Although the ancient Chinese text Laozi–also known as the Daodejing–is highly popular worldwide, few Anglophone readers are familiar with the history of how the Chinese themselves have interpreted it. This volume aims to introduce students and general readers to the two earliest surviving commentaries on the Laozi, through translations that are approachable for non-specialists and can be read on their own. These two commentaries, the “Jie Lao” (Explaining the Laozi) and “Yu Lao” (Illustrating the Laozi), appear as two chapters in the book Han Feizi, traditionally dated to the 3rd century BCE. They are interesting not only for showing how at least one very early reader understood the Laozi, but also for what they may reveal about the state of the Laozi itself at that time, before it achieved the form of the text that is so famous nowadays. The book also includes original essays that explore the commentaries’ relation to the rest of the Han Feizi, compare and contrast them with other Laozi commentaries, and analyze their place in the larger history of Chinese commentarial writing. The table of contents is below the fold.
Category Archives: Daoism
Brian Bruya in Conversation with George Thompson
George Thompson is a popularizer of philosophical Daoism. In this conversation, we discuss the concept of ziran, the science of wisdom, and the intersection of philosophy and religion.
Episode 36 of “This Is the Way”: Zhuangzi’s Happy Fish Debate
In this episode, we take up one of the most puzzling and fascinating passages in the Zhuangzi: the “happy fish debate” between Zhuangzi and Huizi. Can Zhuangzi really know that the fish are happy if he is not a fish? Along the way, we explore skepticism, language, animal minds, and the ordinary but surprisingly sophisticated ways we recognize joy in other living things. Continue reading →
Upcoming Collaborative Learning Events
Next week the 四海为学 Collaborative Learning Project will host three separate events:
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April 6th at 9:00am Beijing time: Roundtable on “Zhuangzi: Fate, Desires, Transformation.”For details and the Zoom link please see our event page: https://www.sihaiweixue.org/zhuangzi-fate-desires-transformation
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April 6th at 19:00 Beijing time: Livia Kohn will speak on “Time in Daoist Culture.”For details and the Zoom link please see our event page: https://www.sihaiweixue.org/livia-kohn-lecture
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April 10th at 20:00 Beijing time: Mara Yue Du will speak on “Rethinking Late Qing and Republican Constitutionalism through Global History: Tradition and Modernity.”For details and the Zoom link please see our event page: https://www.sihaiweixue.org/mara-yue-du-lecture
Episode 32 of “This Is the Way”: Music Has in It neither Grief nor Joy
When you hear sad music and feel some sadness in response, is that because the music has successfully carried the sadness of the musician to you as the listener? Or is it better to say that the sadness is in you, released by the music but not “carried” by it? In this show (our second with a live audience), we discuss the music theory of the third-century philosopher Ji Kang 嵆康 (223–262 CE), who argued against the “carrier” view of music and for a more complicated and pluralistic account of the emotional contents of music. We also discuss Ji Kang’s interpretation of a famously evocative and mysterious passage in the Zhuangzi, regarding the “piping of Heaven.” To guide us in discussing these issues, we lean heavily on our guest, Meilin Chinn of Santa Clara University, a leading expert on the philosophy of music in China. Continue reading →
Documentary on Laozi
The documentary, Wisdom of China: Laozi, is now available on YouTube. This documentary discusses the historical evidence regarding Laozi and the meaning of the Daodejing, but also looks at the immense influence of Laozi’s ideas on topics as diverse as green energy, modern physics, politics, the martial arts, music, and the counter-culture movement of the 1960s and 1970s. The diverse figures discussed include Confucius, Abraham Lincoln, Bruce Lee, Ursula K. Le Guinn, The Beatles, and Nobel Laureate in physics Niels Bohr. Among the scholars interviewed are Feng Cao (Chinese People’s University), Xia Chen (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences), Guying Cheng (Peking University), Alexus McLeod (Indiana University), Michael Puett (Harvard University), Misha Tadd (Nankai University), and Lihua Yang (Peking University).
ToC: Dao 24:4
Dao 24:4 has been published; see here and below for the Table of Contents. Continue reading →
Online Course: Worldmodels & Ontologies: Visions of Reality in Chinese Thought
The online course “Worldmodels & Ontologies: Visions of Reality in Chinese Thought” will be running from Thursday, 16 October to Thursday, 18 December 2025. This seminar is designed in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Zurich, the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, and National Chengchi University (NCCU). Scholars, students, and practitioners are warmly invited to join this collaborative exploration of how different textual traditions in China have structured their visions of reality. Please find the course description and schedule here.
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Episode 25 of “This Is the Way”: Daoist Utopia
In this episode, we delve into Chapter 80 of the Daodejing, one of the most vivid portraits of Daoist social ideals. We unpack its vision of a “simple agrarian utopia,” where people live in small communities, ignore labor-saving tools, and resist the endless chase for more. Along the way, we discuss political minimalism, technological restraint, contentment in daily life, and radical localism, asking what it would mean to be satisfied even while knowing other or “better” possibilities exist. We reflect on our own consumerist culture, and probe whether Daoist utopia is naive, radical, or unexpectedly wise for our time. Continue reading →
ToC: Asian Studies 13:3
Vol. 13 No. 3 of Asian Studies has been recently published. Please see here and below for the Table of Contents. Continue reading →
