Analysis of Lao Tzu’s “Tao”

Abstract：The existence of “Tao” laid the foundation for Lao Tzu’s philosophical thought and created an difficult to guess or comprehend body of Chinese philosophy.Lao Tzu’s philosophical system is centered around “Tao”.The word “Tao” in Lao Tzu’s book is unified in symbolic form，but has different meanings in different chapters.This paper interprets the internal characteristics of Tao from three aspects：the source of“Tao”，The connotation of “Tao”，“Tao”produces all things，so that readers can better understand the ontological basis of Lao Tzu’s philosophy—Tao.

Keywords：Lao Tzu；Tao；Theory that man is an integral part of nature

The existence of “Tao” laid the foundation for Lao Tzu’s philosophical thought and created an difficult to guess or comprehend body of Chinese philosophy.The word “Tao” in Lao Tzu’s book is unified in symbolic form，but has different meanings in different chapters.but there is a certain connection between there connotations.There are various opinions in the academic circles about the interpretation and research of “Tao”.The author interprets the origin essence and internal characteristics of “Tao” in his own language style，so that readers can have a deeper understanding of Lao Tzu’s ontological basis—Tao.

The source of “Tao”

The concept of“Tao” was not created by Lao Tzu，but appeared before Lao Tzu.The word “Tao” first appeared in the bronze inscriptions of the Western Zhou Dynasty.The concept of “Tao” was widely used in the late Western Zhou Dynasty.The word “Tao” originally refers to roads and paths.From the perspective of Chinese characters，the word“Tao” is composed of lines and heads，indicating walking and direction，extending to the meaning of road and guidance and so on.Because it has this meaning，it has been further upgraded to the meaning of methods，principles and rules.The meaning of “Dao” has been evolving in the long history.At first，there are meanings such as likes and dislikes，integrity，rules，righteousness and so on.In the Spring and Autumn period，the meaning of “Tao” was further developed.“Tao” in ZuoZhuan and GuoYu has not only the meaning of road，method，principle and law，but also the meaning of natural law，social law and human relation law，so as to explain the objective law of nature “the way of heaven” and the “human way” of social law and human relation law.In the way，Tao is divided into “Heaven’s way” and “Humanity” and the unity of opposites between them is further illustrated，which is of great and far-reaching significance in the development of “Tao” and the history of Chinese traditional culture.This view predicts that the relationship between heaven and man will become an important basic problem in ancient Chinese philosophy，and also regulates the development trend of Taoism in ancient Chinese philosophy.It is in the process of thoroughly discussing the Heaven，Humanity and their relationship that the meaning of Tao is constantly enriched and rises to one of the basic categories of the Chinese philosophy.

The connotation of “Tao”

From the above description of the development of the meaning of “Tao”，we can see that “Tao” is the sublimation and abstraction from the name of a specific object to the philosophical category.Until Lao Tzu began，the interpretation of Tao obviously had profound philosophical significance.The outstanding contribution of Lao Tzu’s Taoism is to elevate “Tao” from a general philosophical concept to a supreme concept that governs the universe and life on the basis of the meaning of “Tao” in the past，thus giving the concept of “Tao” the ultimate color.That is to say，the meaning of“Tao” has become one of the most basic and important categories in ancient Chinese philosophy and has a far-reaching impact on the history of Chinese culture.

The Tao of Nature is what Lao Tzu thinks of as the Tao of Heaven，Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching expounds the relationship among man，earth，heaven and Tao.Lao Tzu said：“Man takes his law from the Earth；the Earth takes its law from the Tao；the law of the Tao is its being what it is.”[1]Lao Tzu regards the Tao of Nature as the essence of heave，earth and man.It changed the past view of religion.Lao Tzu’s philosophical thought is based on his original “Tao” theory and “Tao” is a core concept in Lao Tzu’s philosophy.Lao Tzu’s Tao originated from the summary of life experience，the perception of natural life and the reflection on the time of war.Tao is the origin and law of all things in the universe.The generation，change and development of all the things in the universe contain the attribute of the Tao.It is the “transformation of the virtual and the real” and “reciprocating” of the “Tao” that created and nurtured all things and development system of the whole universe.Lao Tzu’s philosophy holds that everything in the world comes from “being”，and “being” come from “non-being”.In the world with “Tao” as its origin，“non-being” is equivalent to “Tao”，but it is not “Tao”.“Tao” is a spiritual entity that can’t be perceived by the senses.Feng Youlan said：“All we can say is that Tao，since it is through which all things come to be.Is necessarily not a mere thing among these other things.For if it were such a thing，it could not at the same time be that through which all things whatsoever come to be.Every kind of thing has a name，but Tao is not itself a thing.Therefore it is ‘nameless，the Uncarved Block ’”.[2]

