From the time when Laozi preached the Tao to the rise of Huang-Lao and Lao-Zhuang philosophy, whether it was to discuss the study of governing the country or to establish an ideal personality, the overall idea of tranquility and self-restraint was not far away. In the Tao that Laozi talked about, he mainly expounded the essence of three aspects: the relationship between the Tao and all things, the relationship between man and nature, and the relationship between epistemology and practice, but the most core element was man. Man is the expounder of the concept of Tao and the typical representative of the practice of Tao in the world; man is the basic element of Huang-Lao governance and the final destination of Lao-Zhuang philosophy. Therefore, in the three aspects of Laozi’s Tao, the most basic entry point is actually the human-centered perspective. Zhuangzi once proposed the concept of “Tao Tongwei Yi”, and the interconnection between “all things” and “one” is reflected in the role of man.
Laozi regarded Tao as the origin of the mysterious world, and proposed the concepts of beauty and ugliness, disaster and blessing, existence and non-existence, difficulty and ease, high and low, etc., which complement each other but transform each other, trying to use them to explain the duality and objectivity of Tao in the world. But the Tao body needs to be recognized from the subjective consciousness of people, so the manifestation of the yin and yang of the Tao will naturally become the basic viewpoint and process for intelligent human beings to take the initiative to understand all things in nature. Lao Tzu proposed that only by “reaching the extreme of emptiness, keeping quiet… each returning to its roots, returning to the roots is called quietness, this is called returning to life” can we experience the wonders of Tao and guide our lives with the concept of Tao. Lao Tzu hopes that everyone can obtain Tao, and hopes that everyone can find their own spiritual home and material belonging in the era of the collapse of rituals and music. Therefore, when he explained how to give full play to the role of Tao, he proposed to match it with “virtue” in the world. Tao is a discussion of the rules of generation of all things in the universe; virtue is the embodiment of Tao that belongs exclusively to the world. Virtue is the function and character of Tao. Tao and virtue are interconnected. Lao Tzu’s political ideal is to return to the era of small countries and few people, so that people can enjoy themselves and society can live in harmony with the world. The reason why the social phenomenon of the collapse of rituals and music is caused is that people have lost their virtues, everyone is fighting for desires, and has lost the true nature of virtues of being quiet, self-restrained, less selfish, and forbearing humiliation. Therefore, the social status quo of the decline of the Tao can only be achieved.
Therefore, in Laozi’s thoughts and discourses, although a considerable part of the content is about the relationship between Tao and virtue, it is fundamentally based on the starting point and foothold of “humanism”. In the era of philosophical breakthroughs known as the “axial age”, the human spirit is gradually freed from the primitive religious theological system. It is a new beginning to understand nature with a more reasonable consciousness and attitude. The humanistic thought in Laozi’s doctrine is not completely separated from the concept of “heaven” in primitive religion, but through the way of Taoism, it transforms the “heaven” that transcends human will into a “heaven” that can be understood and made to serve oneself through human initiative, and finally realizes the concept of “unity of heaven and man” in the theology of destiny, which is also the highest pursuit of Taoism. The framework of Laozi’s thought is ultimately about exploring the relationship between heaven and man, Tao and virtue. The “self-esteem” doctrine, which is people-oriented and derived from Laozi’s doctrine, was carried forward by Yang Zhu’s school. Mencius once criticized Yang Zhu out of context for “not plucking a hair to benefit the world”, although the words were biased, but it also showed from the opposite side that Yang Zhu’s school cherished the self. The emergence of any doctrine is inseparable from the social environment at that time. Yang Zhu was probably a scholar active in the early Warring States period. The social environment at that time was more turbulent than that of Laozi’s period, and people were more concerned about how to survive and preserve. Although Mozi and Yang Zhu proposed two different theories of “universal love” and “self-esteem” respectively, they were both based on the fundamental starting point of caring for people.
