ABSTRACT
We have seen that in classical China disputes about the right way to live were intimately connected with theories about human nature. Although the views of Confucians and Mohists on such matters were both popular, a number of thinkers disagreed with each camp. After the Warring States Period some of these thinkers were retrospectively termed ‘Daoists’ because of the especial importance they accorded the notion of theWay in their thought. Prior to this they were not regarded as forming a distinct group (in the way that Confucians and Mohists were). The fact that early Daoists were not part of a movement explains the otherwise puzzling fact that ‘Daoist’ thinkers do not share a single philosophical perspective and so sometimes advance quite different views. This can be seen by focusing on the variety of answers they gave to two questions: ‘How to live an authentic life?’ and ‘What is the best way to preserve life and avoid injury?’. By looking at some of their answers to these questions this chapter introduces the main concepts of Daoist philosophy while showing how it evolved as a critical response to competing views of the Way, most notably the Way of Kongzi. What we now know as Daoism emerged in three distinct stages.
Most scholars accept that there were certain people contemporary with Kongzi who practised what later came to be identified as Daoism. While they were concerned with problems similar to the