“Tao” is the origin of all things and “Tao” is a kind of “metaphysical” objective existence and exists in all things to control the growth and change of all things.Meanwhile，people can’t feel a mysterious existence with the senses，this state can only be described by “being” and “non-being”.Lao Tzu had a deep understanding of the world’s origin and he described in deep language the universe’s origin which he had observed and summed up from his real life experience.Lao Tzu’s Tao can’t be expressed concretely in language.He isn’t a concrete thing in the world.The language and name of the world can’t describe it.Because it needs to be replaced by a language，Lao Tzu reluctantly named him Tao.Tao is difficult to understand，only by understanding to feel and grasp Lao Tzu’s way of dealing with the world is to be gentle and quiet，and to achieve this realm of life，we must first cultivate ourselves，understand the way of nature，cultivate moral character，and ultimately achieve the realm of harmony between man and nature.

“Tao” produces all things

Some chapters in Tao Te Ching have described the Tao as the origin of all things，which produced and nurtured all things.Tao Tzu said：“There was something undefined and complete，coming into existence before Heaven and Earth.How still it was and formless，standing alone and undergoing no change，reaching everywhere and in no danger（of being exhausted）！ It may be regarded as the Mother of all things.I do not know its name，and I give it the designation of the Tao（the Way or Course）.Making an effort（further）to give it a name I call it The Great.Great，it passes on（in constant flow）.Passing on，it becomes remote.Having become remote，it returns.”[3]Lao Tzu’s passage profoundly reflects the circular dialectics which regard “Tao” as the origin of all things.The final state of all things’ movement is to return to the original state，that is，“to retune to its root”.This is the law of the Tao.It can be seen that Lao Tzu’s Tao has transcended all things and time and space，thought and existence，reached the realm of the root and the essence，and reached the eternal Tao in the height of philosophical ontology.Lao Tzu believed that “Tao” is a mysterious substance without shape，self generating and mysterious.Lao Tzu made a profound and comprehensive exposition of the process of “Tao” transforming all things.“The Dao produced One；One produced Two；Two product Three；Three produced All things.All things leave behind them the Obscurity（out of which they have come），and go forward to embrace the Brightness（into which they have emerged），while they are harmonized by the Breath of Vacancy.”[4]The Dao produced One，“One” refers to gas.The One produce Two，“Two” refers to yin and yang two gas.Yin and yang two gas interaction and combination，this is，“Two produced Three”.Yin and Yong two gas react with each other to produce all things in the world.Everything grows and develops under the sun’s rays and the changes of day and night.This is，“All things leave behind them the Obscurity（out of which they have come），and go forward to embrace the Brightness（into which they have emerged）”.The driving force behind all this is “Tao”.

Lao Tzu’s “Tao” is to explore the nature of life，inclusive of heaven，earth and nature of all things，like water，there is no dispute，as Lao Tzu said：“The highest excellence is like that of water.The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things”.Lao Tzu’s most respected character is the “water” character under the people，do not compete with each other，this is the man’s cultivation and realm.By exploring the Tao of nature，Lao Tzu made the “Tao” transcend substantially and finally realized the realm of “theory that man is an integral part of nature”.

Bibliography

[1]Lao Tzu wroat.James Legge translates.TAO TE CHING[M].Zhongzhou Ancient Books Press.2016-35

[2]Feng Youlan wroat.Zhao Fusan translates.A Short History of Chinese Philosophy[M].Foreing language teaching and research press.2015-174

[3]Lao Tzu wroat.James Legge translates.TAO TE CHING[M].Zhongzhou Ancient Books Press.2016-35

[4]Lao Tzu wroat.James Leggetranslates.TAOTECHING[M].Zhongzhou Ancient Books Press.2016-63

作者簡介：

王督武，男，1989年5月，漢，河南平頂山，研究方向：馬克思主義哲學與社會發(fā)展研究。

（作者單位：西安鐵道技師學院）