中国文化英语教程Unit-2

Unit2Laozi’sPhilosophyofNon-actionContentLead-inTextstudyExercises“TheDaothatcanbetroddenisnottheenduringandunchangingDao.Thenamethatcanbenamedisnottheenduringandunchangingname.(Conceivedofas)havingnoname,itistheOriginatorofheavenandearth;(conceivedofas)havinganame,itistheMotherofallthings.”Lead-inWhat’stheChineseversionoftheselines?IntroductionNaturalnessandNon-actionThePhilosophyofNon-contentionReturningtoNewbornStateTextstudyIntroduction•Laozi(about571-471BC),alsocalledLaodan,surnameLi,givennameRanandaliasBoyang.•Hewasarecluse(隐居者)wholivedduringtheSpringandAutumnPeriod.•Hewassaidtohaveonceheldalowcivilpositionintheroyalcourt,inchargeofarchivalrecordsoftheZhouDynasty.Laozi•Laoziwasamanofgreatlearning.EvenConfuciuswassaidtohavetraveledmilestoconsulthim.ConfuciusconsultingLaoziaboutliIntroductionWhyisLiRanknownasLaoziratherthanLizi?Therearetwoexplanationsastothesourceof“Laozi”.SomesayduringtheperiodwhenLiRanwasalive,LaoandLiwerepronouncedinthesameway.So“Laozi”actuallysoundedthesameas“Lizi”atthattime.ThesecondlegendisthatLiRanwasbornwithwhiteeyebrowandwhitebeardlikeanoldman.Thushewascalled“Laozi”.Introduction•Laozi(《老子》),alsoknownasClassicoftheWayandVirtue(DaoDeJing.•TheauthorisgenerallybelievedtobeLaozi.•Itconsistsofjustover5,000Chinesecharacters.Its81chaptersaredividedintotwoparts,Dao(theWay)andDe(Virtue).IntroductionLaozi•ThebookhasplayedatremendousroleinthedevelopmentofChineseculture.•ItbecamethebasisofDaoism,theschoolofphilosophyparalleltoConfucianisminancientChina.•ThethoughtofLaoziformedthefoundationofDaoism,themostinfluentialindigenousschoolofreligioninChina.IntroductionTheinfluenceofLaozi•Italsoexertsadirectimpactonthecharacteristics,trendsofthoughtandaestheticsensibilitiesoftheChinesenationandisstillplayingaroleinthedevelopmentofChinesethinking.Introduction•FamousversionsofitstranslationincludethatofJamesLeggeandthatofStephenMitchell.Laoziintheworld•ItisfirstintroducedintoEuropepossiblyasearlyasthe15thcentury•IthasbecomeoneofthemosttranslatedphilosophicalworksofancientChina.IntroductionThecoreofLaozi’sphilosophy•ManyofLaozi’senlighteningviewsarebasedonhisphilosophyofnaturalnessandnon-action.IntroductionNaturalnessandNon-actionNaturalness(顺应自然)•Itreferstoanaturalstateofbeing,anattitudeoffollowingthewayofnature.•Everythingintheworldhasitsownwayofbeinganddevelopment.•Naturalphenomenaoccurindependentlyandnaturallywithoutfollowinganyhumanwill,andhumansshouldnottrytochangeanythingnatural.•Followingthewayofnatureisthewaytoresolvingconflictsbetweenhumansandtheworld.NaturalnessandNon-action•Non-actionistheguaranteeof“naturalness”.Non-action(无为)NaturalnessandNon-action•Bysaying“(DaoortheWay)actsthroughnon-action”,Laozididnotmeanthatoneshoulddonothingandpassivelywaitforsomethingtobeachieved.Neitherdidhedenyhumancreativity.•Whathemeantisthathumanenterprisesshouldbebuiltonthebasisofnaturalness,notonanyattemptstointerrupttherhythmofnature.Humancreativityshouldbeincompliancewiththewaysofnature.NaturalnessandNon-action“(DaoortheWay)actsthroughnon-action(无为而无不为).”—SelectedfromLaoziHowdoyouunderstandthisline?“Greatingenuityappearstobestupidity(大智若愚).”—SelectedfromLaoziHowdoyouunderstandthisline?•“Greatingenuity”referstothehighestlevelofingenuity,arisingsonaturallythatitdoesnotresembleingenuityatall.•Ingenuitycanbeachievedthroughhumaneffort,but“greatingenuity”issuperiortoordinaryingenuity.NaturalnessandNon-actionDeceit•ToLaozi,resortingtodeceitistruefutilityandwouldaccomplishjusttheoppositeresult.•Thosewhointendtoplaytricksarenotgenuineandthereforearenotnatural.•Deceitisdetrimentaltonaturalnessandtotheharmonyoflife.NaturalnessandNon-actionThePhilosophyofNon-contention•Onthebasisof“naturalness”and“non-action”,Laoziproposedtheviewof“overcomingthestrongbybeingweak(以柔克刚)”.•TheeraLaozilivedinwasrepletewithendlesswar.Overcomingthestrongbybeingweak•WarwasanimportantthemeforLaozi,andanti-warthinkingwasthenorm.ThePhilosophyofNon-contention•AccordingtoLaozi,warspringsfromhumanity’sbloateddesires.Conflictsarisesoutofpeople’sstruggletosatisfytheirdesires,andconflictescalatesintowar.•Humanstrivingandcompetitivestrifeistherootcauseofdecline;desiringnothingisthenaturalwayoflife.•Therefore,Laozi’sphilosophyisbasedon“non-contention”.ThePhilosophyofNon-contention“Thegreatestvirtueislikewater.”•Laozicomparedhisphilosophyof“non-contention”towater,todistinguishitfromthelawofjungle.ThePhilosophyofNon-contention“Thegreatestvirtueislikewater.”上善若水，水善利万物而不争，处众人之所恶，故几于道。居善地，心善渊，与善仁，言善信，事善能，动善时，夫惟不争，故无尤。——《老子·八章》ThePhilosophyofNon-contention上善若水，水善利万物而不争，处众人之所恶，故几于道。Legge:Thehighestexcellenceislike(thatof)water.Theexcellenceofwaterappearsinitsbenefitingallthings,andinitsoccupying,withoutstriving(tothecontrary),thelowplacewhichallmendislike.Hence(itsway)isnearto(thatof)theTao.ThePhilosophyofNon-contentionMitchell:Thesupremegoodislikewater,whichnourishesallthingswithouttryingto.Itiscontentwiththelowplacesthatpeopledisdain.ThusitisliketheTao.居善地，心善渊，与善仁，言善信，事善能，动善时，Legge:Theexcellenceofaresidenceisin(thesuitabilityof)theplace;thatofthemind