Impermanence and Death in Sino-Japanese Philosophical Context This paper discusses the notions of impermanence and death as treated in the Chinese and Japanese philosophical traditions, particularly in connection with the Buddhist concept of emptiness and void and the original Daoist answers to the problem. Methodological problems are mentioned and two ways of approaching the theme are proposed: the logically discursive and the meditative mystical one, with the two symbols of each, Uroboros and
only marginal importance, although the reality of such issues is, by most Confucians, not denied. More strictly defined, Daoism includes: the ideas and attitudes peculiar to the Laozi (or Daodejing; "Classic of the Way of Power"), the Zhuangzi, the Liezi, and related writings; the Daoist religion, which is concerned with the ritual worship of the Dao; and those who identify themselves as Daoists.