Seek historical information about Taoism.

The history of Taoism is first of all Taoist thought. Taoism and Taoism are originally different. Taoism in the pre-Qin period was a philosophical school represented by Laozi and Zhuangzi, and Taoism was the religion formed in the Eastern Han Dynasty. But the two are not unrelated. When Taoism was founded, Laozi was regarded as the founder, and Laozi's Tao Te Ching was regarded as its main classic, which was stipulated as a lesson that believers must learn. The basic idea of Tao Te Ching is "Tao", which is regarded as the foundation of all things in the world beyond time and space. It has both ontological meaning and regular meaning, and its boundary is vague and mysterious, so different people can make different interpretations. "Zhuangzi" even interprets Tao as: "Love has faith, inaction is intangible; Transmissible but unacceptable, accessible but invisible; Since its roots, there is no heaven and earth, and it has existed since ancient times; Ghosts were born; Before Taiji, it was not high, below six poles, not deep, born, not long, longer than ancient times, not old. " He also said that "the Yellow Emperor got it to ascend to heaven; Zhuan Xu got it and took it to Gong Xuan; If you are strong, you will stand at the North Pole. The queen mother of the west got it, sitting in a small place, not knowing the beginning and the end; Peng Zu got it, was in danger, and fell by five; Fu is right. He compared Wu Ding with other stars, because he won the world in the election, riding on the tail of Dongwei and a dustpan. [13] This thought that the Tao will last forever, and after it is attained, it can live forever and become immortal, which was absorbed by later Taoism. The basic belief of Taoism is also Taoism. From a religious point of view, Taoism is said to be a miraculous thing, with spirit and faith, "the father of all things and the mother of all things." 14. Combined with the mysterious theory of vitality, Taoism is considered to be "the system of nothingness, the root of nature, the foundation of gods and the source of heaven and earth", "it is nothingness and nothing", intangible and nameless.

Taoism also regards Laozi as the incarnation of Tao, which existed before Taoism came into being. On the occasion of Emperor Hanming and Zhang Di in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, King Axe, the magistrate of Yizhou, wrote the Monument to the Virgin of Laozi, saying, "Laozi is a Taoist. It was born before the invisible, began before the beginning, walked in the yuan, floated in the six vacuities, went in and out of the dark, looked at the difference between the turbid and the turbid, and saw the difference between the clear and the turbid, which combined Laozi and Tao as one. Taoism continues to develop this idea.

The Taiping Jing says, "I am the Great Sage of Tao and your teacher. If you feel it, change with the party. If you succeed, you will live in seclusion. Homeless life is always everywhere. It's not there, it's infinite. Extremely infinite and mysterious. What is too mysterious is also the capital of Taizong. I'm all here, and I need to turn it into ten squares. Whether there are wonderful applications or not, they should be endless ... Liu Zhou's six vacuities, the enlightenment of the three realms, the law of the world, and the inaction of the world are all to be investigated. " Lao Er Zhu, which was circulated for (or for) Zhang Lu, also regarded Lao Zi as the embodiment of Tao, saying that "one is Tao" and "one is scattered into qi, and the other is gathered into a gentleman". Later, the imperial edict of the Emperor Hunyuan also said, "I am an old gentleman, and this is the embodiment of Tao, the ancestor of vitality and the root of heaven and earth." So Lao Zi and Tao were deified as gods believed by all beings. Tao is the source of all things in heaven and earth, so as the embodiment of Tao, "the old gentleman on the throne" has become "the father of chaos, the parents of heaven and earth, the Lord of yin and yang, and the emperor of all gods". This shows that the philosopher Laozi and the philosophical category "Tao" have been deified as gods in Taoism. Therefore, faith has also become a belief in God and worship of Laozi, that is, worship of God. The idea of cultivating immortals is the core of Taoism, and Taoism's teachings and practice are all around this core. The naming of Taoism is also closely related to its basic beliefs. It can be seen that Taoism is one of the most important ideological sources of Taoism; Taoist philosophy is one of its theoretical foundations. When talking about the origin and purpose of Taoism, Shu Wei's Historical Records said: "The origin of Taoism comes from Laozi, Taoism is self-evident, and it was born in nature to enrich all kinds. In Yujing, he is the Sect of the God King; I am the Lord of the flying fairy. Ever-changing, there is virtue without virtue, and with induction, the traces are impermanent. ..... for teaching, eliminate evil labor with salt, wash your heart and snow, accumulate merits, increase virtues and even ascend to heaven in the daytime, and live forever. " Taoism mentioned here refers to Taoism. It is precisely because of the formation and development of Taoism that it has an indissoluble bond with Taoist Laozi that people often call Taoism Taoism.

