Week 3 Ancient China: the Tao Te Ching LAO TZU. The Tao Te Ching was written by Lao Tzu – who was...

Week 3 Ancient China: the Tao Te Ching LAO TZU

The Tao Te Ching was written by Lao Tzu who was he? What was his book about? Why talk about it in a course on old wars vs. new wars?

Lao Tzu lived at about the same time as Thucydides at the other side of the world, i.e., in ancient China rather than ancient Greece. he is famous as the author of the Chinese classic, the Tao Te Ching, the oldest copy of which dates back to the last part of the 4 th century BC. it is very short: about 5,000 characters, in 81 sections, without punctuation. despite its brevity it is one of the greatest of the works of world literature

According to legend Lao Tzu was Old Long-ears, the keeper of the Zhou imperial archives; when he was 80 years old he set out for Tibet; at the border one of the guards asked him to write down his Teachings so for three days he did:. this is a good story but it is probably just that - a good story. in fact we do not know who Lao Tzu was or even if there was someone by that name. nor do we know what Taoism really means

In addition, many of the ideas in the Tao Te Ching are ambiguous and many of the nuances get lost in translation; this said:. so profound is this book it has been translated into Western languages over 250 times (mostly English, German and French). only the Bible has been translated more often. some translations are popular; others scholarly; all try and solve the problems the text poses

Comparisons of various translations can be found at:. http://TaoTeChingMe.com/http://TaoTeChingMe.com/. these are only a few of those available, plus. in my experience translations like these tell us as much about the translators as they do about the text. my personal favorite is the one by an American poet, Witter Bynner, The Way of Life, 1944 (see also the translation by the Taoist poet Mervyn Peake)

As an example, here is Bynners Verse 49 (p.76): I find good people good, And I find bad people good If I am good enough; I trust men of their word, And I trust liars If I am true enough; I feel the heart-beats of others Above my own If I am enough of a father, Enough of a son.

Also Bynners version of Verse 17 (p. 46): A leader is best When people barely know that he exists, Not so good when people obey and acclaim him, Worst when they despise him. Fail to honor people, They fail to honor you; But of a good leader, who talks little, When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, They will all say, We did this ourselves.

And his version of Verse 39 (p. 69): save for the people, a leader shall die: Always the low carry the high On a root for growing by If rim and spoke and hub were not, Where would be the chariot? Who will prefer the jingle of jade pendants if He once has heard stone growing in a cliff!

As well as his version of Verse 40 (p. 70): Life on its way returns into the mist, Its quickness is its quietness again: Existence of this world of things and men Renews their never needing to exist

Why talk about Lao Tzu in this course?. first we need to find out what he says about the politico-strategic dimension to world affairs, which is where we find most (but not all) talk about the waging of wars?. in this regard he seems to endorse globalism, since he seems to assume that people are good. he talks, that is, about our basic simplicity and purity. this suggests he sees the world in a hail-fellow- well-met way

. when Taoism was first articulated, however, the key issue was how to survive in the face of murderously competing powers (see Ames, The Art of Rulership, 1994, p.7).. this sounds like realism since it suggests system-level protection is simply not available, however.. Lao Tzu also shows a preference for small, self-sufficient polities behaving cooperatively rather than competitively - this sounds like early internationalism

T here is a prior question, however, and that is: what is Taoism?, i.e., what does it mean to promote and protect the Tao as a feature of any kind of world affairs?. this is not easy to say and Lao Tzu admits this: Existence is beyond the power of words To define In the beginning of heaven and earth there were no words From wonder into wonder Existence opens (Bynner, op. cit.,Vse 1, p.31)

. we face at the outset, in other words, the problem of describing a fluid whole that defies any attempt to label it (Graham, Disputers of the Tao, 1989, 219).. n.b. in ancient Chinese, tao (with a small t) refers to a road or a path while Tao (with a big T) is much harder to define since it seems to mean the way the universe works (Waley, The Way and Its Power, 1934, 30)

.. others call the Tao the eternal order of the cosmos and at the same time its course (Weber, The Religion of China, 1951, 181).. the inherent order that pervades all being (Loewe, The Pride that was China, 1990, 91).. the still undivided stuff that is nameless (Graham, op. cit., 221), and.. the Great Clod (Creel, What is Taoism? 1970, 33)

