Decoding Dao

?Decoding Dao does an amazing job of making classical Daoist philosophy accessible to undergraduates today. Many years of experience teaching this subject and listening carefully to students' questions have resulted in a book which finally explains Daoism in a way that works for them and not just for experts. This is a great achievement pedagogically and an enormous help for any class teaching about Daoism and Chinese philosophy.? ?James Miller, Professor of Chinese Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada This wonderful introduction provides historical context, keen analysis, and lively, accessible examples to help readers appreciate both surface meanings and the deeper significance of two essential?and beloved?texts of Chinese religion. Rainey?s great strength is to take very complex material and present it in an accurate, but friendly and accessible way. This is an excellent companion book and textbook for any student?or general reader?anyone working his or her way through the Laozi or Zhuangzi. ?Jennifer Oldstone-Moore, Wittenberg University

Lee Dian Rainey is Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. She has taught Chinese philosophy for more than twenty years and has published widely in this area. Her publications include Confucius and Confucianism: The Essentials (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010).

Book Notes x Chronology xi Section One: The Context Chapter One The Social and Political Background Confucianism Mozi and Mohism (Moe-ds) and (Moe-ism) Yang Zhu and Shen Dao (Ya-ahng, Jew) Language and Logicians Trends During the Warring States Era Cultural Heroes and Concepts Summary 3 Section Two: Authors and Texts Chapter Two The Dao De Jing Why Does the Dao De Jing/Tao Te Ching/Laozi/Lao Tzu Have So Many Names? Dao De Jing, The Author Dao De Jing, the Text The Dao De Jing, the Style of the Text The Dao De Jing in the West The Zhuangzi, the Author The Zhuangzi, the Text The Zhuangzi, the Style of the Text The Zhuangzi in the West Issues in Translation Summary 27 Chapter Three The Dao? A Dao? Dao? daos? dao? Images: 49 Water, Women, Baby, Root, and Others What Is the Problem? Conventional Values: Pairs of Opposites Being and Non-Being Summary Chapter Four Illogical Statements? Decoding Not Acting, Not Knowing, Not Desiring Ziran, Self-So, Natural, Spontaneous Language Morality Summary 70 Chapter Five War Government, Society, and the Sage- Ruler The Golden Age Advice for Would-Be Sages Losing dao Summary 90 Chapter Six What Is the Problem? Anti-Confucians Anti-Mohists Being Useless Point of View This and That Knowing How Knowing What Summary 111 Chapter Seven Language: Convention and Culture This/ That, True/False Language Is OK, Up to a Point How to Use Language Clarity Death Transformation Survival of Consciousness and an Afterlife Immortality Dao Summary 132 Chapter Eight Public Life The Golden Age What Should We Do? Mirror Forgetting Mind/Heart Fasting Perfected People The Relationship of the Dao De Jing and the Zhuangzi Summary 156 Section Three: Developing Dao Chapter Nine The School of Zhuangzi and Followers of the Dao De Jing The Han Feizi The Guanzi Huang- Lao The Huainanzi The Liezi The Han Dynasty and Beyond Summary 179 Chapter Ten Organized Daoism The Search for Immortality Organized Groups The Cult of Laozi Modern Organized Daoism The Mystical Reading The Philosophical Reading Modern Daoism Dao Lite A Lao-Zhuang Daoist What Is Daoism and Other Problems 202 Glossary of Technical Terms 232 Glossary of Pronunciation 235 Further Reading 237 Bibliography 239 Index 252