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Ancient Roots of Taoism

Ancient Roots of Taoism. Jeff Richey, Ph.D. REL 213 Taoism and the Arts of China Berea College Short Term 2004. ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY IN EARLY CHINA. Large population Agricultural society Climactic extremes (hot summers, freezing winters, regular floods)

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Ancient Roots of Taoism

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  1. Ancient Roots of Taoism Jeff Richey, Ph.D. REL 213 Taoism and the Arts of China Berea College Short Term 2004

  2. ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY IN EARLY CHINA • Large population • Agricultural society • Climactic extremes (hot summers, freezing winters, regular floods) • Relative isolation (bounded by Pacific, Himalayas, deserts)

  3. CULTURAL ORIENTATIONS • Intense pressure for social harmony • Ideal unity of natural and social orders • Confidence in human ability to discern and manipulate environment • Ethnocentrism and bouts of xenophobia

  4. EARLY CHINESE RELIGION • “Oracle bones” used in divination rituals to communicate with ancestral spirits • Shang-di 上帝 (“The Lord on High”) = • divine ancestor of Shang 商 rulers (c. 1500-1050 BCE) • later identified with Tian天 (“Heaven”), deity of Zhou 周 rulers (c. 1050-256 BCE) • Dao道 (“Way”) = normative cosmic pattern

  5. EARLY CHINESE COSMOLOGY • Two hypotheses: • Agonistic relationship: humans versus earth, Tian, other extrahuman forces [Puett] • Triangular relationship: humans, earth, Tian share harmonious, correlative cosmos [Chang, Mote] • In both, great emphasis on human agency in sustaining cosmic order

  6. THE CRISIS IN THE ZHOU ORDER (c. 771-221 BCE) • After 770 BCE, Zhou rule was weakened by foreign invasions and internal divisions • 771-481 BCE: Chunqiu春秋 (“Spring and Autumn”) period of unstable feudal coalition • 403-221 BCE: Zhanguo戰國 (“Warring States”) period of constant civil war among feudal lords competing to impose rule and restore unity of Zhou territory • The Baijia百家 (“Hundred Teachings”) arise in response to cultural crisis and “free market” for political, philosophical, and ritual expertise

  7. THE SCHOOL OF ZHUANGZI, c. 300s-100s BCE • Zhuangzi = obscure thinker from south China responsible for some, but not all, of text that bears his name • Zhuangzi = most original and complex early Chinese text • After 221 BCE, little interest in Zhuangzi until arrival of Buddhism in China

  8. POSSIBLE SOURCES OF ZHUANGZI • “Zhuangism” (1-7, 16-27): associated with Zhuangzi himself, interested in critique of rationalism, spontaneity, ineffable Dao • “Primitivism” (8-10, 11): rejection of society, embrace of “natural” values • “Syncretists” (12-15, 33): combine cosmological concerns with self-cultivation themes • “Yangism” (28-29, 31): associated with individualist/hedonist Yang Zhu 楊朱 (c. 300s BCE) -- cf. A. C. Graham, Disputers of the Tao (1989)

  9. ZHUANGIST THEMES • Conscious knowledge = product of dualism (separation of subject & object) • Dao = mysterious, amoral, beyond conventional wisdom • Unity with Dao = naturalness (ziran 自然), freedom, insight • Spiritual models = craftspersons, enduring natural objects

  10. THE SCHOOL OF LAOZI, c. 300s-100s BCE • Laozi = legendary, probably non-historical figure credited with text; deified by 100s CE • Text (c. 250 BCE) also known as Daodejing道德經 (“Classic of Way and Power”) • In contrast to Zhuangzi, Laozi remains important to Daoists beyond Warring States era

  11. POSSIBLE SOURCES OF LAOZI • Diverse concerns suggest multiple layers of authorship: • Meditation techniques • Military strategy • Politics and rulership • Social revolution • Utopian escapism

  12. LAOIST THEMES • Conscious knowledge = product of decline from era of sage-king rule • Dao = mysterious, amoral, beyond conventional wisdom • Unity with Dao = anonymity, freedom, natural social order • Spiritual model = characteristic wuwei無爲(“actionless action”) of natural world

  13. THE HUANG-LAO SCHOOL, c. 100s BCE • Huang-Lao = • Huangdi皇帝 (“Yellow Emperor” – mythical sage-king of primeval times, associated with healing arts and rulership • Laozi老子 • Popular at early Han 漢 court, c. 206-136 BCE • Syncretism of earlier concepts and concerns: • Dao-based cosmology • Techniques of rulership • Interest in law (fa 法)

  14. WHAT IS DAOJIA道家(“TAOISM”)? • The term Daojia (“School of Dao”) does not appear in Chinese texts until Han 漢 dynasty, c.100s BCE • Han librarians use Daojia to unite four traditions: • Huang-di黃帝 (“Yellow Emperor”) medicine • Daoshu 道術(“Dao-method”) shamanism • Zhuangzi 莊子(“Master Zhuang”) skepticism • Laozi老子(“Old Master”) mysticism/politics

  15. MODERN SOLUTIONS • “Philosophical” (pre-221 BCE) vs. “religious” (post-221 BCE) Taoisms [common division] • “Contemplative” (mystical), “purposive” (political), and xian仙 (immortality-seeking) Taoisms [Creel] • Taoism = only post-221 BCE [Kleeman] • “Laoist” (school of Laozi) vs. “Zhuangist” (school of Zhuangzi) [Graham/LaFargue]

  16. DEFINING “TAOISM” • Any definition of “Taoism” must account for: • Incredible diversity of items associated with term • Whether/why such items ought to be unified under term

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