Tying Together Yin, Yang, Dao, and the Chinese Dream of Golden Age

1718 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The influence of confucianism upon the Chinese people

1/ Explain the concepts of “Yin” and “Yang”. Using pp. 227 ff in the textbook, try to tie them together with an early understanding of the “Dao” (“Tao”) and the Chinese dream of a ‘Golden Age’.
The concepts of Yin, Yang, and Dao are beliefs the early Chinese had to better understand the order of nature and its elements. Yang is male energy, and is understood to stand for dry and warm elements in nature, as well as for active and expansive elements. Yin is the female energy, and is therefore the opposite of yang; it is wet and cold, slower and regressive in nature. Furthermore, yang objects (males) are seen as positive, heavenly and more important elements then yin objects (females). Objects in nature may at times have both yang and yin characteristics, or can even change from yin to yang and visa versa, depending on the circumstances they are placed in. Dao goes beyond the concepts of yin and yang in that it seeks to understand nature as a whole in harmony and cooperation with all. The belief in the way of Dao is also the belief in a Golden Age. To illustrate, if people everywhere followed the way of Dao then true peace and harmony would reign throughout the earth. (Noss and Grangaard 226-227)
2/ Elaborate on the ‘understanding’ of the “Dao” as told by Lao-Zi, Zhuang-Zi and in Dao De Jing.
Lao-Zi, according to legend, repulsed by the government and Confucian teaching of that time, vanished into the unknown in the hopes of escaping this corrupt society, and to construct the Dao De Jing. However, others have argued that though Lao-Zi may have fathered Daoist philosophy he is not the author of Dao De Jing. Though the way or understanding of Dao is impossible to describe, according to the Dao De Jing, yet because of Dao everything exi...

... middle of paper ...

...at has been the view of Confucius and his philosophy after the Chinese revolution of 1911?
After the Chinese revolution of 1911, Confucian scholars failed to maintain Confucianism as a state religion in China’s new constitution. However, the new leader, Sun Zhongshan, when speaking of his plans for the Republic, quoted Confucian phrases and values. Overall, the Nationalist Party and the New Life movement incorporated Confucius virtues and colorings throughout their belief systems. With the rise of Communism Confucian once again went under revision, this time with Confucius teachings of ren being attack as primitive and unprogressive. The Confucius philosophy of today is uncertain and there has been talk of developing a more “modern Confucianism”. Nonetheless, in certain areas Confucian is still popular and its virtues are still promoted. (Noss and Grangaard 285-287)

Show More
Related

  • Antigone And Confucius Essay

    585 Words  | 2 Pages

    Confucius was a philosopher, political intellect and an educator whose philosophies have significantly prejudiced not only the Chinese principles but the entire world evolution. He lived through the “Spring” and “Autumn” epoch of Chinese history, when east central China was separated over a dozen fighting states. The inordinate ailment and grief he saw swayed his political thoughts, which highlighted command, grading and the rule of a compassionate self-governing state.

    Read More

  • Exploring Daoism: The Orign of Faith and Philosophy

    890 Words  | 2 Pages

    The second part of the journey visits, ancient China in 1500 BCE, a thousand years prior to the formation of the Daoism school of thought. (Brodd, Little and Ny...

    Read More

  • “Where is the Way” Confucius and Zhuangzi Discuss the Dao

    1569 Words  | 4 Pages

    Confucius: I was not blessed with knowledge of the Dao upon birth, nor do I claim to have irrefutable knowledge now. However, “I am simply someone who loves antiquity and looks there for knowledge” (Confucius Book 7, CH 20). In a retrospective view of the Zhou Dynasty, I have concluded we must alter our practices to model strict adherence to ritual in order to once more be a harmonizing society.