. definitions of this sort do not, of course, provide a logical account of world affairs. they do, however, provide an analogical account, i.e., one that does not describe world affairs in scientific terms but rather intuits them (as phenomenologists do) in emotivist terms e.g., in the form of maxims (Graham, op. cit., 199-200).. n.b. this is to subjectify not objectify and as such it provides understanding not available to more rationalistic analysts

. such definitions also promote creative quietism, (c.f. vacant inaction or passive contemplation).. to modern rationalists reply: is this going to help state leaders and the like order world affairs more effectively than Enlightenment pessimism, opportunism or optimism can, i.e., is a world of war, exploitation, destitution, and environmental neglect, one best met with either meditative poise or with passionate engagement (or detached commitment)?

.. to this Lao Tzu replies: is objectifying such issues going to do any more than limit leaders to their basic experience (which is that of detached individuals); will it give them an antidote to the distortions involved; will it help compensate for these limits and distortions?.. consider war: we can either analyze it rationally and try to resolve it that way, or we can cultivate meditative watchfulness and try to resolve it that way; which makes more sense?

. it would certainly be foolish to deal with war in the world by getting leaders and others to do Taoist-style meditation (e.g., to sit quietly and listen for a voice that will say be more silent).. few would do it and those who did would be afraid of being attacked by those who did not. it might not be foolish, though, to heed the advice Lao Tzu provides as a result of his meditations, since he drew for this on the wells of wordless wisdom that underpin our day-to-day awareness

. his meditations tell Lao Tzu that to do [is] to be and the best way to be is to try and order the world by gaining greater knowledge and understanding of Nature beyond society.. he promotes as a consequence an active form of pacifism - war does not pay, he says; it does not get the results those who wage it intend to get - it also has unintended consequences, like laying waste good land

. where war cannot be avoided, Lao Tzu says, it should be waged reluctantly, and if it is won, the victory should not be seen as a triumph. he says, therefore, that:.. a ruler should oppose every resort to force because it is likely to rebound; and.. [w]here armies are, thorns and brambles grow; and.. [a] host that has slain men [should be] received with rites of mourning

. finally he says: Show me a man of violence that came to a good end, and I will take him for my teacher. to confirm this key conclusion he says that: The greatest conqueror wins without joining issue This is called the power that comes from not contending [I]t is the way of Heaven not to strive but none the less to conquer (Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, trans. Authur Waley,1997). C.f. Sun Tzu, who we look at next week

. in offering such advice, does Lao Tzu contradict himself?. Creel thinks so, drawing attention to the difference between Lao Tzu wanting to have a political impact and at the same time wanting to practice contemplation (Creel, op.cit., 45). Ames says there is no such dichotomy since Lao Tzus ideas are part of his idea of the universe, and the way politics works are part of the universe too (Ames, op.cit., 218 fn.23)

. in offering such advice is Lao Tzu merely being impractical, then?. he is certainly critiqued (and was from the very beginning) as someone.. nave and primitivist, and who.. totally repudiates human culture (Ames, op.cit, 219 fin. 34). why, these critics say, should an active form of pacifism be any more natural than any other policy?

. Lao Tzus followers say this misses the point. the active pacifism he promotes, they say, is a particular form of wu-wei (i.e. no unnatural action). he does not seek to be practical or impractical (Chan, The Great Asian Religions, 1969, 150). he does not seek to impose preconceptions. he seeks instead to use subtler methods of persuasion where things take their own course

. Wu-wei is not easy to understand, e.g., when we are standing stiff and we are told to relax we tend to imagine the opposite of stiff and go floppy; not-stiff has another meaning, though, for which there is no precise English equivalent: flexible, supple, lithe, (com)pliant, elastic, or plastic; these are all part of this other meaning. by wu-wei Taoism refers to this other meaning and not the floppy one

Wu-wei

. likewise, when someone is being too activist in their state-making and is advised to be more pacifist, we tend to think they are being asked to be more inactive; this is the same as thinking the word relax means floppy, which in this case is likely to be disastrous since an inactive leader would probably not resist either domestic or foreign enemies for long.. in practice, though, being more pacifist could mean more intervention (albeit of a more subtle, that is, not-stiff kind)

. even if we think we understand wu-wei we still have not said what an unnatural action is and what the difference might be between a unnatural and an natural one might be. Lao Tzu says the answer to this question comes from meditation rather than analysis, i.e., by meditating it is possible to understand that natural action means rule through te, which is quiet, virtuous power. how would this stop an armed enemy or traitors?

