• His life • Daoism as
Philosophy of laozi • Dao De Jing • Philosophical and Religous Daoism
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• Lu Xun said:
"China roots deep in Taoism. If one wants to comprehend Chinese history and culture, one must comprehend Taoism first."
court of Zhou; 2. He was visited by Confucius and talked
about rites; 3. He preached the retirement from the world;
4. He left the court, wrote the Daodejing, and
• idea: Dialectical Thought (辩证法思想 )
Noninterference(无为而治) • The dual cultivation (性命双修)
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Daoism: Philosophy of Laozi
Dao De Jing has been studied by literary
• Career: librarian(图书管理员),
•
archivist(案卷保管员）,
•
grand scribe（太史）
• old age：resigned from official post and
lived in seclusion(隐居）
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Supreme Mysterious and Primordial Emperor (太上玄元皇帝)
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Life of Laozi
• Home: Quren Village, LI Township（厉乡曲仁
里） ,Ku County in the state of Chu ,in present day Luyi（鹿里） ,Henan Province
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Tao gave birth to the One; the One gave birth successively to two
things ,three things, up to then thousand.
道生一，一生二， 二生三，三生万物
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Dialectical Thought (辩证法思想 )
critics for centuries, and have influenced every aspect in our life
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① Tao/Dao the image of a hairy, human head
a foot walking "the way of the ancients"
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Names Li Er(李耳)
Bo Yang(伯阳)
Li Dan (李聃)
Elder Dan (老聃) Senior Lord (老君) Senior Lord Li (李老君) Senior Lord Taishang (太上老君) Taoist Lord Lao Zi (老子道君)
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The features of “Tao”:
—Tao is undefinable, unlimited, and unnamable.
道可道，非常道; 名可名，非常名。 无名，天地之始; 有名，万物之母。
—《道德经》第一章
The Tao that can be told of is not the eternal Tao; The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The Nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth; The Named is the mother of all things.
disappeared without a trace.
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• Work：Dao De Jing《道德经》
• Achievement：esteemed as a philosopher by
Confucianists; a saint(圣人)or god by the common people of China; a divinity(神)and the representative of the Dao
Laozi's response was a critique of Confucius's teachings. Laozi tells Confucius to give up his stiff deportment and prideful airs.
孔子去，谓弟子曰：“鸟，吾知其能飞；鱼，吾知其能游； 兽，吾知其能走。走者可以为罔，游者可以为纶，飞者可以 为矰。至于龙吾不能知，乘风云而上天。吾今日见老子， 其犹龙邪！”
Story : 孔子适周，将问礼于老子。 Once, Confucius went to Zhou and consulted
with Laozi on ritual matters.
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老子曰：“良贾深藏若虚，君子盛德、容貌若愚。去 子之骄气与多欲，态色与淫志，是皆无益于子之身。”
Confucius is reported to have praised Laozi’s wisdom and to have compared him to a dragon whose abilities we10/r10e/202b0 eyond his understanding.
Conclusion: 1. He was an archivist or librarian at the royal