    Read More

  • The Three Major Philosophies Of Ancient China

    781 Words  | 2 Pages

    Daoism was founded by Laozi, and it is said that he wrote Dao DeJing (The Classic of the Way and It’s Power). Daoism is based on Dao (the way), the force that gives order to the natural universe. It taught that if you lived in harmony with natures to Dao, nature is full of opposites and balancing those is called yin (shaded) and yang (sun lit). Daoism taught rulers to be weak and less harsh. Their main influence was on writing, art, and Chinese thought. Rulers that ruled the least were the best. Daoism believed that the greater the number of laws and enactments, the more thieves and robbers there will be. In “The Sayings of Lao Tzu”, Daoism stated that “so long as I do nothing, the people will right themselves. If only I keep from meddling, the people will grow rich. If only I am free from desire, the people will come naturally back to

    Read More

  • Meiji Restoration

    1968 Words  | 4 Pages

    Creel, Herrlee. Chinese Thought from Confucius to Mao Tse-tung. New York: University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Daoism And Confucianism

    655 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the same time Confucius’ teachings were spreading through China, another religion was also having its beginning. In contrast to the humanistic, ethical teachings of Confucius, the mystical, enigmatic beliefs of Daoism appeared. Daoism can be viewed as a philosophy about nature and human life, described in ancient texts like the Dao De Jing, written by Lao Zi, and the writings of Zhuang Zi. Others see it as a religious tradition that emerged around the second century C.E. whose importance has lasted into the twentieth century (“Taoism” n.p.). A concept that has been accepted in Confucianism, as well as philosophical and religious Daoism, is that of the yin and yang.

    Read More

  • Struggles of the Cultural Revolution in Bei Dao's "Notes from the City of the Sun"

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his poem, “Notes from the City of the Sun”, Bei Dao utilizes obscure imagery consistent with the Misty Poets and veiled political references to illustrate the struggles in Chinese society during the Cultural Revolution. The poem is sectioned into fourteen short stanzas containing imagery that are symbolic of the cultural hegemony in China under the rule of Mao Zedong. Bei Dao, born Zhao Zhen-kai, is an anti-revolutionary poet and one of the founders of a group known as the Misty Poets. The Misty Poets wrote poems that protested the Cultural Revolution led by Mao Zedong. Therefore, a lot of Bei Dao’s poems speak out against the Cultural Revolution and the restrictions that it placed on any form of art. Bei Dao’s poetry is categorized as “misty” because of the ambiguity in its references to Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution. An obscure imagery that occurs twice in “Notes” is the sun imagery. Another imagery that depicts the injustice of the Cultural Revolution is the description of freedom as scraps of paper. In the poem, Bei Dao also equates faith to sheep falling into a ditch; this is a depiction blind faith during the Cultural Revolution. The purpose of this essay is to analyze how Bei Dao’s use of the Misty Poet’s ambiguous imagery and implicit political context in the poem “Notes from the City of the Sun” to illustrate the cultural hegemony in China under Mao.

    Read More

  • Why Laozi Choose Dao (道) To Represent His Idea?

    1326 Words  | 3 Pages

    Without any doubt, Dao(道) is the most important idea in the book Dao De Jing. However, it seems a little improper to use the character “Dao(道)” compared to many other better options to describe this power. In one explanation, Dao means the reason and order of the whole world. According to this argument, Laozi should use the characters that mean reason, like “理” or “序”. On the other hand, according to Laozi, Dao is the origin of the myriad things that exist now. In this way, Laozi should simply call this power “始”or “源”. Although “Dao” had been used to represent the ultimate truth in Yi Jing, or other books before, Laozi was able to choose any character he preferred, because the Daoism was original by Laozi. According to Laozi’s personality, he will not try to make the content more readable by giving up the accuracy of the language. In Chinese, Dao(道) also means the road or pathway. Laozi doesn’t give too much explanation about pathway idea in his book. However, Laozi chose Dao over other characters, so there must be another idea that Laozi doesn’t want to give directly to the readers. I will try to explain the

    Read More

  • Lao Tzu: Dao De Jing

    560 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lao Tzu was a renowned Daoist Chinese philosopher and poet from the sixth century B.C., who was rumored to have influenced the eminent Confucius and is also credited as the founder of the Chinese School of the Tao or predominantly known as Taoism. Tzu’s utmost famous piece of work, the Dao De Jing, was said to be written in three days with an excess of 5000 characters, comprised of 81 brief chapters.This classic Chinese text is primarily based on the principles of enduring, the unchanged, and the originator.

