ABSTRACT
Chapter 8 portrays Lao Zi (c. 604–531 B.C.E.) less as a mystic figure and more as a wise and critical thinker. Lao Zi and his only book, the 5250-word Dao De Jing, are honored as the origin of Daoism. Arguing against the popular assumptions that Lao Zi was a pessimistic escapist or one antagonist to Confucius, with careful analysis of Dao De Jing, this chapter concludes that just like Confucius, Lao Zi cared about his people, the society and governance of the state. Through such Daoist relational concepts as dao, de, wu, you, yin, yang and wu wei, Lao Zi disclosed the inner workings of relationalism and pointed people to a correct way of preventing conflicts and suffering. Obviously, Lao Zi saw Dao as a relational concept because the co-existing opposites were always interacting and transforming into one another as the yin/yang fish. To Lao Zi, Dao is the core of the universe, while “De” is the manifestation of Dao in actual matters in our lives. As such, a more accurate translation of Dao De Jing should be “The Book of Dao and Its Manifestations,” instead of “The Book of Morals” as it is commonly known.
