains the conditions for its existence and development: "Bending leads to wholeness, crookedness leads to straightness, hollowness leads to fullness, weariness leads to renewal, scarcity leads to gain." (Chapter 22 of the same book) Without "bending", "crookedness", "hollowness", "weariness", and "scarcity", there can be no "wholeness", "straightness", "fullness", "renewal", and "gain". The latter depends on the former. Without the former, there will be no latter. For example, without "bending", there will ultimately be no "wholeness". And so on. Laozi also said, "Putting himself last, he comes first; regarding his body as external, his body is preserved." (Chapter 7 of the same book) He believed that only by taking the initiative to step back can one ultimately leap forward; only by taking the initiative to disregard oneself can one ultimately preserve oneself. In fact, this means that the opposite side is more important than the positive side, or the negative factor is more important than the affirmative factor.

(3) Things will turn into their opposites when they reach the extreme, and the "positive" transforms into the "negative". Laozi said, "The normal turns into the strange, the good turns into the evil." (Chapter 58 of the same book) The "positive" and "good" transform into their opposites, the "strange" and the "evil". However, Laozi believed that when a thing reaches its peak, it will plummet and transform into nothingness, that is, a complete negation of itself: "If you pound metal to make it sharp, it cannot be long preserved; when gold and jade fill your hall, you cannot keep them." (Chapter 9 of the same book) When metal is tempered into a sharp object, it changes from being originally preservable to "not being long preservable" and is completely lost; when wealth accumulates to the extreme, it changes from the original "gold and jade filling the hall" to nothingness ("cannot keep them"). In Laozi's philosophical thought, things turning into their opposites when reaching the extreme and being dissolved into nothingness from fullness is just one form of the change of things, that is, the form of drastic change. In addition, there is another form of slow change. In this form, things can maintain their own identity for a long time, and the condition is to guard against fullness and avoid excess: "Holding and filling it is not as good as stopping." (Ibid.) It is better to stop than to make it full. Laozi emphasized, "Those who preserve this Tao do not desire fullness." (Chapter 15 of the same book) As long as "excessiveness, extravagance, and arrogance" are removed and things are kept below the boundary of fullness, it will not be the case that "the more one hoards, the greater the loss will be", and there will be no drastic transformation of things: "Contentment leads to no disgrace, knowing when to stop leads to no danger, and one can last long." (Chapter 44 of the same book) Regarding these two forms of drastic change and slow change, Laozi believed that the former should be avoided as much as possible, while the latter should be strongly advocated. Laozi emphasized the "opposite" within the "positive" and put forward the principle of "Upright words seem paradoxical" (Chapter 79 of the same book), which is not only a form of dialectical thinking but also a strategic idea. The keynote of this strategic idea is the word "opposite", that is, using opposite means to achieve positive goals. For example, Laozi said, "If you want to contract it, you must first expand it; if you want to weaken it, you must first strengthen it; if you want to abolish it, you must first give to it; if you want to take from it, you must first give to it. This is called subtle illumination." (Chapter 36 of the same book) This "art of subtle illumination" is to obtain the positive by using the negative: in order to ultimately contract it, one must first expand it; in order to ultimately weaken it, one must first strengthen it. And so on. Other ideas such as "Bending leads to wholeness", "Crookedness leads to straightness", and "Putting himself last, he comes first" all belong to this "art of subtle illumination" of obtaining the positive by using the negative or seeking the positive through the negative. The basic spirit of this strategic idea is to preserve oneself, strive for victory, and ultimately preserve the achieved victory results. This strategic idea takes into account the complexity and tortuousness of the development of things, condenses the precious experience and great wisdom of real life, and also reflects the interests, demands, and tastes of the exploiting class. Laozi not only put forward but also established his entire ideological system, including his dialectical and strategic viewpoints, from the "opposite" within the "positive". "The movement of Tao is in returning; the function of Tao is in weakness." (Chapter 40 of the same book) "Returning" and "weakness" constitute the basic tendency of Laozi's thought. However, in the relationship between "returning" and "weakness", "weakness" is the foundation. Although "weakness" is a kind of "opposite", that is, it is opposed to the prevailing tendency in society to advocate strength, "returning" proves "weakness" and is ultimately attributed to "weakness". Therefore, "valuing softness", that is, advocating weakness, is the fundamental characteristic of Laozi's entire ideological system. Weakness is the actual effect of "Tao", or it can be said to be the manifestation form of "Tao". The value of life is in strength, and the value of death is in weakness.

The main points of Laozi's thought of valuing softness are as follows:

(1) The judgment of weakness. Laozi believed that softness and weakness are manifestations of vitality, while strength is a symbol of death. He said, "When people are alive, they are soft and weak; when they die, they are hard and strong. When plants and trees are alive, they are tender and brittle; when they die, they are dry and withered. Therefore, the hard and strong belong to the company of the dead; the soft and weak belong to the company of the living. ... The strong and great are in a lower position, while the soft and weak are in a higher position." (Chapter 76 of Tao Te Ching) He believed that as a vibrant force, softness and weakness have inestimable value, while strength is associated with death, meaning the loss of one's own value.

(2) The philosophical view that softness and weakness overcome strength. Laozi philosophically demonstrated the internal relationship between softness and firmness, believing that softness itself contains its opposite - "firmness". Softness is firmness, and the utmost softness is the utmost firmness. Laozi said, "Nothing in the world is softer and weaker than water, yet for attacking the hard and strong, nothing can surpass it." (Chapter 76 of the same book) "The softest thing in the world can ride roughshod over the hardest thing in the world." (Chapter 44 of the same book)

(3) The life attitude of knowing the masculine but abiding by the feminine. Laozi said, "Knowing the masculine, yet abiding by the feminine, one can be a ravine to the world", "Knowing the white, yet abiding by the black, one can be a model to the world", "Knowing the glory, yet abiding by the disgrace, one can be a valley to the world." (Chapter 28 of the same book) He required people to be content with femininity, darkness, and humiliation while knowing what masculinity, purity, and glory are.

(4) The political proposition of inaction and non-attachment. Laozi said, "Those who act will fail, and those who grasp will lose. Therefore, the sage takes no action and thus suffers no failure; he attaches to nothing and thus loses nothing." (Chapter 29 of the same book) Here, "inaction" and "non-attachment" become synonymous with doing nothing. Laozi's philosophical propositions are highly general and have a high level of abstract thinking. For these philosophical propositions, specific analysis is needed to correctly grasp their values and meanings. For example, the proposition of "softness and weakness overcome strength" has truth, or it can be said to contain elements of truth. In nature and social life, there are many facts of softness and weakness overcoming strength. However, if this proposition is absolutized, believing that "when the army is strong, it will be destroyed; when the wood is strong, it will break" (Chapter 76 of the same book) under any circumstances, taking softness and weakness as glory and strength as shame, that is wrong and harmful. Many of Laozi's other philosophical propositions also have a dual nature. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, Laozi was always concerned as the founder of Taoism. After the Han Dynasty, he was gradually deified and religiousized and became the founder of Taoism, known as "Taishang Laojun". Although Laozi's thought has a certain connection with Taoism, it has an essential difference from Taoist doctrines. There is a biography of him in Volume 63 of Records of the Grand Historian. His work is Tao Te Ching.