Welcome
Welcome to Daoism: A Christian Perspective. I have written this series of web pages because I want to introduce Daoism to people who identify as Christians,
Daoism is an old school of thought that arose in China. It is called a religion, and Daoist priests and temples have been present in China until modern times, but it has never been an organized religion per se. On the other hand, the early Daoist writings have served as a philosophical undercurrent to Chinese society, particularly in the arts, for over 2000 years. Daoist thought probably shaped Buddhism once it arrived in China, resulting in the development of Zen. And it was probably a Daoist alchemist who invented gunpowder. But I don't want to discuss any of this.
I want to discuss the ideas behind Daoism. I would like to show to the reader these ideas have characteristics that resemble aspects of the Christian Trinity. To accomplish this we need to examine two early Chinese texts:
- Dao De Jing （道德經）. The Dao De Jing has received a lot of attention outside China. It has been translated into at least 250 languages. But most Westerners find it tersely written, and hard to understand or appreciate as a result.
- Zhuang Zi （莊子）. Zhuang Zi has not really been appreciated at all in popular Western culture, the writings of Thomas Merton being a notable exception.
Why would anyone want to introduce Daoism to Christians? I think it is important for several reasons.
- Through understanding Daoism and its ideas one may see a way of thinking about God that is different from what we see in the West. This kind of thinking may be the result of a history quite different from ours. Ancient China was a culture that had never met a God with a personality like Christ or Buddha. And the ideas of Daoism were expressed using words which hold meanings different from their apparent Western "equivalents".
- Understanding Daoist ideas may help us make our own Christian life clearer. I will argue that, after some linguistic and social obstructions are cleared away, Daoist principles and Christian beliefs overlap rather well.
What do I mean by "A Christian perspective"? I am a cradle Methodist who was thoroughly saturated with Western culture before learning Chinese at university. I ended up majoring in the subject, so I learned what was known about China at the time (1970), and read the Chinese classics in translation. I got more serious learning ancient Chinese when I was older, and since retiring have read most of the Dao De Jing and a lot of Zhuang Zi in Chinese. With retirement I also made a formal return to the church, specifically the Episcopal church.
In my current parish there are a few people interested in the Dao, and we did try to study Daoism over a period of time. But I found that after our sessions I had more questions than answers about the texts we read. Since then I have caught up on the archaeological discoveries of the last sixty years, and have read what the scholars in the English literature are now concluding about ancient China. These web pages are the result of my review of this research.
It is common among native Chinese scholars to say about foreigners who study China, "You cannot understand our civilization because you did not grow up in our culture." I agree. But it is important to try. That is why I say that this explanation is from a Western, specifically a native Christian perspective.
Sources
In addition to the two the Daoist writings mentioned above I will be looking to other sources.
- Other written works passed down from early times may provide relevant history and thought. There are not a lot of such works, as the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty burned all non-essential writings in 215 BCE. Any writings which did survive the First Emperor's purge have been copied and edited many times, so they will require critical reading.
- Archaeological discoveries of the last century. Archaeologists have now provided us with a treasure trove of written material from ancient China, be it inscriptions on oracle bones and sacrificial bronze vessels, or texts written on silk or bamboo and found in tombs. These items have the advantage of never having been edited since their manufacture. I have relied on these primary sources whenever possible.
How to Use these web pages
You can approach these web pages as a series of lessons, to be studied in order. This would be my recommendation. I believe that the earliest Daoist concepts were shaped by the ideas which had come before. If this be true, then we have to learn some history. As the geography of ancient China is extremely important in explaining history, we have to learn geography first.
An alternative approach would be to use the early web pages as a source of reference for the later discussions.
The Chinese language may prove to be an impedement to some who try to read these pages. All the place and people names may seem strange. I expect that Chinese words will have to be learned. And then there will be times where we must struggle through the world of linguistics to understand philosophy. In order to make all of this as painless as possible I will try to introduce Chinese words and philosophical concepts in digestible portions.
[For you, the first readers, each web page will arrive sequentially as they get written and adapted to the web. Currently the first two sections are available]
Oftentimes when I quote sources I will include the original Chinese. There are two reasons for this. First some of the translations are my own. A person with knowledge of Chinese needs to be able see the excerpt I am quoting so that they may judge for themselves the accuracy of the translation. Secondly, for a person who does not know Chinese, I think it is important to literally see the poetry and symmetry in the written language, and overall to appreciate how densely ideas may be packed into the written characters.
Table of Contents
- An introduction to Chinese Language and Thought.
In explaining the sources I used in these discussions I have to give a history of Chinese history. Here is a more complete explanation of the texts and sources used. Also a word about the mechanics of the written Chinese language, then and now.
- Geography of North China
I apologize for a fixation on maps and geography. But knowing about the places in which early Chinese history played out makes it easier to understand what happened.
- Earliest Cultures in North China
The late neolithic cultures of Liangzhu and Taosi provide the cultural basis of the civilization to come.
- The Xia, the Shang and the flood
Scholars still debate the existence of a Xia dynasty, but the archaeologists have a good candidates for it and the early Shang dynasty. The story of the Chinese flood has a possible explanation in geological events; some think the flood was the impetus for the start of Chinese civilization.
- The Western Zhou Revolution
Even if you skipped every web page so far, you need to start here. Written history began in the late Shang dynasty. And the overthrow of that dynasty by the Zhou generated an ideological crisis for the "black-haired people" and their "deities".
- The Evolution of De (德）
The concept of De is quite important, as it has been compared by some to Christian grace.
- What is Wu Wei (無為）in the Dao De Jing
Here we have to take our first dive into semantics but it is worth it. In the process we can ask what makes us be human, and have we lost God in the process? Sounds like Genesis to me.
- Dao (道)and Ming (名) in the Dao De Jing
Dao and Ming get equal billing in first lines of the Dao De Jing; how are these two concepts similar? And how is this like Yaweh?
- Living according to the Dao De Jing
Who is the audience for the Dao De Jing's ethics; what were they guilty of? Do modern people fit in?
- An aside into Zhou Cosmology
Bamboo strips bought on the black market provide an creation story that fits with the Dao De Jing, sort of.
- Zhuang Zi: Chapter One
Daoist thought two hundred years later during the time of the ancient Chinese "Hundred Schools of Thought". Chapter one is serves as a review and an orientation to a new style of writing.
- Zhuang Zi: Chapter Two and the School of Names
No commentator has ever made coherent sense of Chapter 2, some have called it stream of consciousness. But there are some novel ideas for the time here. My side trips into the School of Names are wholly optional.
- Zhuang Zi: Chapter Four
Human ethics beyond Wu Wei.
- Zhuang Zi: Chapter Six
Overcoming the dichotomy of Wu (無) and You （有）.