. on the one hand modernists see the idea that it could ever do so as irrational - even ridiculous. on the other Lao Tzu thinks there is no reason to expect that te (quiet, virtuous power), gained and used the Taoist way, would not work; indeed, he thinks there is every reason to expect it will work (hence the Tao Te Ching)

. What, then, is natural action?. firstly, Lao Tzu thinks it is what happens when we act in a free and spontaneous way

free and spontaneous way

. secondly, Lao Tzu thinks that natural actions are those that are.. caring (not indifferent).. humble (not proud).. frugal (not profligate).. yielding (not assertive).. wise (not learned).. most likely to take from those who have too much (and give to those without enough).. most likely to spare lives (not take them)

caring (not indifferent)

humble (not proud)

frugal (not profligate)

yielding (not assertive)

wise (not learned)

taking from those who have too much (and giving to those without enough)

... sparing lives (not taking them)

in addition, Lao Tzu thinks, natural actions.. leave people alone (rather than interfere with them, e.g., by trying to teach them too much so they become confused).. are timely, dealing with issues while still small (rather than waiting until they become too big).. teach being content, self-understanding, and self-control (rather than dissatisfaction, lack of awareness, and lack of inhibition)

dealing with issues while small (rather than waiting until they become too big), e.g. F.A.S.T.

natural actions, Lao Tzu says, also.. do not foster fame, riches, ritual or the the overt use of power (they are used to keep the states sharpest weapons where none can see them).. do not portray such weapons as lovely (they depict them as ugly instead).. oppose all conquest by force of arms (they do not promote it).. know the male (and the female both)

keeping the states sharpest weapons where none can see them

knowing the male (and the female too)

natural actions, Lao Tze says, are finally those that.. do not oppress ordinary people (instead, they seek to better peoples welfare, while seeing and hearing as they do).. do not stimulate the desire for products that are hard to get (they do not advertise).. do not legislate kindness or morality (they are helpful and childlike instead, while still valuing profound thoughts, gentle friendships, true words, good government, due regulation, and effective deeds)

not advertising

not legislating morality

gentle friendships

good government

. now: there are many undefined universals built in to Lao Tzus approach, for example:.. what is wisdom?.. what is kindness?.. what is a true word?.. what is a profound thought?.. what is good government?.. what is an effective deed?.. what does knowing the male and the female involve?

. this said, wu wei can be seen at work in the practice of a martial art like tai chi chuan.. here the power of an opponent is returned or re-directed.. the defender prevails by yielding and neutralizing the offender rather than by using countervailing force

tai chi chuan

. this said: it is one thing to re-direct a punch to the face or a kick to the stomach; it is quite another to re-direct an invading army. yet the techniques of all guerrilla war - rural or urban - are basically those of wu wei. we will look at this later in the course. at this point it is simply worth noting how this is one way in which old forms of war are manifest in new contexts

guerrilla war

. In brief: guerrillas avoid wars of position; they do not like to risk face-to-face fighting for fear of defeat. they prefer to undermine their enemy and to wait for the right moment to apply direct force. Lao Tzu supports this strategy but he goes a step further by suggesting that any conflict is best dealt with when the risk of losing it is small and when strategic intervention is likely to preempt the need for conflict altogether

. the same logic is found in aikido, a Japanese martial art that manifests Taoist principles. aikido is a non-violent form of self-defense whose founder, Morihei Uyeshiba, wanted to create a martial art of harmony and love, not discord and hate. its purpose is not to fight, i.e., to try and win. it is to harmonize ourselves with the movement of the universe and [to] bring ourselves into accord with the universe itself

. winning under these circumstances means winning over the mind of discord in [one]self. aikido is not just a martial art since its principles can be applied in daily life, up to and including the practice of global affairs. it has been called, for example, a germane metaphor for describing and explaining the international relations of Japan (Hook et al, Japans International Relations, 2001)

aikido

. the collaborative nature of the aikido/Taoist approach is very different from the dog-eat- dog competitiveness that is the basis for world affairs realism or the tit-for-tat cooperativeness that is the basis for internationalism. at the same time it is not globalism, despite the suggestion at the start that it might be. indeed, it has nothing to do with this rationalist, pessimistic/opportunistic/optimistic spectrum