Taoism in the pre-Qin period later evolved into the study of Huang Lao. This kind of knowledge of Huang Lao is mainly based on Taoism's quiet health preservation and inaction, but it also absorbs some contents of Yin and Yang, Confucianism, Mohism, fame and dharma. It is not entirely Taoism in the pre-Qin period, but a new Taoism called Huang Lao Shu. Later, Huang Lao's regimen evolved into a Taoist practice, and the Huang Lao family, which served Huang Lao's regimen, was the predecessor of Taoism. Sima Tan once commented on Taoism in The Six Classics: "Taoism makes people single-minded, dynamic and intangible, and support is everything." It is also a skill. Because of the harmony between yin and yang, it is not appropriate to adopt the goodness of Confucianism and Mohism, sum up the essentials of fame and law, keep pace with the times, conform to the changes of things, and establish customs for things. It is easy to operate by referring to the agreement, and it is more effective to do less. "By Taoism, he means the new Taoism of Taoism. This view of Sima Tan was adopted by Ge Hong, a Taoist priest in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

Ge Hong, based on Sima Tan's viewpoint and starting from the basic standpoint of immortal Taoism, expounded his thought that Taoism is based on Confucianism and Taoism is superior to Confucianism. He believes that the teachings of Taoism should be based on the overall simplicity and maintain the true source, advocates "accepting the goodness of Confucianism and Mohism and always attaching importance to the name of dharma", absorbs the strengths of various schools and constructs his theoretical system of immortal Taoism. [14] In terms of self-cultivation, he also advocated that "the way to preserve one's health is to cherish one's health internally, and to be at peace with the world externally, to grow up and govern the country." Use six classics to teach customs, and use secret recipes to teach bosom friends. If you want to stay less, you must stop to help. If you want to be promoted, you must go into battle lightly. This is the essential expression of the dual personality of "Confucianism outside and Taoism inside" and the dual cultivation of Confucianism and Taoism, and it is also the remarkable feature of the immortal Taoism of the upper class.

Secondly, Taoism also draws lessons from Confucian ethics. The core of this ethical code is "Three Cardinal Principles and Five Permanent Principles", which is the most important moral norm in feudal society.

This kind of ethical thought is inherited and developed by Confucianism and Taoism. Although Taoist books rarely mention the names of the three cardinal guides and the five permanent members, it is quite powerful to publicize this ethical thought; When promoting these ethics, it is often combined with the idea of immortality, and people are driven to follow by the power of "God", which makes it easier to play its special role in maintaining ethics and order in feudal society. Xunzi's Book of Rites puts forward the theory of "Three Books of Rites", which holds that "heaven and earth are the foundation of life; Ancestors are the foundation of class; Jun and Shi are the foundation of governing the country.

No heaven and earth, bad life? No ancestors, evil comes out? No monarch, no evil? The three are partial to death, and there is no peace. Therefore, the ceremony, the matter of heaven, the matter of land, respect for ancestors and the feldspar army is also the third ceremony. "Dong Zhongshu thinks that' Wang Dao's three cardinal guides can be sought from heaven', and ⒅ takes the three cardinal guides and the five permanent members for granted." The Taiping Jing draws lessons from these thoughts and puts forward that "man is also the son of heaven and earth, and the son is called the unfilial son because he has no intention to support heaven and earth." Say again:

