An Insight Into Political Philosophy Of Laozi

During the Spring and Autumn period, China’s feudal system of fengjian became largely irrelevant. This was the time when local lords usurped the Chou king’s ritual "power" to "charge" and the Chou lineage lost its authority. Large and powerful states annexed or claimed suzerainty, which leads to increasingly exhaustive warfare.Laozi (6th century BCE) was a philosopher of ancient China, best known as the author of the Tao Te Ching (often simply referred to as Laozi). He was born in the village of Chu Jen in the Kingdom of Ch’u. Laozi spent most of his life as an archivist in the library of the Zhou Dynasty court. He quit when he saw things getting corrupt, and then went into exile. Laozi became worried by the corruption he saw around him and made a final choice to get the easy way-literally, and leave the country. Then he traveled west to the great desert. At the westernmost gate, Laozi was demanded by a guard who admire him to write down his teachings-here came the immortal literature-Tao Te Ching."Laozi cultivated Dao and virtue," as Sima Qian goes on to relate, and "his learning was devoted to self-effacement and not having fame. He lived in Zhou for a long time; witnessing the decline of Zhou, he departed." Laozi made use of the concept of ziran, literally what is "self (zi) so (ran)", to describe the workings of Dao.Laozi is above all concerned with realizing peace and sociopolitical order. He had an ethical and political masterwork for the ruling class, with suggestions concretely aimed at remedying the moral and political turmoil engulfing late Zhou China. The ideal seems to be a kind of "primitive" society, named small territory and population, where people would dwell in simplicity, harmony and contentment, not fettered by ambition or desire.Laozi condemns aggressive steps as war, cruel punishment, and heavy taxation, which show but the ruler’s own coveter for power and welfare. If the ruler could rid himself of coveter, the world would be in peace of its own harmony. In this sense, Laozi declare the ideal sage-ruler as somebody who knows and follows ziran.