8. The Dao of Peace
Born and living
in a chaotic age subject to
repeated wars and conflicts
among the kingdoms, Lao Zi valued
peace and social order more
than anything else. This is
reflected in his persistent
anti-war position. He looked
upon weapons as instruments
of evil and kept warning people
of the danger in the use of
military force, because "whenever
great wars are over, years of
famine at sure to afflict the
land." Accordingly he denounced
any excessive military operations
and discouraged any delight
in military victory. In addition,
he even went so far as to advise
the winning side to practice
humanism by mourning all those
killed in the battles. We read,
for instance, in Chapter 31
of the Dao De Jing "Weapons
are nothing but instruments
of evil. They are used on when
there is no other choice. Therefore,
he who wins a battle is not
praiseworthy. If he thinks himself
praiseworthy, he delights in
the victory. He who delights
in victory delights in the slaughter
of men. He who delights in the
slaughter of men will not succeed
under Heaven. For those killed
in wars, let us mourn them with
sorrow and grief...." Contextually
speaking, his criticism of the
exultant victors has here changed
into sharp and strong condemnation.
Then there arises naturally
the Dao of peace as underlined
in the statement, "He who
assists the ruler with Dao never
seeks to dominate the world
with military force." The
Dao as such is closely associated
with the principle of "take-no-action."
That is, it is against taking
military action as a risky solution
to social problems. That could
be the main reason why Lao Zi
insisted that "the sharp
weapons of a country should
not be displayed." This
suggests that they should not
be shown off to frighten people
or utilized to destroy others.
The application of the Dao of
peace, Lao Zi imagined, would
lead to the creation of ideal
states featuring small areas
of territory and small populations.
In such states people would
have armor and weapons, but
no occasion to display or use
them. Plainness, simplicity
and self-contentment would be
characteristic of the people's
way of life. Above all, neighboring
states would enjoy a peaceful
environment and embrace the
policy of co-existence such
that although they "can
see one another, and the crowing
roosters and barking dogs can
be heard, the people may live
and die without ever meeting
each other" (Ch. 80). It
is worth pointing out that the
expression "without meeting
each other" does not mean
prohibition of international
visits or mutual communication,
as often caused by closed-door
policies; rather, it means the
elimination of clashes. In short,
the states would be free from
warfare and their peoples would
live in peace.
In the final analysis, it is
rationally assumed that Lao
Zi's doctrine of the Dao can
be reasonably approached and
apprehended in terms of the
eight dimensions explained above.
It is, as it were, open to new
investigation and reinterpretation
by means of both textual and
contextual analyses.
Taken in traditional
Chinese society, "Dao of
Peace" can materialized
by valorizing harmonious life
within the family as absolute
condition to build up social
success, but also healthy physical
condition as the basic level
of any martial arts adept. This
basic requirement has even overcome
nowadays the aspect of martial
arts for Tai Chi Chuan. But
it may consider it also as a
mental preparation exercise
for sparring or real aggression
situation.
Notes:
[12] A distinction is made between
Daoism as a philosophy (Dao
Jia or Dao Xue) and Daoism as
a religion (Dao Jiao), according
to Chinese philosophic tradition.
Cf. Feng Youlan (Fung Yu-lan).
"A Short History of Chinese
Philophy," in Selected
Philosophical Writings of Fang
Yulan. Beijing: Foreign Languages
Press, 1991, pp. 193-198; also
cf. Wang Ming. Dao Jia Yu Dao
Jiao Si Xiang Yan Jiu (Studies
of Daoism as Philosophy and
Religion). Beijing: China Social
Sciences Press, 1987.
[13] Cf. Mencius. "Jin
Xin Shang" (Chapter 7A),
in Meng Zi (The Book of Mencius).
Beijing: Zhong Hua Shu Ju, 1988.
[14] Cf. Dong Zhongshu. "Yin
Yang Yi" (The Meaning of
"Yin" and "Yang"),
in Chun Qiu Fan Lu (The Book
of Dong Zhongshu). Shanghai:
Shanghai Gu Ji Press, 1990.
[15] Cf. Liu Shuxian. "You
Tian Ren He Yi Xin Shi Kan Ren
Yu Zi Ran Zhi Guan Xi"
(The Relations Between Man and
Nature in View of the Newly-Interpreted
Heaven-Man Oneness), in Ru Jia
Si Xiang Yu Xian Dai Hua (Ideas
of Confucianism and Modernization).
Beijing: China Broadcasting
and Television Press, 1993.
[16] Cf, Wang Keping. "On
the Social Development and the
Rediscovery of the Doctrine
of Nature-Man Oneness,"
in Research Journal, Beijing
Second Foreign Languages Institute,
No. 2, April, 1995. (Note: The
article is based on a paper
delivered al the 1994 Beijing
International Symposium on Social
Development and Oriental Culture.)
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