"The son is unfilial, the disciple is not smooth, the minister is unfaithful, and it is unforgivable. Make the sky very sick and the land very evil, thinking it is a big event and thinking it is a big blame. " Ghosts and gods are nothing, so they are the worst. "He also said:" My son is unfilial and can't try his best to support his relatives; Disciples are not smooth and can't try their best to practice the teacher's way; If I am unfaithful, I can't try my best to help my husband, so I'm not good at it, and I can't get rid of the accusation. "Heaven and earth hate it, ghosts and gods harm it, and people hate it, but they are still responsible for the underground when they die. They are all called sons who can't walk well. " 9. Taiping Jing not only inherited the purport of Confucianism, but also preached the importance of the belief that heaven and earth are kings, fathers and teachers, which was not found in the Confucian classics at that time. This is also the origin of the belief that heaven and earth are kings and teachers, which has a far-reaching influence. Zheng Yi's "Law and Discipline Shi Tian" also said: To practice Buddhism, people must be "loyal ministers, dutiful sons, loyal husbands, faithful wives, respectful brothers and obedient brothers, and have no second thoughts." It is particularly emphasized that "teachers should not be disrespectful, relatives should not be unfilial, gentlemen should not be unfaithful, and ... benevolence and righteousness are indispensable." There are many feudal ethics and Confucian moral norms in Taishang Cave's top-grade commandment of XuanLingBao's intellectual crime. It reads: "Talking with people is good for the country; If you talk to your father, you will be kind to your son; When you talk to others, you will love others; If you talk to your brother, you will stick to it; Talking with people and ministers is loyalty to the king; If you talk to the son of man, you are filial to your loved ones; If you make friends with others, you will believe in making friends; If you talk to a woman, you will be loyal to your husband; If you talk to others, you will live in harmony with the room; " ... if you talk to the maid, you will be very careful. In this way, the moral norms for dealing with all kinds of relationships between people are all discussed, and all kinds of relationships between people are adjusted by moral norms such as loyalty, filial piety, kindness, love, benefit, harmony, chastity, faithfulness and prudence.

Confucianism in the pre-Qin period became Dong Zhongshu in the Western Han Dynasty. Dong Zhongshu's theology of worshipping heaven with the "sense of heaven and man" as the core and the divination theology that followed it were directly absorbed by Taoism and became an important source of Taoism. For example, "He Tu Ji Ming Fu" says:

"There is a god in heaven and earth who seizes people's discipline by the severity of their crimes. ..... People have three bodies. Three corpses are things, belonging to ghosts and gods. In order to make people die early, this corpse should be regarded as a ghost. It will indulge in demonstrations and eat people. Every poor day in Liu Jia is a sin for those who walk on the road to heaven. If you are big, you will seize the discipline, and if you are small, you will count. " Therefore, those who seek immortality should go to the three corpses first, so they are calm and have no desire, calm and accumulate virtue and do good. It is good to take medicine to become immortal. "This mysterious thing, almost intact absorbed by later Taoism, and play. Others, such as "Shaoshi Mountain has jade frost, which makes you live forever"; Kunlun Mountain is a gathering place for immortals. The queen mother of the west is the god who gives immortal scriptures and guides monasticism; The yellow emperor was originally the yellow god of Beidou. After he acceded to the throne, he was "a benevolent Xiu De", and finally Lapras went to heaven; All corners of the country and people's ears, eyes, nose, teeth and hair have their own gods; As well as the theory of astrology foretelling good and bad luck and the technology of attracting gods to disintegrate ghosts, etc., are all materials that are convenient for Taoism to use.

In addition, the Book of Changes and the thought of Yin-Yang and Five Elements have a very obvious influence on Taoism. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Taiping Jing took Yin and Yang and the Five Elements as its home, while Wei Boyang's Zhouyi Shentongqi explored the method of cultivating immortals under the guise of the metaphysical thought of Zhouyi, which had a great influence on Taoism in later generations and was called "the king of single crystals through the ages". Since then, many Taoist scholars have expounded the internal and external alchemy of Taoism with the idea of Yi Xue Yin Yang and Five Elements.

