1、Laozi1.Laozi1.1 A Brief Introduction1.2 His Hometown2. Primary ideology2.1 Naturalness and Non-action2.2 The Philosophy of Non-contention2.3 Returning to Newborn State3. Cultural Heritage Name: Lao Dan,Lao Zi 770476BC, the Spring andAutumn Period Birth place: Luyi,（鹿邑）Henan Province Founder of Taois
2、m 河南鹿邑太清宫 位于李鹏总理亲笔题写的 “ 老子故里 ” 河南省鹿邑县城东十里太清宫镇，太清宫镇有一座驰名中外的 “ 太清宫 ” ，这里就是老子的诞生地，也是历朝历 代供奉祭祀老子的祠庙。 曾做过周朝 “ 守藏室之官 ” （管理藏书的官员），是中国最伟大的哲学家和思想家之一，被道教尊为教祖，世界文化名人。河南鹿邑太清宫鹿邑还是中国第一大姓 李姓 的发源地，是全球李姓华人寻根问祖的胜地。天下李姓，根在鹿邑。老子是李姓子孙的先祖，据 李氏祖脉源流 记载李渊、李世民认老子为先祖。鹿邑作为李姓的发源地，充分利用这一优势，成立了中国鹿邑李氏文化研究总会，撰写了 李姓起源鹿邑 、 老子与李姓 等论文，
3、在全国多次获奖；拍摄了电视剧 李氏春秋 ；举办了海峡两岸李氏宗亲恳亲会。Laozi/Classic of the Wayand Virtue/Dao de jingClassic of the Way and Virtue 5,000 Chinese characters 81 chapters two parts, Dao (the way) and De (Virtue).It became the basis of Daoism, the schoolof philosophy parallel to Confucianism inAncient China. The thought o
4、f Laozi formedthe foundation of Daoism, the mostinfluential indigenous school of religionin China.It has also exerted a direct impact onthe characteristics, trends of thought and aesthetic sensibilities of the Chinesenation. Today Laozi still plays a role in the development of Chinese thinking.Laozi
5、 was first introduced into Europe possibly as early as the 15th century andhas been one of the most translated philosophical works of ancient China.Many of Laozis enlightening views arebased on his philosophy of naturalness (自然主义 ) and non-action（无为） .Naturalness自然主义；顺其自然It refers to a natural state
6、 of being, anattitude of following the way of nature. Laozi emphasized that everything in the world has its own way of being and developing: birds fly in the sky, fish swim in the water, flowers bloom and flowers fall. He admonished people to give up on any desires to control the world. Non-action无为
7、Dao or the Way acts through non-action.He did not mean that one should do nothing and passively wait for something to be achieved. Neither did he deny human creativity. What he meant is that human enterprises should be built on thebasis of naturalness, not on any attempts to interrupt the rhythm of
8、nature. Human creativity should be in compliance with the ways of nature.Great Ingenuity Appears toBe Stupidity 大巧若拙This is the essence of “ naturalness“ and “non-action“.“Great ingenuity “ refers to the highest level of ingenuity, arising so naturally that it dos not resemble ingenuity at all.Ingen
9、uity can be achieved through human effort, but “great ingenuity“ is superior to ordinary ingenuity. To Laozi, resorting to deceit is true futility and would accomplish just theopposite result. Those who intend toplay tricks are not genuine and therefore are not natural. Deceit is detrimental tonatur
10、alness and to the harmony of life.The Philosophy of Non-contention无争On the basis of “naturalness” and “non-action,” Laozi proposed the view of “overcoming the strong by being weak.”The era Laozi lived in was replete with endless wars. Therefore, war was an important theme for philosophers, andanti-w
11、ar thinking was the norm. According to Laozi, war springs from humanitys bloated desires. Conflicts arises out of peoples struggles to satisfytheir desires, and conflict escalates intowar. Therefore, Laozis philosophy is basedon “non-contention.” To him, human strivingand competitive strife is the r
12、oot of decline;desiring nothing is the natural way of life. The greatest virtue is like water.“ 上善若水 ” 意为最高境界的善行就像水的品性一样，泽被万物而不争名利。上善：至善，最完美；水：这里喻指与世无争的圣人。达到尽善尽美的境界，就和圣人差不多。水有滋养万物的德行，它使万物得到它的利益，而不与万物发生矛盾、冲突，故天下最大的善性莫如水。 Water nourishes everything butcontends for nothing.水善利万物而不争。 Water nourishes eve
13、rything butcontends for nothing.水善利万物而不争。老子的 道德经 第八章： “ 上善若水。水善利万物而不争，处众人之所恶，故几于道。居善地，心善渊，与善仁，言善信，政善治，事善能，动善时。夫唯不争，故无尤。 ”最高的善像水那样。水善于帮助万物而不与万物相争。它停留在众人所不喜欢的地方，所以接近于道。上善的人居住要像水那样安于卑下，存心要像水那样深沉，交友要像水那样相亲，言语要像水那样真诚，为政要像水那样有条有理，办事要像水那样无所不能，行为要像水那样待机而动。正因为他像水那样与万物无争，所以才没有烦恼。 Nothing in the world is weake
14、r than water when it comes to breakingsomething strong.天下莫柔弱于水，而攻坚强者莫之能胜。Water is a typical example of the weak winning over the strong. Water is invinciblebecause it desires nothing and contends fornothing. Aware of the strong, one should remain weak. One should start withones own weak points, accu
15、mulatingstrength by keeping low, just as water does. Giving up the desire to flaunt ones superiority is the basic way toprosperity. Remaining weak is not only the wayto prosperity, but also the way to preserving life.Returning to a Newborn State Laozi saw the world as a madding crowdof vanity. He ch
16、ose to live a simple, quitelife, and to keep his mind undisturbed inthe face of temptation. He said he would rather remain a “newborn baby.” The state of the newborn is free of any knowledge, desire, impurity or falsehood.(complete innocence)When human beings come into the world,they gradually acqui
17、re external knowledgeand accept social norms. Step by step, theiroriginally pure minds become tainted withchaotic colors. As human mature, they become more and more hypocritical. Theprocess of acculturation is the process of losing ones true life.The developing of human culture is a process of “deco
18、ration”: clothing as decoration of the body housing as decoration of the way ofliving language as decoration of communication state politics as decoration of human organization文化遗产老子的著作、思想早已成为世界历史文化遗产的宝贵财富。欧洲从十九世纪初就开始了对 道德经 的研究，到二十世纪的四五十年代，欧洲共有 60多种 道德经 译文，德国哲学家黑格尔、尼采，俄罗斯大作家托尔斯泰等世界著名学者对 道德经 都有深入的研究，并都 有专著或专论问世。黑格尔说： “ 中国哲学中另有一个特异的宗派 是以思辨作为它的特性。这派的主要概念是 道 ，这就是理性。这派哲学及与哲学密切联系的生活方式的发挥者是老子。 ”
