ABSTRACT
Since the Han and Jin dynasties, the received interpretative tradition has typically referred to the concepts of spontaneously self-so (ziran 自然) and non-purposive action (wuwei 無為) as the central interpretive key that encapsulates the core of Daoist thought. Nonetheless, existing writings on the subject have so far not been entirely successful at bringing full clarity to the precise meaning of these two terms. Using modern methods of theoretical analysis, the following chapter will explicate the mutually inclusive relationship between the concepts of spontaneously self-so and non-purposive action, revealing their intertwining textual sources and their complementary theoretical meanings.