Taoism also absorbed Mohism. Mr. Zhang Taiyan has long pointed out that Taoist thought "originated from Mohism and has a long history." ⒇ Mozi advocates respecting morning ghosts, which is obviously absorbed by Taoism, so there is no need to explain this aspect. In addition, Mozi advocated self-reliance and mutual benefit from the standpoint of small producers. Mozi put forward in Le Fei that "being born by strength, not by fear". Under "Tian Zhi", he also opposed "not getting what he wants". Taiping Jing also emphasizes that "everyone has his own food and clothing" and opposes "taking people by force". Mozi advocated the principle of "mutual love and mutual benefit" between people. Under Shang Xian, he also thinks that "the way to the highest virtue" means that "powerful people are sick and help others, rich people are willing to share with others, and wise people advise others". Only in this way can "the hungry get food, the cold get clothes, and the chaotic get treatment"; On the contrary, he said in Shang Tong that if "you have spare capacity, you don't have to work hard; The decadent surplus wealth cannot be divided; Hide the good and don't teach each other "will make" the world chaos, if animals are natural ". Taiping Jing also emphasizes this idea of mutual assistance and mutual benefit between people, and advocates that people with property should be "ready to help others" and "help the poor and needy". It believes that all property between heaven and earth is born of "the harmony between heaven and earth" and should belong to the public and should not be monopolized by private individuals. That "this property belongs to heaven and earth, and it is supported by * * *. However, when this family meets its gathering place, it is often more full than the mice in the barn. The millet in this barn is not unique to mice. Little (small) money (referring to the emperor's private treasury) is not only given to one person; If there are shortcomings, we must learn from them. " A fool is ignorant and thinks that he should own it in the end. I don't know if NINEONE's body (household) should be given food and clothing if it is lost. It is also called: "If you accumulate billions of dollars, but refuse to help the poor and make people die of hunger and cold, you will not be punished." Moral people should also use morality to teach others, otherwise they will also commit "indelible" heinous crimes. It is believed that "if people accumulate infinite knowledge and refuse to teach people to be enlightened and survive, they will not be punished." ……

If a person has accumulated infinite virtue, but refuses to teach others to keep virtue and cultivate his own nature, his sin will not be eliminated. We also oppose "wise men" bullying "fools", "strong people" bullying "weak people" and "a few people" bullying "old people". Say "more wisdom, against bullying; Or the strong, against bullying the weak;

Or the afterlife, against bullying the elderly, are all against, so God will bless you soon. What is this? However, the wise should raise fools, deceive fools and be enemies with fools; The strong should support the weak, the weak should be bullied and resisted. When the younger generation is old, they will be bullied and will resist. Unlike Tianxin, there will be something unexpected afterwards. These thoughts in Taiping Jing are obviously the inheritance and development of Mozi's related thoughts. Some Taoist immortals and transformations also depend on Mozi. Ge Hong's Inner Chapter of Bao Puzi and Yuan Lan recorded Mozi's Elixir Method and Mozi's Five Elements, saying that "the method of medication can make people fly up and down without hiding." Legend of the Immortals also records that Sun Bo and Feng Heng both lived in Mozi. Sun Bo's "the art of treating Mozi" can make grass, wood, gold and stone all flames, and can also make it a fire and spit it in the mouth. Feng Heng studied Taoism since he was a child, and there was an article called Mozi's Invisibility Method. Ge Hong also listed Mozi in Biography of Immortals, saying that he was "an earthly immortal" because he treated the classics from outside, practiced Buddhism from inside, thought deeply about Taoism and fantasized about immortals. It can be seen that Mozi's attraction in Taoist belief is not small.

In the process of Taoism's emergence, it not only absorbed these ancient cultural thoughts mentioned above, but also absorbed the traditional concept of ghosts and gods, ancient religious thoughts and witchcraft.

In ancient China society, people worshipped the sun, moon, stars, rivers, mountains and ancestors, regarded them as gods, and offered sacrifices and prayers to them, thus gradually forming a system of god, earth, man and ghost. Taoism inherited this concept of ghosts and gods, and regarded many gods in this system as part of Taoist gods. Ancient Yin people believed that divination could determine doubts and break good or bad luck; Wizards can communicate with ghosts and gods and rely on witchcraft to pray for people. This witchcraft has also been absorbed and inherited by Taoism.

