About Tao

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=22 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0aa000d2egerdp.gif"> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=145 BGCOLOR="#333399" TEXT="#080000" background="0a9a2c00erkjzj.gif"> <div> <A HREF="philosophical_taoism_site_map.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Site Map"><U>Site Map</U></A></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC33" FACE="Arial Black" > </FONT>  <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE=" Great Mathematician S.S.Chern Lao Tzu"><U>HOME</U></A> </div> <div> <B> 2.  </B><B> </B><A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="English Translation(sample)"><U><B>English Translation(sample)</B></U></A><B> of </B><I><B>Tao Te Ching</B></I><B> </B></div> <div> <B> 3.   </B><A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chinese Translation "><U><B>Chinese Translation ¥Õ¸Ü¥y¸Ñ </B></U></A></div> <div> <B> 4.    </B><A HREF="lao_tzu_s_taoism.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="English Introduction"><U><B>English Introduction</B></U></A></div> <div> <B> 5.    </B><A HREF="lao_tzu_s_taoism_means_his_philosophy.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Tao"><U><B>About Tao</B></U></A><B> </B><B>  </B></div> <div> <B> 6.    </B><A HREF="what_is_the_true_and_original_taoism.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Frequent asked questions"><U><B>Frequent Asked Questions</B></U></A><B> about Taoism</B></div> <div> <B> 7.     </B><A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lao Tzus Influence on Taoism Confucian"><U><B>Lao Tzu's Influence on Taoism  & Confucianism</B></U></A></div> <div> <B> 8.     </B><A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About the Original Taoism "><U><B>About the Original Taoism of Lao Tzu</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>       </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFCC33" FACE="Arial" ><B>   </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFCC33" FACE="Times New Roman" >(Chapter I :  Lao Tzu's Influence on Taoism and Confucianism)</FONT></div> <div> <B> 9.     </B><A HREF="tao_te_ching_translation_based_on_lao_tzu_s_philosophy__his_taoism.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Book Contents"><U><B>Book Contents</B></U></A></div> <div> <B> 10.     </B><A HREF="philosopher_karl_popper_appreciated_lao_tzu_s_view.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Great Philosopher Karl Popper Lao Tzu"><U><B>Great Philosopher Karl Popper & Lao Tzu</B></U></A></div> <div> <B> 11.    </B><A HREF="philosophers__link_to_lao_tzu_s_taoism.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="References"><U><B>References</B></U></A><B> about Lao Tzu's philosophy</B></div> <div> <B> 12. </B><B>  </B><A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Forthcoming Events"><U><B>Forthcoming Events</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=458 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I><B>About Tao(Dao)</B></I></div> <div> <IMG SRC="03e07040.gif" border=0 width="263" height="4" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>INTRODUCTION</B></div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="065a47e0.gif" border=0 width="164" height="126" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> A tip about the origination of the word "Tao"(Dao):</div> <div>     The Chinese word <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" >"</FONT>Tao<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" >"</FONT> originated from the combination of <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" >"</FONT>walk<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" >"</FONT>(actions) and <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" >"</FONT>head<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" >"</FONT>(thought).  It literarily means, more than just lu(road), a right path which leads to some significant destination.  The translation <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" >"</FONT>the Way<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" >"</FONT> is not necessarily the best there is, yet it is insufficient to convey its original connotations in both the ordinary Chinese use and its use in Lao Tzu.  Perhaps in ancient innocent times people customarily went through motions without using their own heads.  Tao was introduced to denote instructed actions resulted from leaders<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" >'</FONT> </div> <div> intelligent decisions. </div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#9999CC" FACE="Arial" ><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0cc999900.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">In the past two thousand years, many interpreters, inside and outside China, had failed because the language of </B></FONT><I><B>Lao Tzu</B></I><B>(aka </B><I><B>Tao Te Ching</B></I><B>)</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#9999CC" FACE="Arial" ><B> is very archaic and difficult.  Complicating the problem is that they misunderstood Lao Tzu as a great poet or religious founder.  Contrary to their belief Lao Tzu was neither.  He was in realistic terms a great philosopher.  His philosophy illustrates his greatness as a human being as well.