Lao Tzu is an account of the thought of Lao Er, or Li Er, a native of Qurenli, Lixiang County, Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period (present-day Taiqinggong Town, Luyi County, Henan Province), who was recorded to have served as the Zhou Dynasty "Official of the Guarding Room" (the official who managed the collection), the founder of the Taoist school, and the Tang Emperor Wu posthumously named Li Er the Taishang Laojun. Li Er is also considered the founder of Taoism. From the perspective of intellectual history, Li Er was a great philosopher, thinker, and strategist in ancient China.
According to legend, Li Er wrote a work of 5,000 words in front of HanguGuan, which was later called Lao Tzu, also known as the Tao Te Ching or the Tao Te Ching, and some people believe that earlier, the book was called the De Dao Jing, according to some senior scholars, the Tao Te Ching, the I Ching, and the Analects are considered to be the three most profound works of thought on Chinese. The exact date of the Tao Te Ching is difficult to determine in modern times, but according to the chronology of Guodian Chujian's Lao Tzu unearthed in 1993, its age is at least in the middle and early Warring States period.
First of all, the book "Lao Tzu" expounds a more profound and abstract philosophical theory, which explains the evolution of all things in the universe with the "Tao", which says: "Dao is born one, one life two, two births three, three births of all things", "Tao" is "Fu Mo's fate (command) and always natural", so "human law, earth law heaven, heaven law Tao, Dao law nature". The "Tao" is the law, and at the same time has the eternal meaning of "independence and non-change, circumference without death". It can be said that the Tao is the source and the Tao is natural, which is the two most fundamental propositions of the book "Lao Tzu". One is to explain the fundamental source of everything in the world, and the other is to talk about the basic way of development.
Secondly, Lao Tzu also emphasizes that all things have both positive and negative sides, namely: "the movement of the opposite path", and can be transformed by opposites, "positive and complex is strange, good and good is a demon", "where misfortune and happiness depend, where blessings and misfortunes lie". At the same time, Lao Tzu also believes that everything is the unity of "being" and "non-being", "being and not being", and "all things under the world are born of being, and there is birth of nothing".
It is no exaggeration to say that the philosophical thought expounded by Li Er in the book "Lao Tzu" is the most profound and profound philosophical theory among the pre-Qin sons, and its expression is also the most general and abstract way of philosophical exposition, and Li Er's ideological concept is "very philosophical".
Third, "Lao Tzu" is not only a philosophical classic, but also an outstanding strategy classic of the pre-Qin Dynasty, according to expert research, the book "Lao Tzu" absorbs a lot of the ideological resources of the Bing family, or that many parts of Li Er's thought evolved from the Bing Book. Mao Zedong once said that Lao Tzu was a book of soldiers; Wang Zhen of the Tang Dynasty also said: "Five thousand words ... There is not a single chapter that does not belong to the soldiers. Su Rui said, "Lao Tzu" "Yu Yong Zhiye, what is the difference between Guan Zhong and Sun Wu?" Wang Fuzhi said, for Lao Tzu, "the soldier who speaks is the teacher." There are already words about soldiers in lao tzu, such as: "Those who are good at being soldiers are not martial; those who are good at fighting are not angry; those who are good at winning are not with; those who are good at using people are inferior." "There are words in the use of soldiers: I dare not be a guest for the Lord, and I dare not advance and retreat." It is said that there is no action, no arms, no soldiers, but invincible. The calamity is greater than that of the light enemy, and the light enemy has lost several treasures. Therefore, the resistance of the army is added, and the mourner wins. For another example, Lao Tzu said: "The ominous weapon of the soldier, the instrument of the non-gentleman, is used as a last resort, and the tranquility is supreme." He also said, "Where the master is, thorns are born." After the great army, there will be a fierce year. It makes sense that Heshang publicly called Lao Tzu a "frugal warrior."
Lao Tzu elevates the study of soldiers to the height of political philosophy, with the concept of "the art of the south of the human king", and advocating the "jundao" of "doing nothing" and "doing nothing" for the rulers, which is actually in common with the "tricky way" of the bing family. Therefore, Lao Tzu has a relationship with the Bing family, he is also a strategist, so, the same Taoist, Lao Tzu and Zhuangzi are very different, Lao Tzu belongs more to the master of political power, and Zhuangzi is more of a naïve family. Lao Tzu proposed the "Art of the South Face of the Emperor", which was very clever; but Zhuangzi dreamed that the butterfly woke up and did not know whether the butterfly turned into Zhuangzi or Zhuangzi became a butterfly, which was very naïve as an artist.
In addition, the book "Lao Tzu" has quite a few strategic ideas that are very noteworthy, for example, the book puts forward the strategic principle of conforming to nature and using soft kegang, such as "keeping soft and just", "Dao Fa nature", "to the virtual pole, keeping quiet", "the weak win the strong, the soft wins the strong", "the soldier is strong, the wood is strong, the wood is broken", "the good is like water" and so on. For another example, the book "Lao Tzu" has a profound strategy of "wanting to capture the old and indulging", such as: "If you want to be [xī], you will be zhangzhi." He who desires to be weak will be strong. What is desired will be abolished, and it will be revived. He who will take it, will do so. In addition, the book "Lao Tzu" pays attention to the principle of transformation of the extremes of things, reminding people of the principle that "the extremes of things must be reversed", such as: "the movement of the anti-Tao", "the place where misfortune and blessing depend, the place where blessings and misfortunes lie", and so on.
Finally, Lao Tzu attaches great importance to the principle that things are opposite to each other, such as: "If dacheng is lacking, its use is not harmful; if it is a big surplus, its use is not endless." Big straight, big clever, big argument. Manic is better than cold, quiet is better than heat, and quiet is the right thing for the world. That is to say: the most complete thing, as if it were mutilated, but its function will never be exhausted; the most abundant thing, as if it were empty, but its function will not be exhausted. The most righteous things seem to have bends; the most dexterous things seem to be the most clumsy; the most outstanding debaters are like bad words. Tranquility overcomes disturbances, and sai leng overcomes heat and heat. Quiet and inaction can rule the world.
Sima Qian believed that Lao Tzu was the "Law of Conspirators in Later Generations", and Lao Tzu did have the right to seek ideas. Of course, some people think that saying that Lao Tzu is a schemer makes Lao Tzu too wronged, because Lao Tzu emphasizes achieving a simple state through moral cultivation, he said that "wisdom is out, there is great hypocrisy", advocating "absolute coincidence to profit", and does not advocate conspiracy.
In short, Lao Tzu, Li Er, is a philosopher, but also a strategist, his philosophical ideas have been studied more, and his strategic ideas are relatively discussed, relatively little research, the author is studying ancient Chinese strategy and management, Lao Tzu's strategic ideas are very interested, the author believes that the book "Lao Tzu" is also worth deepening the study from the management strategy.