Taoism also inherited and developed the immortal thought and witchcraft in the Warring States period. As early as Zhuangzi and Songs of the South, there were many comments on immortal thoughts. Later, in Yanqi and Jingchu, there appeared the magic of advocating immortality. This magical theory of immortality was originally unsystematic. Later, these alchemists were explained by the theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements put forward by Zou Yan, a Qi man in the Warring States Period, thus forming the so-called immortal home, namely Fang Xiandao. Qin Huang and Wu Han are both "unwilling" to this, and they are "as afraid of Buddha", so many people say that they are banned and can live forever. Legend has it that people who advocate Fang Xiandao, such as Song Wuji and Zheng Boqiao, all yearn for immortals, and "dissolve and sell, depending on ghosts and gods". After that, the immortal belief and alchemy were inherited by Taoism, the immortal alchemy evolved into Taoist practice, and the immortal alchemist gradually evolved into a Taoist.

It can be seen that Taoism is closely related to many fields of China traditional culture, which is the direct result of China traditional culture. However, from conception to final formation, it has gone through a long and gradual evolution process. As early as the end of the Warring States period, the so-called Fang Xiandao, which advocated immortality, gradually emerged. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, due to the prevalence of divination theology, Huang Lao Xue developed in the direction of religion, so the so-called Huang Lao Dao, which combined Huang Lao Xue with Fang Xian Dao, appeared. These can be regarded as Taoist embryos. However, it still belongs to similar religious beliefs and has not yet formally formed a religious organization. Its practitioners are generally called alchemists, not Taoists. In the early Han Dynasty, alchemists were also called Taoist priests. The biography of Han Wang Mang said: "First, the general Wei was involved in the incident, and the accomplished Taoist Simon Junhui loved astronomical predictions and swept the palace for the lost stars involved, and Liu's name was also recovered. Believe what he said. " This Simon Junhui, who advocated Wang's participation in the rebellion against Wang Mang, is still called the alchemist in Huan Tan's New Confusion. According to the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, it was also a Taoist who instigated a rebellion against Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty: "At the beginning, he was miraculous, and a Taoist said that Feng was the son of heaven, and wrapped a bag of colored stones in a rich elbow cloud:' There is a decree in the stone'." Faith is the opposite. The biography of Xu Man in the Later Han Dynasty reads: "Xu Man ... Grandpa Jun, ... met Taoist Zhang Jujun and wrote" Lin Yi ",which has been passed down from now on." "The Biography of Five Luns in the Later Han Dynasty" said that five Luns "thought that his official career was not long, so he changed his name to Wang, took salt to Taiyuan and Shangdang, and went away because of dung, and gained the Tao". This Fifth Lun doesn't look like a Christian alchemist, but because he is anonymous among the people, he is enthusiastic about serving the public's public health, and often cleans up the garbage for them, which is respected by people. People think that he is a Taoist, so he is called a Taoist. It shows that the name Taoist was well known to the people at that time and was regarded as a kind of honorific title. At that time, there were not only individual Taoist activities among the people, but also almost organized activities. For example, The Biography of Ma Yuan in the Later Han Dynasty said: "The early people involved Wei Yi and slandered God. Hundreds of disciples sat down to accept the punishment. Later, his disciple Li Guang and others declared "immortality" to confuse the people. In the seventeenth year (referring to the seventeenth year of Jianwu of Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty, AD 4 1), he * * * assembled as a disciple, attacked Wancheng, killed Wanhou, and called himself' Master Nanyue'. " The same book "Biography of Cang Gong" said: "In the 19th year (43), Chen Shan and Fu Zhen, disciples of the sorcerer, got together again, entered the former Wucheng, robbed officials and claimed to be generals. "The same book" The Yellow Emperor Ji "is also called: Two Years of Jian Peijun (148)." In October of winter, Chen Jing of Changping claimed to be the son of the Yellow Emperor and was appointed as an official. Guan Bo of Nantun was also called a real person, and he took pictures of dispatching troops to learn punishment. "From the fact that the organizers of these uprisings believed in' deification and immortality', claiming to be' the King of South Vietnam',' the son of the Yellow Emperor' and' real people', and feudal historians called them' monsters', it shows that there were organizations similar to Taoism among the people at that time.

Taoist philosophy

Taoism was one of the most important schools in hundred schools of thought during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period in China. Taoism originated very early. According to legend, Xuanyuan Huangdi had the idea of harmony between man and nature.

