Presentation Transcript

1. Martin Q. Zhao 11/13/2013

   Dao De Jing: a gentle Introduction

2. Intro Dao De Jing (Tao-TeChing) & Lao Zi (Lao Tzu) Taoism and Lao Tzu in Chinese History Dao in Ten Words Q&A topics
3. Martin In Ten Words: My M&M’s 密云(MiYun, remote suburb of Beijing, spent childhood there) 力学(Mechanics, majored in Solid Mechanics at USTC, and worked for Inst of Mech/Chinese Acad. of Sciences for 5 years) 美国(MeiGuo = America the beautiful, pursued PhD, and now naturalized) 建模(JianMo = Modeling, majored in CAM [Computational Analysis & Modeling] and took data modeling as a career) 梦亭(MengTing = dream-pavilion my style name字 became my American name ) Martin Mercer Macon Millrun Court 美术(MeiShu= arts, I like to practice calligraphy, and even paint when I have time)
4. 密云美景
5. Two parts (道 and 德) 81 (37+44) chapters About 5000 words 道德经(DaoDe Jing) & 老子(Lao Tzu)
6. It has been one of the best known mysteries: Who he was; when and where he was born. Three stories according to the Records of Grand Historian by Sima Qian (ca. 145-86 BC): A contemporary of Confucius (551-479 BC). Li (李) Er(耳 "ear") or Dan (聃 "long ear"); or Lao Laizi (老莱子 "Old Master") The Grand Historian and astrologer Lao Dan (老聃 "Old Long-ears"), who lived during the reign (384-362 BC) As the legend goes, Confucius had met Lao Tzu and asked about rituals from him. Lao Tzu By Legend
7. 郭店竹简(GuoDian Bamboo Slips, 300 BC) Unearthed in 1993
8. 马王堆帛书(MaWangDui Silk Texts, 168 BC) Unearthed in 1973
9. Up until the Qin Dynasty (221 BCE), one of the 100 contending schools of thoughts (诸子百家) During the Han Dynasty, Confucianism started to gain domination (独尊儒术) In 史记 (Records of the Grand Historian) 孔子 enjoyed his own 世家 (genealogy), while老子 shared a 列傳(biography) with 韓非子 (another one of the 诸子). Confucian disciples also shared a 列傳. Taoism In Chinese History
10. Taoism ranks 3rd in the three “religions” (三教:儒释道) in the last several hundreds years. 四库全书 (the Complete Library in Four Branches of Literature) categorizes DaoDe Jing in the子 (masters) branch, while Confucians texts are in the 经 (scripture)branch. Taoism In Chinese History – cont’d Confucian Temple in QuFu, his hometown.
11. “It is a famous puzzle which everyone would like to feel he had solved” Titles like “Dao of Programming” is second only to those like “HTML Bible” The Tao Te Ching has been translated into Western languages over 250 times 20 or so English translations available at Mercer It’s hard to translate: Antiquity(language, grammar, punctuation, context) Cultural differences DaoDe Jing in the World Traduttore, traditore Translator, traitor
12. 道(Dao) Nothingness, emptiness Name, concept Existence Subtlety The Tao Beginning The Tao that can be expressed in words is not the true and eternal Tao… (Tao:1) The gate of all mysteries Heaven & earth, the world These Two: What are they??? 10,000 things, objects
13. Although the Dao is used without definition, its four features are summarized in Chapter 25: Tao is born prior to the formation of heaven and earth {先天地生} (and before the existence of Lord {象帝之先} [Tao:4]) Tao is of a unique and independent nature {独立而不改} Tao is always moving in its cycle {周行而不殆;[道]曰大.大曰逝,逝曰远.远曰反.} Tao is the origin of all things and the universe {为天下母}(and in Chapter 4{渊兮似万物之宗}) What Exactly Is the Dao?
14. What Then Could Not Be Dao? 上士聞道，勤而行之。中士聞道，若存若亡。下士聞道，大笑之。不笑不足以為道。 Hearing Tao, The best scholar assiduously practices it; The average scholar half believes and half doubts it; The worst scholar burst into laughter about it. If the worst scholar does not laugh about it, Tao is not worthy of being called Tao. (Te:41) An educated person with good social status.
