The Study Of The Concept Of "inaction" And "dao" In The Four Classics Of The Yellow Emperor

In 1973,a number of silk books,including four ancient books before Part B of Laozi,were unearthed in Hu Nan's Changsha Ma Wang Dui Han Tomb,which are of great academic research value.After repeated demonstrations,the scholars believed that the four ancient books belonged to Yellow Emperor's Four Canon recorded in Yiwen Zhi in Han Shu.The excavation of Yellow Emperor's Four Canon proved the existence of "Huanglao science" which had been long doubted in the academia.Since then,the study on Yellow Emperor's Four Canon has been going on.In the past forty years,for instance,there has been a full discussion about its underlying meanings,names,the times and regions of its formation as well as its academic school.Furthermore,those researchers have made remarkable achievement in its ideological content.Based on the discoveries of previous scholars,this thesis is conducted to further explore the book's content so as to systematically tease out its profound meanings.In the thesis,the author first provides definition of "Wuwei" and "Tao"in Yellow Emperor's Four Canon.After reading Yellow Emperor's Four Canon and some relative academic works,the author found that "Wuwei"can be interpreted as the supreme state and the treatment method.In terms of treatment method,"Wuwei"means the void quietness of an emotional state or some specific treatment methods complying with the Way of Heaven.Though those scholars classified the first meaning into "Wuwei",they did not recognize it as a treatment method.However,the author deems that this emotional state is exactly the prerequisite of the treatment method conforming to the Way of Heaven,therefore,"Wuwei"should include three layers of philosophy,namely,the supreme state,the void quietness of an emotional state plus the treatment method according to the Way of Heaven.Thus,"Taoist Tao" in the book involves origin and regularity which can also be called "the Way of Heaven".In the course of thinking out a good definition for the two terms,the author discovers that the three layers of philosophy of "Wuwei"are all based on "Tao",henceforth,the correlation between "Wuwei" and;"Tao" is revealed.First,the origin of"Tao" is the basis for the supreme state of "Wuwei";second,the origin of "Tao" is also the basis for the void quietness of an emotional state of "Tao";finally,the treatment method of "Wuwei" is an equivalent to the regularity of "Tao",or in other words the former is based on "the Way of Heaven".Therefore,Yellow Emperor's Four Canon is threaded by the logic of "Tao"——the Way of Heave—Wuwei';in this way,"Tao" is applied to treatment practice.So it is understandable that in the early Han Dynasty Huanglaoism is the guiding principle for the treatment.Moreover,after a careful analysis of some related books and Yellow Emperor's Four Canon,the content of the book can be included in that thread so that the research purpose of presenting a systematic picture of the book is achieved.