Generally speaking, it is recognized that Laozi was the first person to establish Taoism in the Spring and Autumn Period, and Laozi elaborated it in detail in his book Laozi (Tao Te Ching).

Other representatives of Taoism include Zhuang Zhou, Li Yukou, Hui Shi and others in the Warring States Period. Taoism advocates the natural world outlook and methodology, and respects Huangdi and Laozi as founders, which is called Huang Lao.

The core of Taoist thought is "Tao", which is regarded as the origin of the universe and the law governing all movements of the universe. Laozi once said in his works: "Things are born in harmony, and they are born naturally. Little ha! How rare! Independent and unchanging, it can be the mother of heaven and earth. I don't know its name, but it is a strong name "(Chapter 25 of Laozi).

In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, Emperor Wen of Han and Emperor Jing of Han ruled the country with Taoist thoughts, so that the people could recuperate from the tyranny of the Qin Dynasty. History calls it the rule of cultural scene. Later, Confucian scholar Dong Zhongshu advocated the policy of "ousting a hundred schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone" to Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, which was adopted by later emperors. Taoism has since become a non-mainstream thought. Although Taoism has not been officially adopted, it continues to play an important role in the development of China's ancient thoughts. Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties was developed on the basis of integrating Taoist thoughts.

Taoism was later absorbed by Zhang Lu's Five Mi Dou Daoism and other religions, and evolved into one of the important religions in China-Taoism. Romantic in Wei and Jin Dynasties paid more attention to alchemy when talking about metaphysics. So Taoism and Taoism are often confused.

basic concept

Taoist philosophy first got rid of the approach of Confucian social philosophy, directly cut into the principle of the operation of heaven, and developed the philosophy of "Tao" with natural meaning and neutral meaning as the main body. The operation of heaven has its natural principle, and the philosophy of Tao is to understand the connotation of this principle, so as to put forward a lively and comfortable world space. Taoist philosophy has developed a completely different social philosophy from Confucianism through its infinite and persistent understanding of this world operation order. Society is only the object of one party's existence, and people living in it should have their own freedom of independence and self-existence, not bound by any ideology. Taoist philosophy basically does not deny the Confucian social ideal, but the attitude towards social responsibility does not exist first, but it can have an attitude and orientation of existence that respects people's autonomy more.

Taoism attaches importance to the freedom and liberation of human nature. On the one hand, liberation is the liberation of people's knowledge and ability, on the other hand, it is the liberation of people's life mood. The former puts forward the cognitive principles of "learning is getting worse and worse" and "this is also right and wrong", while the latter puts forward the ways of dealing with the world with modesty, weakness, softness, Zen and become a butterfly.

Taoist social philosophy is not aggressive and positive, because society is just a process of heaven, not an end in itself. Taoism believes that the social ideal of Confucianism is reasonable, but not absolute, so there is basically no need to put forward a set of decisive social ideals, because the change of heaven itself does not have the absolute expression of right and wrong, good and evil, so Taoism emphasizes more the principle of wisdom to survive in society, and this wisdom must be an effective way to survive in any historical situation. It is precisely because the social philosophy of Taoism does not pay attention to its own development norms, but emphasizes the wisdom of coping, which is conducive to people's needs of self-cultivation, so the treatment of Huang Lao in the early Han Dynasty has an experimental theoretical basis. At the same time, after thousands of years of frustration with the official culture based on Confucianism, China literati can also have a vast spiritual world to live smoothly.

Thoughts of important philosophers

The theory of Taoism is based on Laozi. Laozi's "Tao Te Ching" has 5,000 words. The book extensively discusses the metaphysical significance of Tao and the wisdom of life, and puts forward the origin theory of the natural universe, that is, it is composed of things and exists independently. It also puts forward the ontological thought that the principle of the existence and operation of the world is "moving against the Tao" For human beings living in it, what they should learn is the wisdom of dealing with the world, so Lao Tzu. But the point is to protect our health, not to create civilization. It can be said that he responded to the chaotic world situation with a set of social philosophy and theory based on wisdom, and did not intend to create a new atmosphere in society, because those were not the foundation of the road.

