Culture of Ancient China :: Ancient World Culture

Imagine a collection of poems whose date of authorship has not been determined. Imagine a Chinese thinker about whom little is cognize and whose authorship of the poems has been challenged. Then read statements like these Accept being unessential and Give up learning, and put an end to your troubles. You have entered the mysterious serviceman of The Tao Te Ching.Despite their cloudy and distant origins, the poems make many statements that may sound curiously familiar to contemporary Americans. The Tao describes the allure and artificiality of wealth as it reaffirms the value of a modest, balanced life Amass a stick in of gold and jade, and no one can protect it. / Retire when the subject field is done. / This is the way of heaven -- a refreshing antidote to the keeping-up-with-Joneses syndrome. The Tao relocates humans in an ecological context where the company of humans is but part of a natural world order Love the world as your own self then you can truly care for all things . How admit this injunction is today, when many people worry that they must care for the carnal environment that must, in turn, care for them. At the same time, the Tao questions the value of analysis thinking in favor of selfless action Give up sainthood, renounce wisdom. / It is more important / To realize ones true nature. And, the Tao recognizes the limitations of coercive designer and encourages leading, not dominating, certainly a desirable profile for leaders of the future, where consensus-building energy take place of patriarchal authority.For all its difficulties (of translation, of transliteration), the Tao offers a restorative mental imagery of a balanced human life lived in the context of a natural world community.