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 ConfucianismMozi and Mohism (Moe-ds) and (Moe-ism)Yang Zhu and Shen Dao (Ya-ahng, Jew) Language and LogiciansTrends During the Warring States EraCultural Heroes and ConceptsSummary 3 Section Two: Authors and Texts Chapter Two The Dao De JingWhy Does the Dao De Jing/Tao Te Ching/Laozi/Lao Tzu Have So Many Names? Dao De Jing, The AuthorDao De Jing, the TextThe Dao De Jing, the Style of the TextThe Dao De Jing in the West The Zhuangzi, the AuthorThe Zhuangzi, the TextThe Zhuangzi, the Style of the TextThe Zhuangzi in the WestIssues in TranslationSummary 27 Chapter Three The Dao? A Dao? Dao? daos? dao?Images: 49 Water, Women, Baby, Root, and OthersWhat Is the Problem?Conventional Values: Pairs of Opposites Being and Non-BeingSummary Chapter Four Illogical Statements?DecodingNot Acting, Not Knowing, Not DesiringZiran, Self-So, Natural, SpontaneousLanguageMoralitySummary 70 Chapter Five WarGovernment, Society, and the Sage- RulerThe Golden AgeAdvice for Would-Be SagesLosing daoSummary 90 Chapter Six What Is the Problem?Anti-Confucians Anti-MohistsBeing UselessPoint of ViewThis and ThatKnowing HowKnowing WhatSummary 111 Chapter Seven Language: Convention and CultureThis/ That, True/FalseLanguage Is OK, Up to a Point How to Use LanguageClarityDeath TransformationSurvival of Consciousness and an AfterlifeImmortalityDaoSummary 132 Chapter Eight Public LifeThe Golden AgeWhat Should We Do?MirrorForgettingMind/Heart FastingPerfected PeopleThe Relationship of the Dao De Jing and the ZhuangziSummary 156 Section Three: Developing Dao Chapter Nine The School of Zhuangzi and Followers of the Dao De JingThe Han FeiziThe GuanziHuang- LaoThe HuainanziThe LieziThe Han Dynasty and BeyondSummary 179 Chapter Ten Organized DaoismThe Search for ImmortalityOrganized GroupsThe Cult of Laozi Modern Organized DaoismThe Mystical Reading The Philosophical ReadingModern DaoismDao LiteA Lao-Zhuang DaoistWhat Is Daoism and Other Problems 202 Glossary of Technical Terms 232 Glossary of Pronunciation 235 Further Reading 237 Bibliography 239 Index 252