Contemporary and preliminary interpretation of Laozi’s concepts of dao and wuwei

蒋永嵋

【Abstract】To some foreign interpretation such as Chad Hansen，Laozi，as a linguistic skeptic，acknowledges the conventionality and reversibility of discourse that cannot provide constant guidance in action，and advocates one cannot follow one codified guide in all situations.It goes without saying that underlying Laozis strategy is a question of advantage.In order to resolve the paradox of the ineffable Dao，this thesis aims at discussing the contemporary significance of the pervading paradoxical expression of Dao and wuwei throughout Laozis daodejing.

【Key words】Laozi； Dao； Wuwei

1.The “soft power”

Most people favor the “soft power” which linked to Laozis basic concept of wuwei （non-action）.Wuwei does not literally mean “doing nothing”，it actually means not interfering，not overbearing，not combative，not pursuing ones own selfish interests and extra desire.In fact，by being wuwei，one may become more productive and powerful and thats exactly the real meaning of “wuwei er wubuwei”.Laozis “soft power” is a kind of passive-aggression that carries the qualities of being soft，humble，and weak and yet extremely powerful and indestructible.Laozis detachment sense of power is able to abandon the “artificial” self as well.

2.The solution of war

In a war there are countless variants，strategies and tactics between the direct method and the indirect method，so that Sunzi prefers advice military generals on how to win a battle in atypical and indirect way.It is obviously to see the advantage of Sunzis effective uses of the military resources，however，Daodejing does not ask for a complete rejection of weaponry and arms； instead，it argues that the main function of weapons in a “Daoist” society is to deter war … The optimal way to avoid war is to allow the weapons to go unused.Weapons are considered necessary，as these symbols of war need to be on hand in sufficient numbers to protect society，but it is best not to use them.We can easily see the unique dialectical thinking of Laozi.

3.Daoist and wuwei

Laozi describes water as lowly in terms of position，all-encompassing in how it takes in all the dirt and sediments of the earth，and rather than striving to climb upwards，it flows downwards ...Yet interestingly，this natural free-flowing process of water into lower position and humbly taking away the dirt of the land is what distinguishes live and active water，from a pool of dead and still water.By not striving to be active，not striving to be a competitive force，it becomes alive，active，and a powerful force.

In essence I fully agree with Wang Mengs assessment of Laozi in his book，The Help of Laozi ，in which Wang Meng praises Laozi as a man of “miraculous wisdom in dealing with worldly affairs”[1].Despite of the general fascination with Chinese ancient thoughts as exemplified by laozi，there are still questions relative to religion； Harry Fosdick singles out sin as the “most real and practical problems of mankind”[2].What trouble some foreign investigators is that the ancient Chinese philosophers seem to have neglected the basic problems of the human nature，thats also the reason why the paradox from so many eminent contemporary scholars like Chad Hansen comes to ineffable Dao，however，their interpretations of Laozi are still worthwhile to be investigated.

References：

[1]Wang Meng， Laozi de bangzhu（Beijing：Huaxia chubanshe， 2009）， p.4.

[2]Harry Fosdick， The Meaning of Faith（1917；reissued New York：Cosmo， Inc.，2005）， p.240.It should be mentioned thatFosdicks The Meaning of Faith was translated into Chinese and published in Shanghai in 1921.