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Hot_learner: Laotze, Chinese Nation Childhood Freedom Dream
------To Know Childhood is to Know Ego
Everybody all has the dream of childhood; Chinese nation also has the dream of childhood. Lao Tze’s description is the liberalism dream of Chinese childhood.
When his book has become an experienced “Worldly Tactful Book”, people often forgets, and unwillingly admit nation’s childhood, even refuses recalling their childhood. Because the memory will make them fall into oppressive contradiction.
In history, the Chinese mainstream culture that supports monarchy system shows apathy to Laotze, which is little similar to his thoughts. In Chinese mainstream culture, as an experienced “Worldly Tactful Book” under the influence of feodal moral education ideas has formed an ingrained custom: worships people who have super power and have high status, despise people who are low status. So to pursue higher status, to cultivate and usurp absolute power are the most important thing in everyone’s life. About the evil action, only to try one’s best to drive off childhood’s memory can make spirit comfort.
In Chinese nation childhood memory Laotze describes, not only expresses human childhood’s nature and naivete, also expresses Chinese nation’s profound philosophy thought. Only in natural and naive thinking of her childhood, the nation that has numerous population, extensive territory, being ancient civilization status can completely get free from parochial benefit’s fetter, makes thought spreading initially in space and time.
Lao Tze stands at the point of political philosophy, exactly describes ancient, being filled of liberalism, democratic system of Chinese nation and philosophical idea supporting the system. Ancient nation system has been buried by history, although the philosophy idea of natural liberalism it left, it still hides deeply our hearts. Clearing up history dust, it will still be glossing and dazzle. Although it is impossible that we make childhood liberalism dream reappear in reality, childhood dream should be a bright light that illuminates the way which human fumble forward, which try its best to avoids us going astray and falling into morass of autocracy.
The age Laotze lived, Qin Dynasty’s dark and outrageous rule already drew near. But Laotze still warns “those who like or enjoy killing can not realize their aggressiveness in the world, can not make the people trend to them1”, “(peoples’ power) can not be usurped with scheme; those who plot to usurp will lose; even those who plot to usurp master power, will lose2”, and predict about history that “protect and foster everything and make them grow up naturally, not possess, reign and dominate (this shows freedom and democracy spirit)” the way pervades the world like water, no one can manipulate it3”. History development more and more strongly proves that Laotze’s prediction is correct and profound.
Laotze said: “My words are easy to be understood, and my action is easy to be performed. Yet no one can understand them, and no one can perform them.4” Why does the front and the back words of Laotze are contradiction, and make people puzzle? Why does very few people raise doubt to the falsehood all along? Because Laotze use the contradiction on logic to reveal the most bitter wound in human spirit---tremendous tensility between the pursuit for kindness and beauty in the depth of human spirit and the pressure of badness and ugliness in reality. For harm of sbsolute power, an evil person could make numerous kind people fall into disaster with it. Ancient democracy system can protect his thought from disaster, so lead its disappearance in history.
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1.Tao Te Ching Chapter 31
2.Tao Te Ching Chapter 29
3.Tao Te Ching Chapter 34
4.Lao Te Ching Chapter 70




Lao Tze stands on the ideal point that “I have no desire, and the people are harmonious with each other5”, criticize unshakenly the reality of the way which is to depend on force to flaunt one’s superiority6 and to administrate the world with strong power7. The kind of criticizing produces a tremendous echo in the depth on Chinese spirit. From Qin Shi Huang to Yun Shikai, they all were opposed strongly by Chinese nation.
Hushi said:“Viewing from surface, the important material of ancient philosophical history such as Kongzi, Lao tze, Mengzi, Zhuangzi, Mozi, Xunzi, and Hanfei, their books still exist. To research carefully those books, almost no one is credible. Assumablly Laotze’s philosophy not only is clear, integrative, unitive, but also is the philosophical idea that produces tremendous influence in the deep consciousness of Chinese nation.
Because only in the depth of nation’s spirit, being an idea with vitality, any dissevering can make it blood, no one can dissever it. In addition, Laotze shows high integrality, so almost no one can graft something to Lao tze and to break the integrality of his philosophy.
The fact Hushi spoke makes out that although some scholars such as Conzi and Menzi, observing from surface, have higher status than Laotze has, but in fact, aren’t admitted in Chinese nation’s spirit deep. From the point: “Almost no one is credible” in their works, we can see in history, Congzi’s idea is chaotic and predominant in China all through. In history, The chaos makes very serious results. Retrospecting historical disasters, they are all related to chaos of philosophical idea. For the kind of philosophical idea inevitable brews out political chaos. There aren’t contrary examples in history.
Laotze said: “ Thing that I speak must have specific meaning; Thing that do must have specific aim.9” Then what is the purpose of what Laotze said? What key it the thing he wants to express? To this, Laotze said: “ To acquire the way which has existed since ancient times can manage everything in reality.10”
What the way of ancient times is on earth, Laotze describes in detail to us about psychological feeling that he explores and pursues the true, which reflects that when Laotze inducts his “the way” in politics category, he meets difficulty to express ideas. This can not be avoided when ancient freedom and democracy are in their childhood.
“Thing that can not be seen is called no form; thing that can not be heard is called no sound, thing that can not be touched is call no existence.” Those three can not be researched clearly, thus combines them one --- the Way. Its purpose. Its rising doesn’t show bright, its falling doesn’t show dark, it is continuous and is beyond description, eventually still have nothing. No form is its form; no image is its image. It is beyond description, seem existent or seem not existent. Meeting it can not see its appearance, following it can not see its back. Acquiring ancient idea (freedom and democracy) may lead the today’s world. Understanding the ancient idea’s form (freedom and democracy’s form) is to acquire program of “the Way”.11 Here what concept does Laotze describes with very mystery and super explanation on earth? To the peoples’ point of view, exact words for describing the thing, I think, are the most disputing word “democracy” in today. Because when “freedom and democracy” instead of “the way of ancient times”, they are very harmony and consistent. Because it is the answer that human seek bitterly about more than 2300 years, we can say that Laotze describes clearly the relation of obscurity and long standing between “freedom and democracy” and human, and difficulties he confronts about the two concepts. To retrospect the course of human-thinking about these, is very consistent with the scene Laotze describes.

5 Laotze Chapter 57
6 Laotze Chapter 30
7 Laotze Chapter 29
8 Chinese philosophy history outline, Writer: Hushi, P10. 1996 first press
9 Laotze Chapter 70
10 Laotze Chapter 14
11 Laotze Chapter 14

Hot_learner: My essay, how to understand Dao De Jing
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