has a chapter—“Yang Chu”—in which Yang Chu’s teachings are described through various narrative accounts. Some translators dispute the authenticity of this chapter and leave it out of the Book of Lieh-tzu (for example, Giles 1959). The renowned 20th century scholar-historian of Chinese philosophy Wing-tsit Chan does not even consider Yang Chu a true Taoist, but most scholars do. Later Taoism followed one or the other view. Yang Chu, however, is referred to by Lieh-tzu throughout his writings, illustrating Taoist responses to situations that could epitomize the Way.
Yang Chu’s principles are clear. He encourages his students to live freely, spontaneously, without conscious interference—according to Tao. This may be practiced by a highly achieving member of the privileged class or by an underachieving vagabond. When asked what was the correct course for life, Yang Chu answered:
It is to be found in enjoying life, in freeing ourselves from care. Hence, those who are good at enjoying life are not poor, and those who are good at freeing themselves from care do not become rich. (Graham 1990, 141)
No principle or rule can be given to guide behavior: Every rule or principle is one-sided and faulty. Tao is the only possible guide, before rules and words, at peace, the supreme rule. Yang Chu represented freedom from rules, freedom to be spontaneous, to preserve life, to follow impulse and satisfy yourself, rather than live according to sober rules. In permitting self-expression, Yang Chu believed, life is fulfilled.
Yang Chu is sometimes derogated as a hedonist based on a particular passage in the Yang Chu chapter. In this passage Yang Chu is asked if he could help the whole world by sacrificing one hair on his head, would he do it? Yang Chu’s answer was no, because he believed that valuing life should come before all other concerns. If life is cultivated, “tending life” (Graham 1990, 143) as he called it, then all else would fall into place as it should.
The Neo-Taoists followed Yang Chu’s direction, as exemplified by the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, who allowed their impulses free rein (see Chapter 5).
CHAPTER 5
Neo-Taoists: Feelings and Thoughts Evolve
But when one wishes to enjoy himself in the fullest and freest way, he must first
have before him a view like that of the wide sea or the expanse of the air, in
order that his mind may be free from restraint, and that it may respond in
the fitting way to everything coming before it:—it is only what is
Great that can enter into this enjoyment.
—Lin Hsi-kung, in Legge 1962, 273
The Neo-Taoists were a group of intellectuals living from A.D. 220 to 420, during a period when philosophy was dominated by Confucianism. The Neo-Taoists turned back to the classic Taoists, Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu along with the I Ching, reinterpreting the original Taoist themes and blending them with Confucianism. Neo-Taoism was also affected by Buddhism, which was spreading rapidly throughout China. Zen Buddhism, not to be founded for another hundred years, would also be influenced by Neo-Taoist principles.
Bamboo Grove, Sun To-tsz, Chinese, 1912 – 1975
The Neo-Taoists tended to be idealistic youths, many of them scholars. They engaged in what they called “Pure Conversation,” or ch’ing t’an. They tried to express themselves as fully authentic and sensitive individuals. They considered each conversation a sublime meeting of souls. Some historians have compared their ideals to the Beats of the 1950s, with a similar commitment to being themselves and freely expressing their inner nature. These young seekers searched for ultimate reality, true understanding in happy dialogues, standing apart from what they considered the corrupting influence of striving for personal gain.
SEVEN WORTHIES OF THE BAMBOO GROVE
One famous group of Neo-Taoists was known as the Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove. They met in a grove of bamboo to discuss metaphysics, read poetry, often drinking heavily, and behaving whimsically. Their way was aptly termed feng lin, “wandering from convention.” Yang-chu’s writings can be seen as an inspiration for these free-spirited philosophers. One of the members, Liu Ling (221–300) was a heavy drinker and a nudist within his house. One day a visitor came to his door and was shocked to find Liu Ling without clothing. Liu Ling responded to the visitor’s surprise and said, “I take the whole universe as my house and my own room as my clothing. Get out of my trousers!” The embarrassed visitor fled (Fung Yu Lan 1966, 235).
The Neo-Taoists were spontaneous and uninhibited. Wang Hui-chih (d. 388) woke up in the middle of the night after a heavy snowfall and suddenly thought of his friend Tai. He immediately left his house and took an all-night boat ride to the house of this friend. Just as he reached Tai’s doorstep, he turned around and went home. Later, someone asked him why he had done this. Wang Hui-chih answered with self-assurance, “I came on the impulse of my pleasure, and now it is ended, so I go back. Why should I see Tai?” (Fung Yu Lan 1966, 236). Freely expressing his impulses paradoxically released Wang Hui-chih from the chains of determined action. The Neo-Taoists brought Taoism from thought into action.
Wang Pi (226–249) was a prominent Neo-Taoist who wrote commentaries on Lao-tzu and the I Ching that reinterpreted these classic texts. He lived a short but intense life, dying at the young age of twenty-four. Wang Pi and the other Neo-Taoists introduced this new movement.
WU -WEI IS FEELING AND DOING WHAT IS NATURAL
The Neo-Taoists justified their sometimes unconventional behavior in part because of their innovative interpretation of nonaction. They considered wu-wei, nonactivity, as natural, and added a new complementary concept, yu-wei, as a counterbalance. Yu-wei was activity that they believed to be unnatural. When people follow their natural tendencies they are wu-wei, but if they try to force themselves to do things, they are yu-wei. Chuang-tzu idealized the return to the primitive noble savage. The Neo-Taoists reinterpreted this concept of “primitive” to mean authentic or sincere. Being who you are and permitting your life force to be expressed fully with genuineness was of utmost importance:“If by primitive we mean the undistorted, the man whose character is not distorted is the most primitive, though he may be capable of doing many things” (Fung Yu Lan 1966, 25).
The Neo-Taoists took a different position on emotions. The classical Taoists counseled stillness and quietism to enhance Taoist wisdom. The Neo-Taoist believed that feeling and expressing emotions would make them wiser. They explained that sages quieted their minds, seeking to be one with Tao. But as a human being, a sage would, at times, feel emotions of anger or joy like other people. The difference between a wise Taoist and an unenlightened person is that sages could have their feeling without becoming trapped or hindered by their emotional responses. Many modern forms of experiential psychotherapy embrace a similar insight. When you become one with your feelings, by experiencing and accepting them as part of your natural responses, your emotions transform. You are free to choose your actions in response. As Wang Pi expressed it, “The sage has emotions but no ensnarement” (Fung Yu Lan 1966, 238).
In order to feel their emotions, the Neo-Taoists developed perceptual sensitivity. They were sensitive not only to personal circumstances but also to the world around them. Their feelings about the beauty of nature intensified. They noticed things that other people ignored. They sought refined aesthetic experiences, seeking to be connoisseurs of life. Those who achieved this were said to have refined their personality. The Neo-Taoists respected and appreciated a natural, genuine, well-developed personality.
The
