In this paper I refer to a riddle found in the sixth chapter of the Inner Chapters of the Zhuangz... more In this paper I refer to a riddle found in the sixth chapter of the Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi 庄子 – “The Great Ancestral Teacher” (Da zong shi 大宗師). I suggest that the chapter embodies a “living riddle,” a riddle that is presented in a text through subtle hints, and responded only in one's life and practice. By using Cora Diamond’s method of understanding great riddles, I offer a different sort of reading in the Zhuangzi, which is to say – a riddle like reading. Great riddles are questions about life and death, space and time. Though there are many, I will take one example of a great riddle from the Zhuangzi. I believe that applying the method of riddles may help us understand better or at least in a different light Zhuang Zi’s writings. Through an account of the usages of different characters which signify the word “body” in the text, placing special emphasis on the character ti 體, I attempt to closely examine the language game that Zhuang Zi plays on his readers. The under...
Wu 無is one of the most prominent terms in Ancient Daoist philosophy, and perhaps the only term t... more Wu 無is one of the most prominent terms in Ancient Daoist philosophy, and perhaps the only term to appear more than Dao in both the Laozi and the Zhuangzi. However, unlike Dao, wu is generally used as an adjective modifying or describing nouns such as “names,” “desires,” “knowledge,” “action” and so forth. Whereas Dao serves as the utmost principle in both generation and practice, wu becomes one of the central methods to achieve or emulate this ideal. As a term of negation, wu usually indicates the absence of something, as seen in its relation to the term you 有—"to have” or “presence.” From the perspective of generative processes, wu functions as an undefined and undifferentiated cosmic situation from which no beginning can begin but everything can emerge. In the political aspect, wu defines, or rather un-defines the actions (non-coercive action, wuwei無為) that the utmost authority exerts to allow the utmost simplicity and “authenticity” (the zi自constructions) of the people. In this paper I suggest an understanding of wu as a philosophical framework that places Pre-Qin Daoist thought as a system that both promotes our understanding of the way the world works and offers solutions to particular problems. Wu then is simultaneously metaphysical and concrete, general and particular. It is what allows the world, the society, and the person to flourish on their own terms.
Shenming神明 is an important term in pre-Qin Daoist thought, notably appearing in three excavated t... more Shenming神明 is an important term in pre-Qin Daoist thought, notably appearing in three excavated texts from two locations, Mawangdui馬王堆 and Guodian郭店. The Mawangdui texts of the Shiwen and the Huangdi sijing show how shenming, both as a cosmological and a concrete physical concept, derives from the heavenly and is then applied to the human. In the Guodian text of the Taiyi shengshui, the term occupies a crucial position in the process of creation, beginning with the Great One and ending with the formation of time. The concept ranges from cosmological and metaphysical to ontological and physical meanings. The observation of its usages within their textual context contributes to understanding Pre-Qin thought and a better understanding of the development of thought and language of the time.
In this paper I refer to a riddle found in the sixth chapter of the Inner Chapters of the Zhuangz... more In this paper I refer to a riddle found in the sixth chapter of the Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi 庄子 – “The Great Ancestral Teacher” (Da zong shi 大宗師). I suggest that the chapter embodies a “living riddle,” a riddle that is presented in a text through subtle hints, and responded only in one's life and practice. By using Cora Diamond’s method of understanding great riddles, I offer a different sort of reading in the Zhuangzi, which is to say – a riddle like reading. Great riddles are questions about life and death, space and time. Though there are many, I will take one example of a great riddle from the Zhuangzi. I believe that applying the method of riddles may help us understand better or at least in a different light Zhuang Zi’s writings. Through an account of the usages of different characters which signify the word “body” in the text, placing special emphasis on the character ti 體, I attempt to closely examine the language game that Zhuang Zi plays on his readers. The under...
Wu 無is one of the most prominent terms in Ancient Daoist philosophy, and perhaps the only term t... more Wu 無is one of the most prominent terms in Ancient Daoist philosophy, and perhaps the only term to appear more than Dao in both the Laozi and the Zhuangzi. However, unlike Dao, wu is generally used as an adjective modifying or describing nouns such as “names,” “desires,” “knowledge,” “action” and so forth. Whereas Dao serves as the utmost principle in both generation and practice, wu becomes one of the central methods to achieve or emulate this ideal. As a term of negation, wu usually indicates the absence of something, as seen in its relation to the term you 有—"to have” or “presence.” From the perspective of generative processes, wu functions as an undefined and undifferentiated cosmic situation from which no beginning can begin but everything can emerge. In the political aspect, wu defines, or rather un-defines the actions (non-coercive action, wuwei無為) that the utmost authority exerts to allow the utmost simplicity and “authenticity” (the zi自constructions) of the people. In this paper I suggest an understanding of wu as a philosophical framework that places Pre-Qin Daoist thought as a system that both promotes our understanding of the way the world works and offers solutions to particular problems. Wu then is simultaneously metaphysical and concrete, general and particular. It is what allows the world, the society, and the person to flourish on their own terms.
Shenming神明 is an important term in pre-Qin Daoist thought, notably appearing in three excavated t... more Shenming神明 is an important term in pre-Qin Daoist thought, notably appearing in three excavated texts from two locations, Mawangdui馬王堆 and Guodian郭店. The Mawangdui texts of the Shiwen and the Huangdi sijing show how shenming, both as a cosmological and a concrete physical concept, derives from the heavenly and is then applied to the human. In the Guodian text of the Taiyi shengshui, the term occupies a crucial position in the process of creation, beginning with the Great One and ending with the formation of time. The concept ranges from cosmological and metaphysical to ontological and physical meanings. The observation of its usages within their textual context contributes to understanding Pre-Qin thought and a better understanding of the development of thought and language of the time.
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As a term of negation, wu usually indicates the absence of something, as seen in its relation to the term you 有—"to have” or “presence.” From the perspective of generative processes, wu functions as an undefined and undifferentiated cosmic situation from which no beginning can begin but everything can emerge. In the political aspect, wu defines, or rather un-defines the actions (non-coercive action, wuwei無為) that the utmost authority exerts to allow the utmost simplicity and “authenticity” (the zi自constructions) of the people. In this paper I suggest an understanding of wu as a philosophical framework that places Pre-Qin Daoist thought as a system that both promotes our understanding of the way the world works and offers solutions to particular problems. Wu then is simultaneously metaphysical and concrete, general and particular. It is what allows the world, the society, and the person to flourish on their own terms.
As a term of negation, wu usually indicates the absence of something, as seen in its relation to the term you 有—"to have” or “presence.” From the perspective of generative processes, wu functions as an undefined and undifferentiated cosmic situation from which no beginning can begin but everything can emerge. In the political aspect, wu defines, or rather un-defines the actions (non-coercive action, wuwei無為) that the utmost authority exerts to allow the utmost simplicity and “authenticity” (the zi自constructions) of the people. In this paper I suggest an understanding of wu as a philosophical framework that places Pre-Qin Daoist thought as a system that both promotes our understanding of the way the world works and offers solutions to particular problems. Wu then is simultaneously metaphysical and concrete, general and particular. It is what allows the world, the society, and the person to flourish on their own terms.