Category Archives: Laozi

WuWei Revisited

Scott Barnwell revisits one of our favorite topics:

Off and on over the past 18 months I’ve been working on a new essay for my blog series “Classical Daoism – Is There Really Such a Thing?” The essay is on Wuwei 無為 and whether it could be considered a defining feature of a group or tradition we call (early) Daoism. I’ve got some thoughts I hope some may feel like addressing. As far as I can tell, wuwei does not have just one meaning or usage. I think there are a few different uses and would like to know if others would differentiate them as I do.

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New Book on Daoism

Three Pines Press proudly announces the second volume in our new series
Contemporary Chinese Scholarship in Daoist Studies

Rediscovering the Roots of Chinese Thought: Laozi’s Philosophy
by CHEN Guying, translated by Paul D’Ambrosio
ISBN 978-1-931483-61-2
paperback, 150 pages, bibliography, index
available January 1, 2015
US $27.95
prepublication special: US $22.50
ORDER NOW: www.threepinespress.com<http://www.threepinespress.com/>

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Laozi on Marriage?

A blog reader asked: I just found Laozi’s having the following quote attributed to him (on several quote-collecting websites):

“Marriage is three parts love and seven parts forgiveness of sins.”

Do you have any idea whether this is actually from a *text* attributed to him, and if so, which?  (None of the sites I have found gives one.)  If not, would you mind asking about this on the blog?

New Daoism Journal

I have recently learned that Professor Zhan Shichuang 詹石窗 of Sichuan University is founding an English-language academic journal, Frontiers of Daoist Studies. Anyone interested in submitting work can contact Zhang Lijuan 张丽娟, a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute of Religious Studies, who represents the Editorial Office of the journal.

What Does It Mean to "Respond to Enmity with Excellence"?

I’ve been recently thinking about an issue that comes up in both the Daodejing and the Analects.  DDJ 63, specifically, is commented on in Analects 14.34.  In the two texts, we see different positions concerning how one should respond to enmity 怨 yuan.  DDJ 63 reads:

為無為，事無事，味無味。大小多少，報怨以德。圖難於其易，為大於其細；天下難事，必作於易，天下大事，必作於細。是以聖人終不為大，故能成其大… Continue reading →