Lao Tzu
The Tao Te Ching
eBook
(Road to Success May 2, 2013)
The legend tells us that Lao Tzu was contemporary to Confucius and when he departed from one of the border passes, the chief guard noticed that it was Lao Tzu. He asked Lao Tzu to write down this basic thought. So he did it in two thousand words. Recent philological studies are more inclined to suggest that Tao Te Ching is written perhaps rather in the 4th or the 3rd century B.C. (later than Confucius) and is maybe not written by one author, but from many different origins including certain proverbs which were very likely prevalent around the time.
Contrary to this contention by the Chinese philologists, we would like to contend that Tao Te Ching was written by a single person, called Lao Tzu and he may be contemporary to Confucius rather than in a later period.
Tao Te Ching has a clear stylistic unity (in terms of the use of Chinese characters) and the only one use of the proper noun (the reference to Yang Tze River). A little later than when Tao Te Ching was written, the China was unified and many different dialects (particularly of different Chinese characters for the same sound) came to known to each other. In consequence, homonyms (many different characters for the same sound) were given a certain ordering such that differentiation of meanings took place around the 3rd century. A good example of the situation with this complexity may be found for example in Chuang Tzu. Thus, the style of Lao Tzu differs so totally from Chuang Tzu in terms of the use of exceedingly difficult and complicated Chinese characters used by Chuang Tzu. Needless to emphasize, there is also a very clear unity of philosophical thought in Tao Te Ching.
It is astonishing that Lao Tzu tells us at the very beginning of his work that the word, "Tao," is chosen to refer to this ultimate principle of all ten thousand entities of reality for their being (for them to exist), he clearly points out that the language is inappropriate to deal with his metaphysical inquiry and question, because language has been devised and extensively used for atriculating one another and showing preference of one over the other.
The Tao that is to be referred to is not what we call Tao in the language of the mundane everydayness. What is to be named can not be described by the mundane, everyday name based on the dualistic thinking.
Then, Lao Tzu declares form the beginning in Chapter 1, "Naming (the use of language) is the source of distinctions, namely, those of the so-called Ten Thousand Things."
Without all our desires is the only way in which this (unnameable and undistinguishable) Tao is immediately intuited. (Needless to say, this does not necessarily mean that we live in accordance with the Way of Tao).
With our desires, Tao’s appearances are only known, although these two possess different expressions (Tao and appearances), they are primarily one and the same.
This is the primordial truth, of all truths, which serves as the beginning of many other truths.
Contrary to this contention by the Chinese philologists, we would like to contend that Tao Te Ching was written by a single person, called Lao Tzu and he may be contemporary to Confucius rather than in a later period.
Tao Te Ching has a clear stylistic unity (in terms of the use of Chinese characters) and the only one use of the proper noun (the reference to Yang Tze River). A little later than when Tao Te Ching was written, the China was unified and many different dialects (particularly of different Chinese characters for the same sound) came to known to each other. In consequence, homonyms (many different characters for the same sound) were given a certain ordering such that differentiation of meanings took place around the 3rd century. A good example of the situation with this complexity may be found for example in Chuang Tzu. Thus, the style of Lao Tzu differs so totally from Chuang Tzu in terms of the use of exceedingly difficult and complicated Chinese characters used by Chuang Tzu. Needless to emphasize, there is also a very clear unity of philosophical thought in Tao Te Ching.
It is astonishing that Lao Tzu tells us at the very beginning of his work that the word, "Tao," is chosen to refer to this ultimate principle of all ten thousand entities of reality for their being (for them to exist), he clearly points out that the language is inappropriate to deal with his metaphysical inquiry and question, because language has been devised and extensively used for atriculating one another and showing preference of one over the other.
The Tao that is to be referred to is not what we call Tao in the language of the mundane everydayness. What is to be named can not be described by the mundane, everyday name based on the dualistic thinking.
Then, Lao Tzu declares form the beginning in Chapter 1, "Naming (the use of language) is the source of distinctions, namely, those of the so-called Ten Thousand Things."
Without all our desires is the only way in which this (unnameable and undistinguishable) Tao is immediately intuited. (Needless to say, this does not necessarily mean that we live in accordance with the Way of Tao).
With our desires, Tao’s appearances are only known, although these two possess different expressions (Tao and appearances), they are primarily one and the same.
This is the primordial truth, of all truths, which serves as the beginning of many other truths.
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- 37