Part1 Wisdom and Beliefs Unit 1 Confucian Thought on Heaven and Humanity Unit 2 Laozi's Philosophy of Non-action Unit 3 Sunzi k Art of War: Source for All Books on War Unit 4 The Temple of Heaven: Reverence with Awe and Gratitude Unit 5 Eco-awareness in Traditional Chinese Culture PartII Creativity and Exchange Unit 6 Chinese Characters: Poetic Symbols Unit 7 The Silk Road Unit 8 Openness of the Great Tang Unit 9 Zheng He's Voyages to the Western Seas Unit 10 The Great Wall Unit 11 The Forbidden City: Glorious and Awe-inspiring Part III Art and Aesthetics Unit 12 Music: Govern the Country. Nourish the Mind Unit 13 A Silent Army Unit 14 The Eternal Smile of the Buddha Unit 15 Flying Strokes of Calligraphy Unit 16 Porcelain——Calling Card of Chinese Culture Unit 17 Gardens South of the Yangtze River Unit 18 Peking Opera: Artistry of Performers Unit 19 A Variety of Splendid Folk Arts Part IV Tolk Customs Unit 20 Urban Customs in A Riverside Scene atQingming Festival Unit 21 Customs and Charms ofOld Beijing Unit 22 Culinary Delights in China Unit 23 Life with Fragrant Tea Unit 24 Martial Arts and Cuju
摘要
3 Laozi was first introduced into Europe possibly as early as the 15th century and has been one of the most translated philosophical works of ancient China. Many of Laozi's enlightening views are based on his philosophy of naturalness and non-action. Naturalness and Non-action. 4 "Naturalness" is an important concept of Laozi's philosophy. It refers to a natural state of being, an attitude of following the way of nature. Laozi emphasized that everything in the world has its own way of being and development: birds fly in the sky, fish swim in the water, clouds float in the sky, flowers bloom and flowers fall. All these phenomena occur independently and naturally without following any human will, and humans should not try to change anything natural. Laozi admonished （告诫） people to give up on any desire to control the world. Following the way of nature is the way to resolving conflicts between humans and the world. 5 "Non-action" is another important concept of Laozi's philosophy. It is the guarantee of"naturalness". Laozi said, "（Dao or the Way） acts through non-action," by which he didnot mean that one should do nothing and passively wait for something to be achieved.Neither did he deny human creativity. What he meant is that human enterprises shouldbe built on the basis of naturalness, not on any attempts to interrupt the rhythm of nature.Human creativity should be in compliance with （依从） the ways of nature.Laozi said, "Great ingenuity （足智多谋） appears to be stupidity." This is the essence of"naturalness" and "non-action". "Great ingenuity" refers to the highest level of ingenuity,arising so naturally that it does not resemble ingenuity at all. Ingenuity can be achievedthrough human effort, but "great ingenuity" is superior to ordinary ingenuity. To Laozi,resorting to deceit （期骗） is true futility （无益的事） and would accomplish just the oppositeresult. Those who intend to play tricks are not genuine and therefore are not natural. Deceitis detrimental to naturalness and to the harmony of life. ……
