The Yin and the way

It’s ironic taking any amount of time reading explanations of the Tao Te Ching, let alone the Tao Te Ching. The Tao Te Ching can be translated from Chinese as ‘the path of truth’ or ‘the way and virtue.’ It is said to be have been written by Lao Tzu though there is little evidence that he had ever existed. Taoism has become one of the three pillars of thought in China along with Buddhism, and Confucianism. It is written as a collection of 78 poems focusing on states of being (and non-being) and its' intrinsic interconnection with nature. Tao cannot be described, it is said that if you can name something then it is not ‘the way.’ So the irony lies in the fact that the Tao is meant as a guide book to help us return to that which cannot be explained. The fact that the Tao has been written implies to me that we (civilization) has already skewed from ‘the path’ and this could be why it has been written.

In addressing this idea we must first consider some thoughts on the possible roots of this imbalance and consider how we may return. One thought, which will be the focus of this paper implies the lack of feminine involvement in the structure of society. In “China: Its History and Culture” the author expresses an imbalance by connecting Taoism to the yin component of the yin-yang by writing, “[the] yang has been overemphasized and the yin must be restored to its rightful place” (Morton 39). The yin represents the feminine, dark, passive, empathetic half of the yin-yang. The author suggests that we are living in an unbalanced society dominated by the yang.

The Tao arose out of the bloody decay of the Zhou Dynasty (ca. 1027-256 B.C.) from the time of the ‘Warring States’ (403-221 B.C.). During this period several states were reduced to seven, the wars were fought over territory and leadership. The ideals of warfare, which prior had been considered a moderated gentleman’s activity, had shifted from acts of honor to fighting for less noble territorial and personal gains (Welch 18). Weapons were also introduced during this period, which also may have aided in the shift in thought. Weapons can be seen as extending masculine authority both literally and metaphorically, leading to an increasingly masculine minded society.

To me the Tao may have been written as a direct response to an emasculated society. The Tao says, “Know masculinity, Maintain femininity” (Laozi 72). Implying that there needs to be understanding of both to maintain harmony. Another important school of thought that was birthed from the Easter Zhou Dynasty was Confucianism. Confucianism has became an integral part of historical and modern Chinese ideology, taking hold for the first time in the Western Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-9 A.D.) (Wasserstrom 7). It emphasizes on morality through the importance of knowledge, hierarchy and division of labor. In considering the Tao as the yin, Confucian thought and masculinity could be compared to the yang.

In syncretism, a common practice in China involving using all three pillars as religious practice, a person uses mostly Confucian and Tao portions of the three pillars in their daily life. Confucian thought used at jobs and in conversation during the day, Tao for evening meditation, and the third being Buddhism reserved for prayer. So in theory, the yin and the yang, Taoism and Confucianism, masculinity and femininity, organization and reflection are both essential to a culture. The Increase in trade, which also emerged out of the fall of the Zhou dynasty, also increased a focus on commerce which utilized Confucianism, the masculine thought (Morton 27). This idea is most obvious in today’s consumption driven society, more interested in GDP’s as opposed to integrity of humanity, associating success and doing well with the ranking with a growing GDP. As these ideas have grown, GDP seems to be the inverse of happiness and satisfaction in humanity.

In the United States, and across the world, wars are waged over non-renewable resources, more cities and stores and factories are materializing, imperialism is alive and well. Consumer culture has spread like a disease across the world. Nature is seen as a resource as opposed to a holy place for meditation. The idea of masculine dominated society seems to be an inevitable symptom of ‘civilized’ society. Not to say that femininity is strictly reserved for women or that masculinity is strictly reserved for men. To me, Sara Palin and Hillary Clinton are both faces of the yang or the masculine part. Just the same I would consider Martin Luther King Jr. as speaking on behalf of the yin or of the feminine portion as his speeches advocated for a more empathetic society. This is why the ideas Taoism are important for us to consider today.

To me the Tao is kind of like driving a truck full of water, if one takes a curb too hard the water splashes hard in the opposite direction so the truck feels as if it is tilting so naturally one swing the wheel fast in the other direction, which the water sloshing back from the other direction gains even more momentum, hitting the other side even harder, the truck wobbles back and forth until it either winds up crashing on its side or working together with the rhythm of the water to calm itself back down, to complacently fallow the road. Tao is harmony, it is driving while knowing (or not knowing) the potential influence of water to the amount of control (or lack of) one has over the truck. The Tao Te Ching is a guide to teach us how to get back in rhythm with the water, through feeling and non-action, this is nature and the yin, this is the dark and the feminine. The beauty of Tao, and Eastern thought is that everything is cyclical, that whether we try or don't try balance will be restored and the forces of nature will prevail, through earthquake and tidal wave, this is the nature of things.

Works Cited:
Laozi. Tao Te Ching: The Classic Book of Integrity and the Way. Trans. Victor H. Mair. New York: Bantam, 1990. Print."
Morton, W. Scott, and Charlton M. Lewis. China: Its History and Culture. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005. 22-44. Print.
Wasserstrom, Jeffrey N. "School of Thought." China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know. New York, NY: Oxford UP, 2010. 1-18. Print.
Welch, Holmes. Taoism: The Parting of the Way. Boston: Beacon, 1966. 1-34. Print.