Critique To The Ideological History Of Daoism

In view of limitations of the traditional thinking mode on the ideological history of Daoism, we need to invoke an idea from phenomenology-theology, deficient in the Chinese traditional academia, as a new methodology to rethink their essential problems. The comparative science of religion is a necessary supplement. Generally speaking, these two methods are respectively of longitudinal and horizontal dimensions. As far as logicality of the former, this study can be described as a historical philosophy of "the Chinese root".The first question to be rethought is the major idea of Laozi’s thought. Affected by Zhuang’s theory and the Confucianism in the tradition of Yi Zhuan, the foremost thought of Laozi has for a long time been explained as metaphysics. It is historically connected with the prevalence of its current edition. Bu:by considering the edition vaiue and the text structure of its silk manuscript, we can argue that the real idea of Laozi’s thought lies in political philosophy. Prompted by descriptive accounts of books in History of Han Dynasty, we can recognize the fact that the academic tradition from Laozi has been distorted as well as its cause by tracing the orthodox relation between Laozi and his eldership (Yi Yin, Jiang Shang) and posterity (misters in Jixia). What’s more, thus we can apologize two important topics in the Chinese ideological history:1. Laozi and Zhuangzi are seemingly in harmony but actually at variance, and the real successor is only in Jixia, without a branch in Zhuangzi; 2. The orthodoxy of prior kings tracing by the Confucians actually belongs to Guan Zhong and Laozi’s political system, not Zi Si and Mengzi’s moral system. And Han Fei:s learning from Laozi and Xunzi is a false appearance, for at last he and the Confucians constructed a system of yang and yin and Qin-style polity. Laozi’s orthodoxy died out afer Qin and Han dynasties. So the contending of misters in pre-Qin was over. And then, "Laozi" became a very symbol. Religious Daoism different from Philosophical Daoism was built as a result, mediated by Huang-Lao Daoism.Secondly, "Religious Daoism" was provoked by Buddhism introduced in late Han and developed from huddle to normalization.In this time, Daoism and the Confucianism were no longer in hostile relationship but united to assimilate Buddhism. Taiping Jing and Taiping Daoism are all in fact originated from Taiping thought of the Confucian theorists in Han, so they are inner formal opposition and their only effect lies in changing dynasties without alteration of polity. Meanwhile, Fulu sect was ordered to reform according to Danding sect, and its essence is Confucianization. During the time, the Confucians as metaphysical theorists completed integration of Laozi and Zhuangzi as well as metaphysiealization of Buddhism, and religious Daoism helped the Confucianism accomplish the work of "Laozi’s cultivating Hu". Daoism’s religious movement finally foiled to exceed the definition of Confucianism, and hence the religion named after Laozi lost itself in the spiritual essence just like Laozi’s philosophy.The third, during the thinking tide of "integration of three religions" in Tang and Song dynasties, the theorists in Daoism were active to adopt the metaphysical and Buddhist resources to establish duplicate metaphysics and internal dan science, which were some significant theoretical elements for Neo-Confucianism. As for Buddhism, "Hua-yen and Zen" had an important effect on it, which was more or less admitted by Neo-Confucianism theorists. However, they tried their best to cover Daoism theories’ contribution to Neo-Confucianism, proposing the orthodoxy of "five misters in Northern Song" to argue on it. Chen Jing-yuan is the key figure to expose this serious problem in theory. The reason why he is more important than Zhang Bo-duan to Neo-Confucianism is that he not merely inherited Zhong-Lv and Chen Tuan’s internal dan science but also was a descent of Tang Xuan-zong"s duplicate metaphysics. And it can prove the value of metaphysics to Neo-Confucianism.In the end, the completion of Neo-Confucianism is that of the Confucian ethics. After Jin and Yuan dynasties, various "Neo-Daoisms’" sprang up, majoring in Quanzhen Daoism and Jingming Daoism. On one hand, it showed that the old form of Daoism was essentially over; on the other hand, it hinted that its new form was no longer the original administration in religion but an artistic creation inheriting the literary spirit of ritual music. The co-operation between father and son of Zhang and the ruler in early Ming dynasty was only for the inner rule of religious Daoism that was not the theme of Daoism any more. So was that between Wang Chang-yue and the ruler in early Qing dynasty. The real mainstream was Zhuang and Zen’s thoughts popular in China, whose essence is Confucian ritualistic music. Dream of Red Mansions as the highest achievement of it in the Chinese literary history expressed the philosophical things in literature. The summary of classic Daoism from the modern viewpoint lies in reflection on the nature of Bacchanal Sprit in the Chinese literature and art, not in what those Daoists were doing at the moment.Altogether, there are three stages, that is philosophy, religion and art, in the history of Daoism. Based on this kind of investigation, we must propose a value judgment from the height of theology:the first stage is a process of Laozi’s political orthodoxy gradually dying out, which is due to Confucianism and Faism the second is a course of Daoism distorting Buddhism to help Confucianism, and Daoism failed to be a real religion for the limitation of Confucianism; the third is a program of Confucian ritualism becoming its musical culture when the essence of Zhuang’s theory was proved an accomplice for Confucianism. In fact, Zhuang’s theory as a temperamental liberalism is the other side of Confucian tyranny. By means of pointing out the real orthodoxy of philosophical Daoism and the false traditional relationship between Confucianism and those prior kings as well as the heterodoxy of Qin dynasty and its polity, we can acquire some precious resource to criticize and make better the traditional culture in China and show that the future value of Daoism lies in digging out the good political thought in GuanZhong and Laozi’s academics.