Zhuangzi is the most important pioneer of Taoist theory after Laozi, and Taoist philosophy is basically Laozi and Zhuangzi. The difference between Zhuangzi's Daoism and the old school is that Zhuangzi dealt with the relationship between man and nature and man's pioneering ability in detail, including wisdom, cognitive ability and physical strength. Zhuangzi also stood on the basis of the proposition that heaven is natural, and set out from the cultivation of human beings, and put forward the way to deal with the whole society and country. The seven works in Zhuangzi's book are his theories from world outlook to epistemology to Kung Fu to social philosophy.

Liezi was born in the Warring States Period. There are eight existing Liezi, written by Zhang Zhan in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. It is generally believed that this book reflects the thoughts from the Warring States to the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Liezi, based on Taoist thought, reformed the outlook on life of inaction in Taoist thought, emphasized the positive role of human beings in nature, and believed that the best living condition of human beings was not afraid of heaven.

Wang Bi was born in the Three Kingdoms period. When the development of Confucian classics in Han dynasty has come to an end, social politics has been in a turbulent and unfair situation, and intellectuals have turned to the atmosphere of metaphysics. With his profound understanding of Laozi's philosophy, Wang Bi annotated Laozi's Tao Te Ching, emphasizing the difference between body and use, which not only carried forward the spirit of the old school's interpretation of the Classic, but also annotated the Book of Changes based on this principle, and even changed it from the Han Dynasty.

Guo Xiang, a native of the Western Jin Dynasty, is famous for his Notes on Zhuangzi. He advocates that the theory of "individualization" is a metaphysical concept theory developed from highly abstract thinking. He believes that everything in the universe was born in the accidental "mysterious" realm, so he advocates a spirit that conforms to the situation of everything and respects every life equally.

development period

The origin of Taoism should be an ancient hermit tradition. Of course, some scholars say that Laozi is the guardian of the Qing Dynasty. In a word, the origin of Taoism is by no means an active participant in social politics. They observe the world situation from a bystander's point of view, seriously think about the real picture of the universe, and describe the laws of heaven and personnel changes in highly abstract and ideologically persistent language, which belongs to the level of principle research. When the two sons of Lao Zi and Zhuangzi in the pre-Qin Dynasty compiled the Outline of Taoist Thought, the depth of Taoist metaphysics immediately influenced the metaphysics of Confucianism and Legalism. Confucian Yi Zhuan and Han Feizi's Jie Lao are both new theories based on their theories. However, as far as the actual influence of social politics is concerned, Lao Zi's theory was not formally tested until the rule of Huang Lao was implemented in the early Han Dynasty, because after the end of the social war between Qin Chu and Han in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, people finally discovered the harm of fighting for power and profits and the importance of recuperation, so they attached importance to the political philosophy of the principle of learning from the old. When the Western Han Dynasty was strong, the kings began to rejoice, and wars broke out again year after year, and the atmosphere of the times changed again, and then it became corrupt. When the talk of Wei and Jin dynasties began, Taoist philosophy began to have vitality again. Yanhe and Wang Bi pioneered the hermeneutics of Zhuang studies. Wang Bi went deep into Taoism and explained it theoretically with concise and powerful hermeneutics works. Xiang Xiu and Guo Xiang developed the hermeneutics of Zhuang studies. After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Taoist thought did not reproduce the distinctive creative tradition, but the logical path of Taoist thought became an important inspiration for the creation of Taoism, the Book of Changes and Confucianism, especially from Zhuangzi's gasification world outlook, which was developed more extensively and deeply. At the same time, the spread of Buddhism was expressed by the wisdom principle of Taoism for a long time, which was called "Geyi Buddhism" period.

Contribution to China culture

The contribution of Taoism to China culture is as important as that of Confucianism, but its political thoughts are different. The depth and dialectic of Taoist theoretical ability provide a creative source for all other traditions of China's philosophy. As for the influence of Taoist culture on China's art, painting, literature, sculpture, etc., it occupies an absolute dominant position, even if the performance of China's art is the performance of Taoist art, it is not an exaggeration. Of course, Taoist philosophy also provides a flexible space for China's political activities, so that China intellectuals will not be obsessed with the pursuit of officialdom and their devotion to life because of their strong Confucian political ideals, but will be able to find a way to advance and retreat more easily and understand the wisdom between them.