LAO-TZU, THE TAO OF LAO-TZU, AND THE EVOLUTION OF TAOISM—THE CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE “LEGEND OF LAO-TZU CONVERTING THE BARBARIANS 老子化胡说”1

Hong Xiuping

Lao-tzu was one of the most illustrious figures in the history of ancient Chinese philosophy and the founder of philosophical Taoism. It was he who first put forth the “Tao” as the ultimate philosophical category and laid a foundation for a new stage of Chinese philosophy. After the Han Dynasty, Lao-tzu’s philosophy was linked to religious Tao- ism, which made him its founder and deified him. From its founda- tion onward, religious Taoism inherited and developed the theory of philosophical Taoism. Historically, religious Taoism evolved through the conflicting and integrating movements between indigenous Confu- cianism and foreign Buddhism, but especially through its relationship with the latter. Taoism strongly emphasized the “Legend of Lao-tzu Converting the Barbarians” in order to honor Lao-tzu. This exag- geration reflected the complex relationship between Taoism and Bud- dhism and the resulting impact on its evolution.

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Whether Lao-tzu’s Taoist philosophy is at the origin of Chinese cul- ture and philosophy is still a matter of dispute.2 But it is undeniable that philosophical Taoism, together with Buddhism and Confucianism, was a fundamental component of Chinese culture. Which features of Lao-tzu’s philosophical Taoism stood out, however, among the many other philosophical schools to place it on a par with Buddhism and

1 Published originally in Nanjing daxue xuebao 南京大学学报, no. 4, 1997. 2 See Chen Guying’s Lun daojia zai Zhongguo zhexueshi shang de zhugan diwei 论道家 在中国哲学史上的主干地位 [On the Central Position of Taoism in the History of Chinese Philosophy], in Zhexue yanjiu, no. 1, 1990 and Li Cunshan’s Daojiao zhugan diwei shuo xianyi 道家主干地位说献疑 [My Doubts Regarding the ‘Central Position of Taoism’ Thesis], in Zhexue yanjiu, no. 4, 1990. 88 hong xiuping

Confucianism? In my opinion, the answers can be found in the par- ticular angle from which Lao-tzu observed life and the universe, and in the philosophy he built from the concept of the “Unity of Heaven and Man.” At the core of Taoist belief was the theory of the Tao, induced by Lao-tzu from the universal relationship between Heaven, Earth, and Man. The Tao has no physical existence, but is the abstract basis of all existence. On the temporal plane, it covers the past, present, and future of all existence. On the spatial plane, it covers all evolution and the transformation of Heaven, Earth, and Man. As the origin of the existence and evolution of nature and man, the Tao is immeasurable and invisible. Its existence precedes that of all others and it exists in all things. It is as omnipresent as “Existence 有” and transcendental as “Non-existence 无.” “By being without desire, you can experience wonder. But by having desire, you experience the way. Both spring from the same source but differ in name. This source is called ‘Mys- tery.’ Mystery upon Mystery, the womb gives birth to all beings.”3 The original, transcendental, and eternal nature of the Tao, and the contents of the concept, both complex and vague, made it widely open to interpretation within religious Taoism. The Tao as nature defined all the practices of religious Taoism. Nature and non-action were the two main features of the Tao. While nothing is done, nothing is left undone. Heaven, Earth, and Man shared the same Tao, which “communicated all.”4 Since the Tao of Man followed the Tao of Heaven, Man should be natural and remain non-active. Lao-tzu for that reason criticized kindness, righteousness, and all actions saying, “when the Tao is not followed, kindness and righteousness appear. When intelligence and learning are exalted, pretentiousness emerges.”5 He believed that “when the Tao is lost in a person or country one must resort to righteousness to rule society. When righteousness is lost, one has to use morality. When morality has been abandoned there is only ritual to govern society. But ritual is only the outer clothing of true belief; reaching this point is being near to chaos.”6

3 Lao-tzu, chapter 1. 4 Chuang-tzu, chapter “Qiwu lun”. 5 Lao-tzu, chapter 18. 6 Idem, chapter 38.