Cao Wei

metaphysical preoccupation. The ultimate goal of Taoism for the human to become wise and one with nature, which according to Lao Tzu makes a human heavenly. Philosophical Taoism focuses the attitude of humans toward life. It has a major connection with wu wei, which means not…

in the song “Honor to Us All”, which speaks about how women should be perfect porcelain dolls, and how they should find husbands to bring honor to their families (Fowler). In the legend, Mulan would have been Buddhist. She was living in the Northern Wei dynasty, which was a highly Buddhist society where Confucianism was looked down on (Editors). Buddhism’s goal was to reach nirvana, or a higher state of being (Erricker), while Confucianism’s goal was for people to accept their role in society…

The concept of dao (the Way) has been a fundamental component to various schools of Chinese philosophy, in particular the school of Confucianism and Daoism. Xunzi, a Confucian scholar, and the Laozi, the Daoist text otherwise known as the Daodejing), illustrate how the concept of dao integrated in all aspects of life of ancient Chinese civilians. Though they share similarities in the audience consuming their working definition of dao, there are certainly disparities in the ideologies of the Way…

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu can be translated as The Book of the Immanence of the Way or The Book of the Way and of How It Manifests Itself. Lao Tzu, author of the book, can also be known as “The Master”. He has a form of government planned and wishes to everyone follows and support this plan. His main goal is simplicity and naturalness. When he thinks of a way to govern someone it comes to his mind the idea that the more rules and obligation you put to a person, the less they will do it. He just…

Daoism and Confucianism are two antique Chinese approaches to existing. The former is based on the idea of harmonious and well-balanced living. The latter considers that it is necessary to set appropriate examples through five relationships, which are ruler and follower, older and younger relative, wife and husband, friend and friend, and father and son, for others to follow. Both these philosophies have some features of religion, but mostly they seem to oppose each other. Confucianism seems to…

two philosophers may have been born in different eras and different parts of the world, they have some very similar thoughts about the right way to live your life. More specifically, both of these philosophers believed in the idea of inaction, or wu wei according…

Life can be a roller-coaster of emotions, but some people experience more lows than highs; as a result, people have tried to find ways to increase the number of happy moments in their life. While many paths to happiness have been proposed, one of the earliest is a philosophy, based off the writing Tao Te Ching, known as Taoism. Those that follow Taoism (also known as Taoists) say they experience less stress and live a happier life. In modern American society, it is believed that a person must…

When I read the passage, I can see the conception of Lao-Tzu, his opinion about “Tao” and “Wu Wei”. The passage said that we need to have patience to wait the mud settle and water clear. The patience is waiting, waiting the thing become clear, this is just like the conception of “Wu Wei”. Wu Wei means people being peace and accept the flow that the river give us, and the passage said “have patience to wait” means people should stay peace and waiting for right time until everything clear. People…

Reflections in Light The Coinherence of Opposites from the Tao Te Ching describes the balances between opposites in life through the Daoist (Taoist) religion. In the passage, Laozi begins on explaining that when something exists, it will always have an opposite (e.g. when people see some things as beautiful, other things become ugly). In the text, Laozi informs the reader that these things are not just opposite, but they are connected and they work together in some manner, meaning without one,…

Modern life is filled with stress. From the clamor of traffic to florescent lights at all hours of the day, the entire world is filled with tension-inducing sights and sounds. Imagine for a moment that you could go back to a simpler time when nighttime meant stars glimmering above your head. For a moment, consider how it feels to be harmonious with the world around you. You are a natural part of the world. Like every other animal on earth, humans were designed to live harmoniously with nature.…