Editing Laozi (section)

== ''Tao Te Ching'' ==
{{Main|Tao Te Ching}}
{{see also|Tao|Wu wei}}

[[File:Ping Sien Si - 016 Lao zi (16135526115).jpg|thumbnail|upright|Carving of Laozi at Ping Sien Si Temple in [[Perak]], Malaysia]]
The ''Tao Te Ching'' is one of the most significant treatises in Chinese [[cosmogony]]. It is often called the ''Laozi'', and has always been associated with that name. The identity of the person or people who wrote or compiled the text has been the source of considerable speculation and debate throughout history.{{sfnp|Simpkins|Simpkins|1999|pp=11–13}}{{sfnp|Morgan|2001|p=223}} As with many works of ancient [[Chinese philosophy]], ideas are often explained by way of paradox, analogy, appropriation of ancient sayings, repetition, symmetry, rhyme, and rhythm. The ''Tao Te Ching'' stands as an exemplar of this literary form.<ref>{{ cite book| chapter = On the Range and Performance of ''Laozi''-Style Tetrasyllables | last = Schaberg | first = David | pages=87–111 | title= Literary Forms of Argument in Early China | editor1= Joachim Gentz |editor2=Dirk Meyer | publisher=Brill | series= Sinica Leidensia, vol. 123 | isbn = 978-90-04-29970-2 | date = 2015 }}</ref> Unlike most works of its genre, the book conspicuously lacks a central "master" character and seldom references historical people or events, giving it an air of timelessness.{{sfnp|Denecke|2011|pp=208, 213}}

<section begin="DDJ themes" />The ''Tao Te Ching'' describes the Tao as the source and ideal of all existence: it is unseen, but not transcendent, immensely powerful yet supremely humble, being the root of all things. People have desires and free will (and thus are able to alter their own nature). Many act "unnaturally", upsetting the natural balance of the Tao. The ''Tao Te Ching'' intends to lead students to a "return" to their natural state, in harmony with Tao.<!-- ref supports whole of paragraph to this point -->{{sfnp|Van Norden|Ivanhoe|2005|p=162}} Language and conventional wisdom are critically assessed. Taoism views them as inherently biased and artificial, widely using paradoxes to sharpen the point.<ref name="Kohn-22">{{Harvp|Chan|2000|p=22}}</ref>

''[[Wu wei]]'', literally 'non-action' or 'not acting', is a central concept of the ''Tao Te Ching''. The concept of ''wu wei'' is multifaceted, and reflected in the words' multiple meanings, even in English translation; it can mean "not doing anything", "not forcing", "not acting" in the theatrical sense, "creating nothingness", "acting spontaneously", and "flowing with the moment".{{sfnp|Watts|Huang|1975|pp=78–86}}

This concept is used to explain ''[[ziran]]'', or harmony with the Tao. It includes the concepts that value distinctions are ideological and seeing ambition of all sorts as originating from the same source. ''Tao Te Ching'' used the term broadly with simplicity and humility as key virtues, often in contrast to selfish action. On a political level, it means avoiding such circumstances as war, harsh laws and heavy taxes. Some Taoists see a connection between ''wu wei'' and [[esoteric]] practices, such as ''[[zuowang]]'' ('sitting in oblivion': emptying the mind of bodily awareness and thought) found in the ''[[Zhuangzi (book)|Zhuangzi]]''.<ref name="Kohn-22"/><section end="DDJ themes" />

Alan Chan provides an example of how Laozi encouraged a change in approach, or return to "nature", rather than action. Technology may bring about a false sense of progress. The answer provided by Laozi is not the rejection of technology, but instead seeking the calm state of ''wu wei'', free from desires. This relates to many statements by Laozi encouraging rulers to keep their people in "ignorance", or "simple-minded". Some scholars insist this explanation ignores the religious context, and others question it as an [[apologetic]] of the philosophical coherence of the text. It would not be unusual political advice if Laozi literally intended to tell rulers to keep their people ignorant. However, some terms in the text, such as "valley spirit" ({{lang|zh|谷神}}, ''gǔshén'') and 'soul' ({{lang|zh|魄}}, ''pò''), bear a metaphysical context and cannot be easily reconciled with a purely ethical reading of the work.<ref name="Kohn-22"/>

<gallery widths="200" heights="160" mode="packed">
File:Confucius and Laozi, fresco from a Western Han tomb of Dongping County, Shandong province, China.jpg|A [[Western Han]] [[fresco]] depicting [[Confucius]] and Laozi, from a tomb of [[Dongping County]], Shandong, China
File:Laozi 002.jpg|A stone sculpture of Laozi, located north of [[Quanzhou]] at the foot of [[Mount Qingyuan]]
</gallery>