15. Since it’s so difficult to define the Dao, so Lao Tzu named it the Great {强为之名曰大} Relationships among the four greats {Dao, Heaven, Earth, King [of men], or simply man) are then shown. 道法自然(Dao Follows What’s Natural As Its Model) 故道大,天大,地大,王亦大.域中有四大,而王处一焉.人法地,地法天,天法道,道法自然. That is why I say: Tao is Great; Heaven is Great; Earth is Great; and King is also Great. There are four things that are Great [in the universe], of them King (of man) is one. Man takes Earth as its model; Earth takes Heaven as its model; Heaven takes Tao as its model; Tao takes nature as it model. (Tao:25)
16. And then what is Nature? Can I humbly say that Lao Tzu suggests “It is what it is”? 自然而然(It Is What It Is)
17. Everything in the world has its counterpart Beautiful ugly, good bad, difficult easy, existence nothingness, long  short, high low Positive negative electricity, matter antimatter, particle void According to the Dao, there is at once being and nonbeing, which are but different names of the same thing compliment opposites 有无相生(Existence & Nothingness Begot Each Other)
18. As the Romans said: “ilmondonon è costruita in un giorno”. So how is the world of 10,000 things is created according to Dao De Jing? 道生万物(The Dao Begot Ten Thousand Things) 道生一，一生二，二生三，… Dao begets the One. The One begets the Two. The Two begets the Three. … (Te:42) The One consists of Two in opposition (the Yin and Yang). The Two begets the Three. The Three begets all things in the world. What is the next line? The Three begets all things in the world. 三生万物。 Why does it sound so easy?
19. Software system = virtual world Need to design three types of objects An Example from Software Design Tao begets the One; The One consists of Two in opposition (the Yin and Yang); The two begets the Three; All things connote the Yin and Yang. (Te:42) 道生一， 一生二， 二生三， 三生万物。 (Cont’d on next slide)
20. A Virtual World With 10,000 Things CustomerEntity OrderControl Customer CustomerForm Actors OrderEntity SalesRep OrderFulfillControl SalesRepForm ProductEntity System Boundary
21. As compare to the Western way of thinking: Any single thing has always got two in one: the Yin and the Yang, as in a sheet of paper has two sides A glass of water is deemed as half full and half empty The balance between Yin-Yang changes all the time There is no absolute and purely good or bad As compared to the Confucian way of thinking: Confucianism::主阳刚(the Yang; action) Daoism::尚阴柔(the Yin; inaction) 尚阴柔(Recognize The Yin Over The Yang)
22. The Usefulness Of Nothingness Thirty spokes share one hub. It is just the space (the Nothingness) between them that makes a cart function as a cart. (Tao:11)
23. Just keep it to the concepts of 利(益)and 用 苟利家国生死已，岂因祸福避趋之。林则徐  无可用于世之＂大木＂庄子|人间世 有关家国书常读，无益身心事莫为。 不为无益之事，何以遣有涯之生？阮籍 Confucians 入世 = engage in societal activities Confucius himself traveled many states for decades trying to persuade the dukes to adopt his Dao Confucians (儒士) study hard for years trying to pass the official exams and become ministers, etc. Taoists 出世 = remain secluded and enjoy what nature has granted or practice (修炼) to become immortal Conflicting Views Btw Taoists & Ru-ists(儒)
24. The Strength Of Softness Nothing in the world is more supple than water, Yet nothing is more powerful than water In attacking hard and strong. (Te:78) 天下莫柔弱于水， 而攻坚强者莫之能胜，以其无以易之。 天下之至柔， 驰骋天下之至坚。 The most supple in the world, Can go through the hardest in the world. (Te:43) 人之生也柔弱， 其死也坚强。万物草木之生也柔脆， 其死也枯槁。 故坚强者死之徒， 柔弱者生之徒。……强大处下，柔弱处上。 While alive, a person’s body is supple; when dead, it becomes rigid.While alive, grass and trees are supple; when dead, they become dry and stiff.Thus the hard and strong is of the dying sort; the supple and weak is of the living sort.… …Thus the strong and big is inferior to the weak and supple. (Te:76)
25. Let’s quote from Chapter 23 for some hints: 希言自然(Why Is The Weak More Powerful?) 希言自然。故飄風不終朝，驟雨不終日。 Scarce says what is the norm of nature, Therefore a strong wind will last all morning, And a down-pouring rain will not last all day. (Dao:23) 物壯則老，是謂不道。不道早已。 Whatever is in its prime is bound to decline. For, being in prime is against Dao; Whatever goes against Dao will come to an early end. (Dao:30)
26. This verse used to come to my mind when facing obstacles That’s what brings to me now 希言自然(Scarce Says What Is The Norm Of Nature)