In the question and answer between Yang Zhu and his student Meng Sunyang, Yang Zhu emphasized his idea of ”self-esteem”, believing that in order to achieve peace in the world, everyone needs to love themselves, rather than greedily seeking more benefits and doing things that are harmful to their bodies. If everyone can love themselves, there will be no mutual harm in the world. At the same time, Yang Zhu also proposed the idea that everyone should follow the will of heaven. The living should do what the living should do, and the old should not be afraid of the arrival of death. All of this is a natural phenomenon of life. Tao follows nature, and the law is what all things should be like. Therefore, in Yang Zhu’s view, everyone loves themselves. This is the spirit that human beings should have. It is the role of human instinct and the concrete embodiment of the basic law of Tao for human survival in this society. Yang Zhu’s views, whether at that time or now, do not belong to the negative thoughts considered by some academic views. Although Yang Zhu represents the social thought of the hermit class, his emphasis on the idea that everyone should cherish themselves and the ideal of opposing the use of social systems to harm natural human nature are both progressive in the era. Yang Zhu’s thoughts inherit Laozi and have greater inspiration for Zhuangzi’s “free and easy” life. Regarding Zhuangzi’s ideal of life, there is a story about him that can serve as the best evidence. When the envoy of Chu invited Zhuangzi to be an official with a huge reward of thousands of gold coins, Zhuangzi, who was so poor that he could hardly afford to eat, replied that he would rather be a free turtle than be restricted by his greed for wealth and glory. Once you are burdened by the reputation of the world and entangled by your own desires, on the surface, you will only lose the joy of freedom in the fields. If you return to Yang Zhu’s theory, you will get the result of damaging yourself because of fame and fortune. If you return to Laozi’s theory, it will evolve into a tragic ending that goes against the grain.
Therefore, Zhuangzi’s yearning for a free life is actually due to the ultimate pursuit of himself and humanism. In Zhuangzi’s philosophical thinking, he is no longer satisfied with just exploring the relationship between man and nature, man and society, but has achieved the transcendence of man from spirit to material. Zhuangzi’s philosophical propositions of equality of things and self, transcendence of life and death, and integrity of nature have been almost all preserved and worshipped by Taoist practitioners in later generations, which just shows that Zhuangzi’s thoughts transcend time. Zhuangzi’s indignation at the social vanity that disturbed people’s hearts became the social status quo that later practitioners devoted their lives to changing. Zhuangzi was particularly opposed to the theory of benevolence and righteousness. In his view, being able to maintain a more independent personality and spiritual freedom and happiness is the true life that everyone should pursue. Therefore, the issues discussed by Zhuangzi returned to the three themes in Laozi’s thought, namely, the relationship between the Tao and all things, the relationship between man and nature, and the relationship between epistemology and practice. Of course, the core issue is still the self-concept of man, that is, humanism. Although Zhuangzi talked about many “crazy” words, Zhuangzi naturally knew that immortality was impossible, but he did not give up the pursuit of his personal ideals. To achieve a carefree life, you must first have “infinity”, a big mind and vision; secondly, you must have “transformation”, Kun transforms into Peng, things transform into heart, and people transform into Tao. The meaning of the word “transformation” is that each of us must have the ability to seize our own life opportunities and thoroughly evolve our already large enough abilities into our own carefree state. The opportunity mentioned here is the “Tao” that Zhuangzi hopes to transform into. Similarly, Zhuangzi is not negative, he just understands what he wants better than the world.
Under the influence of the ideological system of Laozi, Yang Zhu and Zhuangzi, Taoism in later generations not only pursues the free and unrestrained state of immortals, but also emphasizes cherishing one’s own tangible body through the art of self-cultivation. The cherishment of human nature is nothing more than the two aspects of form and spirit. This is the ultimate proposition that Taoism regards as a treasure after years. And these two points can be traced back to the ultimate source of pre-Qin Taoism. Tao is inseparable from people, and people are inseparable from Tao. When the two are united, they can truly return to the original and true realm.
