What was Lao Tzu's original intention in writing the Tao Te Ching? There have been many opinions on this issue in history.
At present, there is a more popular saying that the Tao Te Ching was written by Lao Tzu to the rulers of the time, that is, the so-called "imperial art".
It is undeniable that in history, the Tao Te Ching has indeed been revered by emperors, and many of them have even personally annotated the Tao Te Ching.
There are four people who can still be seen today: Li Longji of Tang Xuanzong, Zhao Tuo of Song Huizong, Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty, and Ai Xinjueluo Fulin, Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty.
Being able to annotate the Tao Te Ching and pass it down shows that the study of these people is quite in-depth, but what is the effect of practical application?
Tang Xuanzong Li Longji, in the early days of his reign, was still a good emperor, but in the later period, he gave power to the traitorous minister Li Linfu, blindly seeking pleasure himself, and as a result, the "Anshi Rebellion" broke out, the world was in chaos, and the Tang Dynasty declined from prosperity to decline.
Song Huizong Zhao Tuo, an artistic genius, but also the king of the subjugated country, this is needless to say.
Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, what about this legendary emperor? Of course, his ability is beyond doubt, and he has a very good set of fighting the world, but once he sits on the throne, he is abolishing the prime minister, totalitarian despotism, slaughtering heroes, severe punishment, and so on. Of all the great unification dynasties, the Ming Dynasty can only be at the bottom.
The last Shunzhi Emperor Fulin, with a relatively weak personality, a long love for his children, died early, and had nothing to do with the "imperial art".
Therefore, let's see, these emperors who studied the Tao Te Ching well should have become the "benchmarks" among the emperors, but the results were completely opposite.
The simplest explanation: learning well does not mean using well.
There is a passage in the forty-first chapter of the Tao Te Ching that says, "The sergeant hears the Tao, and acts diligently; the sergeant hears the Tao, if he survives; the Corporal hears the Tao, laughs." ”
As far as the use of the Tao is concerned, the others among the emperors, except for Emperor Wen of Han, are at best at the level of "sergeant", and the Tao can only be "if they survive" in their hearts.
Lao Tzu's "inaction" has provided an excuse for some people's "laziness", the most typical of which is Li Longji, who is known as "Emperor Tang Ming", and Zhao Yao, the so-called "Daojun Emperor".
And Lao Tzu strongly advocated the "widowhood", "purity", "weakness" and "treatment", I would like to ask these emperors who are high above, which one can be done?
Further down, the term "imperial art" in the Tao Te Ching is in itself very questionable.
It is undeniable that there are indeed some chapters in the Tao Te Ching that are about governing the country, and the words "saints" and "princes" often appear in the scriptures.
But if this were the case alone, the Tao Te Ching would not be enough to be called the "King of All Scriptures."
Shunzhi Emperor Fu Lin also understood this, so he said: "The book of Lao Tzu is not the theory of nothingness and silence, the discussion of the number of power and scheming..."
What the Tao Te Ching reveals is the cosmic path, the truth of life, and Lao Tzu is a noble person who is comparable to the Buddha.
Such a person, in the words of "Zhuangzi The Getaway", "the evils and evils are the things of the world", how can the worldly, superficial, and promising things allow Lao Tzu to invest all his energy?
Therefore, the "imperial art" sounds very high, but in essence, it demeans the Tao Te Ching.
Most of the scholars of later generations have not realized or cultivated, or they are still circling in the realm of the mind, and they cannot reach the realm of Zhuangzi, and they cannot live such a "Tao".
Lowering the Tao Te Ching to a level that the mind can understand and turning it into the so-called "imperial art" is also a helpless choice for scholars.
Therefore, Lao Tzu said, "Those who know me are happy, then we are precious", and for the connotation of "Tao", to be honest, we are still unfamiliar to this day.
What do you think about that? Welcome to leave a message to discuss. Here is the Cicada Hero Guoxue Channel, we will see you in the next issue!