. it promotes instead positive collaboration of the kind that self-realization means. what, then, does Lao Tzu have to say to the white, Western, competitive, state-obsessed men who dominate world affairs today (should they ever shut up long enough to listen to him). as noted as the start global politico-strategics are usually read in military and diplomatic terms, i.e., in terms of the changing balance of power and challenges to state and interstate security

. less conventionally they are seen in politico- economic, -social, -cultural and -sacral terms. this is not what we find in the media, though; there we descriptions of terrorism, trade and financial issues, gender, resource, pollution and population issues and, of course, wars. the sheer diversity of such concerns, and their global reach today, is what inspired Kaldor to try and expand the disciplines focus from an old war one to a new war one

. to the mainstream analyst, Lao Tzu offers wu wei, or the concept of no unnatural action. he recommends:.. acting freely and spontaneously.. sparing lives by using overt force reluctantly (and avoiding it altogether when possible).. keeping force minimal when it is unavoidable.. planning ahead for regional/global challenges.. not putting weapons on public display, and.. intervening earlier rather than later

. to others he offers the same general advice plus:.. not stimulating the desire for goods that are hard to get.. not legislating morality (is this possible?).. using Robin Hood tactics to distribute wealth.. again, always acting in a timely way, and.. acknowledging the male but connecting with the female too

As an example, how would Lao Tzus ideas apply to global and regional security in the light of the rise of China?. its large military forces certainly suggest that there is a Chinese threat. China has long played a central role in regional affairs as well. as China recovers from the effects of 19 th c. imperialism there is no reason to think it will not play this role again

. some analysts actively fear Chinas rise. other see it doing no more than taking its rightful place again as a major world power. yet others see the likely outcome as being a complex politico-strategic tango as Chinese leaders make various military and diplomatic moves and the rest of the world responds. Chinas leaders themselves talk of being open and peaceful while noting on-going issues like the U.S., the Taiwan, and the island ones

. Chinas rapid economic development has strategic implications of its own, e.g.,.. the need to protect the shipping lanes along which vital raw materials come in (like oil) and manufactured goods (like clothing) go out. much turns here upon assessments of Chinas strategic intentions, since as noted already. if its leaders have no intention of using their power, then the latter is of little significance

. a benign China may mean no more than it wants to continue developing as fast as it can and that it needs the security environment that allows it to maximize its productive potential. it might also mean that it has its own strategic culture and this is different from the Euro- American one.. there is a problem, in the latter case, with parachuting Euro-American perceptions into the Asia-Pacific region

. Chinese leaders may use Western words about world affairs while promoting their own civilization. it is worth noting, however, that China is.. not expansionist.. understands that conflict is avoidable, and.. is only likely to use force - defensively - minimally and - righteously (Johnston, Cultural Realism, 1995, 24)

. this is, in part, Taoist. it helps explain why the Chinese think in such terms as.. contingency planning.. strategic restraint.. the need to better the welfare of the people, and.. being prudent not arrogant (despite becoming strong), therefore

any conclusion about China as a rising threat has to include the extent to which its leaders think in Taoist terms, i.e., the extent to which it might be an exception to the realpolitik rule. to treat it otherwise might be to bring about the very response that Euro-American leaders fear

As another example of applied Taoism, how does it apply to the modernist/rationalist culture that is the cultural context to all world affairs today? In short:. modernist/rationalism limits and distorts our understanding of world affairs. as noted earlier, however, Taoism can compensate for this As to old wars and new ones

Lao Tzu, like Thucydides, lived long before the age of globalization; his idea of old wars was pre-modernist and he could not be expected to have known about new wars in Kaldors sense. this said, his ideas are highly subversive of the logic of old wars as this applied in his day, e.g., he knew about standing armies (i.e. old war forms) but he thought these should be kept out of sight, used reluctantly, and their victories mourned not celebrated (wu-wei)

. he also does not endorse how new wars interfere with the lives of ordinary people by displacing them, for example, or by making wars a matter of identity rather than territory.. in that respect he is not likely to have supported either old wars or new ones.. he has his own approach wu wei

and I hope to see you next week

Week 3 Ancient China: the Tao Te Ching LAO TZU. The Tao Te Ching was written by Lao Tzu – who was...

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