Sima Qian's father, Sima Tan, said that Lao Tzu was "the rule of the world"; the Qing Dynasty thinker Wei Yuan also said: "Lao Tzu", the book of salvation. Indeed, Lao Tzu has a strong sense of reality. According to the book "Lao Tzu", which discusses Lao Tzu's concept of order under the heavens, it should have enlightenment for future generations.
"Looking at the world from the world"
In traditional Chinese literature, the term "Tianxia" is used rather broadly. Roughly speaking, it is a concept that encompasses all regions of the world and human beings, is supported by the people, and embodies a good ethical and political order.
It should be noted that the "tianxia" order is not different from the ancient empires of the West, such as the Athenian Empire, the ancient Roman Empire, and the modern colonial empire. China's concept of "tianxia" is more of a cultural concept and an idea of order.
If "tianxia" is a political order, it is by no means a political meaning as defined by the Western scholar Carl Schmidt (he defined politics as "the division of friend and foe"). In traditional Chinese literature, although friend and foe are antagonistic, there are other forms in addition to friend and foe, such as neutrality.
Lao Tzu's "tianxia" order does not seem to have built the order of the world based on the political order of the Zhou Dynasty. In the book Lao Tzu, only one word for "Zhou" appears, and the meaning is not related to the Zhou Dynasty. The "Chronicle of History" records that he was a historical official of the Zhou Dynasty, but he "lived in the Zhou for a long time, saw the decline of the Zhou, and then went away", perhaps reflecting a disappointment with the political order at that time.
It should be said that Lao Tzu's "tianxia" order is more of a philosophical concept than a historical construction. Therefore, this concept has transcendence, emphasizing that "looking at the body by body, looking at the family with the family, looking at the countryside with the countryside, looking at the state with the state, and looking at the world with the world", that is, do not confuse "the world" with "body", "home", "township" and "state", and we must discuss things from a global perspective and the perspective of the world, and cannot only consider short-term gains and losses.
Obviously, only narrowly focusing on self-interest, advocating the expansion of one's own power, and taking the exploitation of other countries as a matter of course, are not "looking at the world from the world". This is of great significance to the world order and world governance in today.
Lao Tzu's "tianxia" order is a peaceful and tranquil order, and the state of peace is "there is a way under the heavens", and vice versa is "there is no way under the world". When there is a way under the heavens, people will use horses to pull fertilizer; when there is no way under the world, even pregnant warhorses must participate in the war, and warhorses can only give birth in the suburbs. It can be seen that the core of Lao Tzu's "tianxia" order lies in whether there is a "Tao".
Lao Tzu's "Tao" theory is extremely complex and difficult to express in words. From the perspective of the "tianxia" order, the "Tao" embodies a characteristic of nobility, peace, birth, nurturing and nurturing. This is also the purpose of Lao Tzu's conception of the "tianxia" order: to provide a good ecological environment for the development of various political bodies.
"Win the world with nothing"
At the level of state exchanges, Lao Tzu divided the state into two categories: large countries and small states.
In the long run, for a big country, it should "know its male and guard its female", that is, the big country should still follow the "female (loving) soft way" when it knows its own strength and superiority. In other words, instead of bullying others, instead of going around with a stick to intimidate, we should lower our posture and treat other countries equally. For small countries, Lao Tzu does not advocate self-abandonment, but emphasizes that "the weak are better than the strong", that is, we should hold the confidence of self-improvement and self-reliance, and always strive to wait and strive for change.
In the short term, both large and small countries should remain "humble." The great powers should be in the position of the female (benevolent) soft under the heavens, just like the lower reaches of the river, which is the place where the world meets. Female (loving) softness often overcomes strength with stillness and concentration. If a big country is "humble" to a small country, a big country will win the hearts and minds of the people of a small country; if a small country maintains "humility" to a big country, a small country will win the popular will of the people of a large country. Whether large or small, its purpose is to win the hearts and minds of the people.
Although Lao Tzu's understanding has certain limitations, there are still two aspects of insight: one is that great powers, in particular, should be "humble", and the same should be true in daily exchanges; the other is to advocate that the desires of all countries should be satisfied, that is, the core interests of each country should be respected and guaranteed.
Further, the core viewpoint of Lao Tzu's governance of the country is "to rule the country with integrity, to use the army with surprise, and to take the world with nothing." "Governing the country with integrity" means following the ethical aspect of the "Tao" and governing the internal affairs of the country well; in specific battles, Lao Tzu is not opposed to the use of wisdom; the most important thing is "to win the world with nothing", the so-called "take" is the "gain" of "winning the world", which is a kind of acquisition, not forced seizure, armed annexation, nor military conquest, but to win the hearts and minds of the people and gain the approval of the people.
As far as "doing nothing" is concerned, it emphasizes not causing trouble, not "don't act.". What Lao Tzu objected to was the kind of behavior that acted haphazardly and did not follow the essential characteristics of things.
Mencius said, "If there are those who do not love to kill, then the people of the world will lead and hope." This sentence can be said to be a commentary on "taking the world with nothing".
"Soldiers are not good at war"
In the "under heaven" order, the most central issue is the question of war and peace. War not only changes and breaks order, but also shapes order.
Lao Tzu emphasized that "the world is not strengthened by soldiers" and vigorously opposed the use of war to claim hegemony. He believes that "the soldier is an ominous weapon" and opposes the indiscriminate use of force, against greed, and against going around intimidating others, threatening others, and invading others.
But Lao Tzu is not always opposed to all wars, and when he has to face war, he still advocates victory, that is, "to win with war, and to be firm by rules." There are even some principles about winning wars, such as "those who are good at fighting are not angry", do not be provoked by the enemy in war, do not take the enemy lightly in war, and those who are kind to the soldiers when the two armies are fighting will win.
Lao Tzu further proposed that after victory in the war, it should be "tranquil and supreme", "victory is not beautiful", maintain a compassionate mentality, and even "victory is punished with funeral rites". Otherwise, it is willing to kill. Therefore, Lao Tzu's concept of war can be summed up by "knowing that soldiers are not good at war."
Some people say that Lao Tzu's political ideal was "small country and widowhood", which excluded exchanges and trade between countries. This is clearly contrary to the tide of history. However, Lao Tzu denied that the countries should fight each other, emphasizing that "although there are armored soldiers, there is nothing to show", advocating "eating willingly, beautifully dressing, living in peace, and enjoying their customs". Such a beautiful situation should still be pursued.
In short, the "tianxia" order conceived by Lao Tzu is an ideal order in which countries self-discipline, balance the interests of all parties, and adhere to the orientation of pacifism. This is the society to which all mankind aspires, and it is also the direction of the joint efforts of all mankind.