27. 上善若水(The Perfect Goodness Is Like Water) The best (man) is like water. Water is good; it benefit all things and does not compete with them. It dwells in (lowly) places that all disdain. This is why it is so near to Dao. (The best man) in his dwelling likes the earth. In his heart, he loves what is profound. In his association, he loves harmony. In his words, he loves faithfulness. In government, he loves order. In handling affairs, he loves competence. In his activities, he loves timeliness. It is because he does not compete that he is without reproach. (Dao:8) 上善若水。 水善利萬物而不爭， 處眾人之所惡， 故幾於道。 居善地， 心善淵， 與善仁， 言善信， 正善治， 事善能， 動善時。 夫唯不爭，故無尤。 The perfect goodness is like water. (Tao:8)
28. 上善若水
29. Just as “a smart person can take a winding path to reach his goal”, Lao Tzu suggests General comments  For head of state (ora sage聖人) The Benefit Of “No Contention” (不爭) Bow down and you are preserved; Bend and you can be straight; Hollow, then full; Worn, then new; … … (Dao:22) 曲則全， 枉則直， 窪則盈， 敝則新， … … 夫惟不爭， 故天下莫能與之爭。 One does not contend with others, So nobody in the world can win him in contention. (Dao:22)
30. Non-action (無為) is one of the most debatable concepts in the text. It has been used 13 times in 10 chapters In 5 chapters with 聖人(the sage) in the context One chp with 道 and once with 上德 (superior Te) Three other chapters with愛國治民 or (取)天下, both are presumably related to the ruler or sage 聖人無為(Sage Takes No Unnatural Actions) 無為而無不為 我無為而民自化 為無為 聖人無為故無敗，無執故無失 聖人處無為之事，行不言之教
31. Attitude matters Be open-minded Why is it hard to know? observe 知不知上(Admitting not knowing is the best knowledge) Knowing one’s ignorance of certain knowledge is the best attitude; Not knowing certain knowledge yet pretend to know is a bad attitude.(De:71) 知，不知，上，不知，知，病。 視之不見，名曰夷；聽之不闻，名曰希；搏之不得，名曰微。 That which we look at and cannot see is called plainness (“Yi”). That which we listen to and cannot hear is called rareness (“Xi”). That which we grope for and cannot get is called minuteness (“Wei”). (Dao:14)
32. It takes time to build your knowledge base. Is observation enough to get knowledge? A huge tree grows from a tiny seedling; A nine-storey terrace rises from a mound of earth; A journey of a thousand miles starts from beneath one’s feet. (De:64) 合抱之木，生於毫末；九層之臺，起於累土；千里之行，始於足下。 不出戶，知天下。不闚牖，見天道。其出彌遠，其知彌少。 是以聖人不行而知，不見而名，不為而成。 You don’t have to go out the doorto know what goes on in the world.You don’t have to look out the windowto see the way of heaven.The farther you go the less you know. So the wise soul (or sage) doesn’t go, but knows;doesn’t look, but sees; doesn’t do, but gets it done. (De:47)
33. 见素抱朴(Keep Being Simple In Nature And Mind) 五色令人目盲； 五音令人耳聋； 五味令人口爽； 驰聘畋猎，令人心发狂；难得之货，令人行妨。 是以圣人，为腹不为目，故去彼取此。 The five colors make man blind; The five sounds make man deaf; The five tastes make man lose his sense of taste; Riding and hunting make man wild w/ excitement; Rare goods goad man into stealing. Thus the sage does not satisfy his eyes with colors but satisfies his belly with enough food. He discards the former and takes the latter.(Tao:12) X Hence the sage does away with extremity, extravagance, and excess. (Tao:29) 是以圣人去甚，去奢，去泰。 So the people must be made subject to the following: Keep being simple in nature and mind, Discard selfishness and weakened desires. (Tao:29) 故令有所属，见素抱朴， 少私寡欲。 朴 Uncarved wood or block
34. The Concluding Chapter: Chapter 81 信言不美， 美言不信。 善者不辯， 辯者不善。 知者不博， 博者不知。 聖人不積， 既以為人己愈有， 既以與人己愈多。 天之道，利而不害；聖人之道，為而不爭。 True words are not embellished, The embellished words are not true. A good man does not quibble; He who quibbles is not good. A man of true learning does not show off his learning; He who shows off his learning does not have true learning. The sage does not store up: Helping others, he is helped even more. Giving to others, he becomes richer still. The Tao of the heaven benefits rather than harms all things; The Tao of the sage is to give rather than rob the people. (Te:81) 9 X 9 = 81
35. Q&A
36. The Book of Tao and Teh (Chinese-English), translated by GuZhengKun, 2006 Chinese Religion: an anthology of sources, edited by Deborah Sommer, Oxford University Press, 1995 Chinese Text Project (with Chinese & English sites), http://ctext.org/pre-qin-and-han/zh DaoDe Jing online (in Chinese)http://www.yasue.cc/to_dak_ging.html References
37. 德(What About The Teh?)
38. 道之為物，惟恍惟惚。惚兮恍兮，其中有象。恍兮惚兮，其中有物。窈兮冥兮，其中有精。其精甚真，其中有信。 道之為物，惟恍惟惚。惚兮恍兮，其中有象。恍兮惚兮，其中有物。窈兮冥兮，其中有精。其精甚真，其中有信。 Tao is a thing that is both invisible and intangible. Intangible and invisible, yet there are forms in it; Invisible and intangible, yet there is substance in it; Subtle and obscure, there is essence in it; This essence being invariably true, there is faith in it. (Dao:21)