    Read More

  • Three Philosophies In Ancient China

    1500 Words  | 3 Pages

    ask. How did Daoism (道教) affect the daily life of the ancient Chinese? Daosim (道教)

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Buddhism Confucianism And Daoism

    136 Words  | 1 Pages

    Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism are the typical foundations of Chinese literary thought and culture. For the case of Daoism, it has a philosophical perspective as well as a religious inclination that is identified as DaoJiao in modern Chinese contemporary literature. The other two are however deeply interconnected with the Daojiao. Therefore, Laozi, also known as Lao-tzu in the wade- Giles nomenclature of translations, a huge favorite of early western scholars, is an interlink of the other two (Ivanhoe). For instance, philosophical Daoism originated from Laozi. Laozi was a talented philosopher who thrived in the sixth century B.C.E and was of Chinese ancestry. In Daoism, Laozi was considered a religious deity. This paper aims at examining

    Read More

  • Essay On Yin And Yang

    867 Words  | 2 Pages

    I have a strong belief in the Chinese philosophy of ‘Yin Yang’. The concept of Yin and Yang suggests that seemingly contrary forces are interconnected in the natural world and give rise to each other in turn. The interaction of these contradictory forces establishes a state of balance. Economics, with its concept of equilibrium, involves similar dualities. The presence of Yin Yang in economics more than just intrigued me. In the economic world, unlimited wants interact with limited resources and finally reach equilibrium through people’s rational choices. Similarly, the yin of capital inflows is balanced by the yang of capital outflows. As a person who likes things to be under control, I was fascinated by the power of economics in deploying scarce resources to maximize the economic well being and reach equilibrium.

    Read More

  • Comparison Of Laozi And Zhuangzi

    1007 Words  | 3 Pages

    Laozi recognises that language is extremely inadequate in demonstrating the true meaning of certain ideas. To him, reality surpasses the human language Even the concept of “dao” itself is unable to be fully expressed through language: It can be seen as a teaching, a way of doing things, an origin, and so on. There is no single description that can encapsulate what dao is as a whole. One can only offer an illustration of one of its dimensions at a time. Hence, Laozi seems to engage in language skepticism to demonstrate the indescribability of dao, and the perils of taking any one of its definitions too literally. If we were to narrow our perspective and attempt to

    Read More

  • Laozi

    377 Words  | 1 Pages

    Laozi saw past everyday worries to focus on the dao, or "the way" of the universe

    Read More

  • Good And Evil In Confucianism

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    A person who lives Dao behaves as water does in the nature (“The World 's Religions: Taoism (Daoism)” n. pag.). Water is obedient. It never struggles; however, at the same time, it can overcome everything. Water does not have special taste or smell. It shows that Tao is invisible, but gives life. It is in every living being but it is still pure and clean. It is adaptable, flexible, and modest. Water does not feel a need to contest. This metaphor shows how Tao can be incorporated in people’s life. In nature, when a stream of water meets an obstacle, the river just makes a new branch around it. When it continues flowing in this new way, it also slowly corrodes the boundaries of the obstruction. In some time, this barrier will be destroyed. The main idea is that there is no point for one in forcing his/her life. When people attempt to apply their determination and willpower, they often meet opposition. To fight this resistance, a person needs to spend much strength and efforts. However, if one behaves like a river and tries to pass by obstacles, he/she will feel satisfied and full of energy. Still, one has to remember that water does not always stay calm. Sometimes, it can crash or even destroy. To be like water does not mean staying always passive, being afraid to face problems and trying to find a reserve way; when a person is supposed to show the action, he/she should do it, but there is no point in

    Read More

More about Tying Together Yin, Yang, Dao, and the Chinese Dream of Golden Age

Open Document