Daoism

  • Hundred Schools of Thought Contending

    A flourishing intellectual era during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (circa 770–221 BCE), characterized by diverse philosophical schools writing treatises, debating one another, and vigorously promoting their doctrines. The term “hundred” is used figuratively to denote a great multitude.

  • The Golden Cicada [Journey to the West]

    The Golden Cicada (Jin Chanzi) was the second disciple of the Buddha Sakyamuni and the previous incarnation of Tang Sanzang (Xuanzang) in Journey to the West. In a past life, the Golden Cicada formed a karmic connection with Zhenyuanzi during the Ullambana Assembly (Lanpen Hui), where he personally served tea to Zhenyuanzi as a…

  • Lie Yukou

    Lie Yukou was a representative figure of Daoism in the early Warring States period. He is also known as Yu Kou, Yu Kou, or Liezi. Traditionally believed to be from the state of Zheng (in present-day Zhengzhou, Henan) during the Warring States era, he advocated the principles of emptiness, stillness, and non-action (wu wei),…

  • Dreaming a Journey to Mount Tianmu: A Poem on Parting

    By Li Bai (Tang Dynasty) Seafarers speak of Penglai Isle –Amid misty waves, faint and far, truly hard to find.But the people of Yue tell of Mount Tianmu –Its peaks gleam through shifting clouds, sometimes visible.

  • Mencius – Chapter 8.1 Moral truth across time and space

    Mencius said: “Shun was born in Zhufeng, moved to Fuxia, and died in Mingtiao – he was a man of the Eastern Yi (eastern frontier peoples).King Wen of Zhou was born in Qizhou and died in Biying – he was a man of the Western Yi (western frontier peoples).” “Their homelands were over a…

  • Drumming on a Basin: Mourning turned to music [Warring States]

    Among the Hundred Schools of Thought in pre-Qin China, Zhuangzi (Zhuang Zhou) stood apart – not merely as a philosopher, but as a poetic visionary whose ideas shimmered with paradox, humor, and profound detachment. His worldview, rooted in Daoism, rejected rigid rituals, social ambition, and even conventional grief. To Zhuangzi, the cosmos was a…

  • Zhuangzi and Yuanchu – the noble Phoenix [Warring States]

    During the Warring States period, Hui Shi – better known as Master Hui (Hui Zi or Huizi) – rose to become Chancellor of Wei, a state often referred to as Liang due to its capital at Daliang. Hui Zi was not only a prominent statesman but also a renowned logician and philosopher, famed for…

  • The Turtle in the Mud: Zhuangzi [Warring States]

    Speaking of the Warring States period, one cannot overlook Zhuangzi. Zhuangzi, named Zhou and also known as Zhuang Zhou, Chuang Tzu, Zhuang Tzu descended from a noble family of the state of Chu. Later, to escape the chaos of war, his family relocated to Meng in the state of Song.

  • The Ten Victories vs Ten Defeats [Three Kingdoms]

    In the chaotic final years of the Eastern Han dynasty, the struggle for supremacy hinged not merely on military might, but on governance, leadership, and strategic vision.