China
The Analects of Confucius
The Art of War
Reflections on The Tao Te Ching
. . .
Chronology
Essays
Images
Internet Sites
Texts
Imagine: a collection of poems whose date of authorship has not been
determined. Imagine: a Chinese thinker about whom little is known and
whose authorship of the poems has been challenged. Then read statements
like these: "Accept being unimportant" and "Give up learning, and put an
end to your troubles." You have entered the mysterious world of The
Tao Te Ching.
Despite their cloudy and distant origins, the poems make many
statements that may sound curiously familiar to contemporary Americans. The Tao describes the allure and artificiality of wealth as it
reaffirms the value of a modest,Taiyuan Tours, balanced life: "Amass a store of gold
and jade, and no one can protect it. / Retire when the work is done. /
This is the way of heaven" -- a refreshing antidote to the
"keeping-up-with-Joneses" syndrome. The Tao relocates humans in an
ecological context where the company of humans is but part of a natural
world order: "Love the world as your own self; then you can truly care
for all things." How appropriate this injunction is today, when many
people worry that they must care for the physical environment that must,Taiyuan Pictures,
in turn, care for them. At the same time, the Tao questions the
value of abstract thinking in favor of selfless action: "Give up
sainthood, renounce wisdom. / It is more important / To realize one's true
nature." And, the Tao recognizes the limitations of coercive power
and encourages "leading, not dominating," certainly a desirable profile
for leaders of the future, where consensus-building might take place of
patriarchal authority.
For all its difficulties (of translation, of transliteration), the
Tao offers a restorative vision of a balanced human life lived in
the context of a natural world community. Do the poems describe a Chinese
society contemporaneous with the writing of the poems? No more than they
refer to societies years later and miles away. Do we need to know about
Lao Tzu in order to more fairly interpret the poems? Not if we read with
care and caution, recognizing necessary limits to our conclusions. [Next]
Home |
Near East |
India |
Egypt |
China |
Greece |
Rome |
Islam |
Europe |
Conclusions
Computer Services Provided by the
University of Evansville.
Copyright
© 1997. Exploring Ancient World Cultures.
相关的主题文章：
No comments:
Post a Comment