</B></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0cc999900.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">His thought embodies a framework with its own logical structure.  In addition, he was the outstanding scholar of classics of his time(the sixth century BC), that included most celebrated</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#339900" FACE="Arial" ><I><B> I Ching </B></I></FONT><B>system.  Others would not have such direct access like him--a leading court intellectual.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000993300.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Chuang Tzu</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#9999CC" FACE="Arial" ><B> was the second greatest thinker about Tao, though he was also a great man of letters.</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#9999CC" FACE="Arial" ><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0cc999900.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Only part of the book </B></FONT><I><B>Chuang Tzu²ø¤l</B></I><B> </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#9999CC" FACE="Arial" ><B>contains the writing of Chuang Tzu himself.  The rest was interpolated by posterity.  In the future, the real Chuang Tzu's thought--Taoism--will also be expounded at this site. </B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000993300.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Confucius¤Õ¤l</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#9999CC" FACE="Arial" ><B> did have visited </B></FONT><B>Lao Tzu </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#9999CC" FACE="Arial" ><B>and recived many good advice from him.  They were both of aristocratic Yin ethnic origin!  Copnfucius' affinity with Lao Tzu was just as strong as that of Chuang Tzu.  One can discover it through comparing their thoughts in depth.</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0cc999900.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The great military thinker of the sixth century B.C. </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#339900" FACE="Arial" ><B>Sun Tzu</B></FONT><B> the author of the military strategy book for his name sake</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#339900" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>®]¤l§Lªk</B></I></FONT><B>, was said to have been taught by Lao Tzu.  Their agreement on military matters pointed to some affinity between them.</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#9999CC" FACE="Arial" ><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0cc999900.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">After Sun Tzu the other respectable intellectual who had interpreted </B><I><B>Lao Tzu</B></I><B> was the outstanding the third century BC</B></FONT><B> Legalist Han Fei TzuÁú«D¤l,</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#9999CC" FACE="Arial" ><B> who wrote two books about it.  These books are</B></FONT><B> </B><I><B>The Interpretation of Lao Tzu</B></I><B> </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#9999CC" FACE="Arial" ><B>and</B></FONT><B> </B><I><B>The Illustration of Lao Tzu's Sayings</B></I><B>.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0cc999900.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">From time to time, information about historical(not legendary) account of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu, as well as histories of their works will be discussed.   Confucius, Sun Tzu and Han Fei Tzu  will eventually be discussed.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0cc999900.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Nevertheless, Taoism talked about or practiced after the third century B.C., i.e. after the introduction of the application of syncretism, will not be discussed here.  In other words, the following lies outside the discussion of Lao Tzu's Taoism, in other words non-scientific discussions like Yin-Yang talks, Five Movement Talks, Huang-Lao Talks, Shamanism, Feng Shuei et al.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0cc999900.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">When comes to religion, only</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#339900" FACE="Arial" ><B> Zen(Chan) BuddhismÁI©v </B></FONT><B>and</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#339900" FACE="Arial" ><B> Christian theology</B></FONT><B>, ,particularly their ethics, bear more similarity to </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#339900" FACE="Arial" ><B>Lao Tzu's Taoism</B></FONT><B> than religious Taoism¹D?. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f0cc999900.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">There is so much to learn about the origin of the philosophically superior Taoism of Lao Tzu.</B></div> <bR> <div>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial Black" > <IMG SRC="0992d490.gif" border=0 width="557" height="73" ALT="ÂI°}¹Ï¼v¹³" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <div>                                                        1- 323-268-4982                </div> <div> <I>                                     Chinese Daily News(Los Angeles)</I></div> <div>              <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#9999CC" FACE="Arial" >  </FONT>  </div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>