WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.040 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we are taking 00:00:03.040 --> 00:00:07.419 on, well, a ghost. A figure whose name is known 00:00:07.419 --> 00:00:10.259 globally, whose writing sits on shelves in pretty 00:00:10.259 --> 00:00:14.259 much every major library. And yet, he's shrouded 00:00:14.259 --> 00:00:16.300 in more mystery than almost any other foundational 00:00:16.300 --> 00:00:19.699 philosopher we're talking about lousy. It's a 00:00:19.699 --> 00:00:21.739 spectacular challenge, you know, because here 00:00:21.739 --> 00:00:24.839 we have a phenomenon, not just a person. Exactly. 00:00:24.940 --> 00:00:26.760 A phenomenon. His book, The Tao Te Ching, is 00:00:26.760 --> 00:00:29.160 one of the most translated and influential texts 00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:31.879 in human history. I mean, it fundamentally shaped 00:00:31.879 --> 00:00:35.280 religion, ethics, politics all across East Asia. 00:00:35.479 --> 00:00:37.100 And yet the closer you look at the man himself. 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:39.219 The more he just sort of dissolves into legend. 00:00:39.340 --> 00:00:41.820 We aren't even sure if Laozi refers to one single 00:00:41.820 --> 00:00:44.340 person or if he's, you know, an invented author 00:00:44.340 --> 00:00:46.859 for a compilation that took centuries to write. 00:00:46.979 --> 00:00:49.390 Right. And our stack of sources today. is immense. 00:00:49.570 --> 00:00:51.229 We're really pulling back the curtain on this 00:00:51.229 --> 00:00:53.909 profound historical and philosophical riddle. 00:00:53.909 --> 00:00:56.130 So for you, the learner, we're going to try and 00:00:56.130 --> 00:00:58.310 cut through all that myth to find the essential 00:00:58.310 --> 00:01:02.520 wisdom. Pretty vicious debates around his identity, 00:01:02.780 --> 00:01:05.219 the actual textual evolution of the Tao Te Ching. 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:08.640 And its core concepts, which can be so contradictory, 00:01:08.900 --> 00:01:11.200 like the Tao and Wu Wei. And then there's this 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:13.739 astonishing afterlife his ideas have had. Oh, 00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:16.260 absolutely. From being enshrined as a divine 00:01:16.260 --> 00:01:19.459 ancestor by emperors all the way to being claimed 00:01:19.459 --> 00:01:22.920 as, what, the intellectual father of modern libertarianism 00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:25.560 and anarchism. So our mission today is to navigate 00:01:25.560 --> 00:01:29.640 that really fluid line between... verifiable 00:01:29.640 --> 00:01:33.599 historical fact and, well, the thick layer of 00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:35.400 legendary invention that's been laid down over 00:01:35.400 --> 00:01:37.620 two millennia. And the big question we're pursuing 00:01:37.620 --> 00:01:40.079 is this. How can a philosopher who might not 00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:42.879 have even existed still fundamentally shape religion, 00:01:43.120 --> 00:01:45.620 politics, and culture for thousands of years? 00:01:45.819 --> 00:01:47.939 And how can he remain so profoundly relevant 00:01:47.939 --> 00:01:50.640 to our modern questions about power and progress? 00:01:51.230 --> 00:01:53.230 We're focusing on what this legacy means for 00:01:53.230 --> 00:01:55.310 understanding our relationship with nature, with 00:01:55.310 --> 00:01:58.489 power, and with intentional action today. Okay, 00:01:58.530 --> 00:02:00.609 so let's get into it. Let's unpack this old master, 00:02:00.750 --> 00:02:03.209 starting with the very first problem, his name. 00:02:03.349 --> 00:02:05.870 It's so vital to begin there. You have to recognize 00:02:05.870 --> 00:02:08.629 that the name Leonosi isn't a personal identifier, 00:02:08.930 --> 00:02:10.650 not in the way we think of one today. Right, 00:02:10.689 --> 00:02:12.770 it's not like John Smith. Not at all. It's an 00:02:12.770 --> 00:02:15.289 abstraction, really, an honorific title. The 00:02:15.289 --> 00:02:19.449 characters translate directly to old master or 00:02:19.449 --> 00:02:21.960 venerable teacher. And that structure immediately 00:02:21.960 --> 00:02:24.280 gives him this incredible authority. We see the 00:02:24.280 --> 00:02:26.340 same thing with other major figures from that 00:02:26.340 --> 00:02:29.680 era. Kongzi. Or Confucius, as we know him. And 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:32.500 Zhuangzi. This kind of naming suggests that even 00:02:32.500 --> 00:02:34.819 if he wasn't a single person, he was immediately 00:02:34.819 --> 00:02:38.080 positioned by later generations as this foundational 00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:42.139 thinker. Someone whose wisdom demanded immediate 00:02:42.139 --> 00:02:45.419 reverence. Absolutely. The name itself is a declaration 00:02:45.419 --> 00:02:47.939 of status. But despite it being an honorific, 00:02:48.099 --> 00:02:50.419 traditional accounts do try to give him a personal 00:02:50.419 --> 00:02:53.419 name. And the most famous one is? Lyre. That's 00:02:53.419 --> 00:02:55.460 L -N -R. And the sources know that the surname 00:02:55.460 --> 00:02:57.780 Lyre is common, but it also has another meaning, 00:02:57.860 --> 00:03:00.520 right? It means plum or plum tree as a noun. 00:03:00.699 --> 00:03:03.360 It does. And this is exactly where the historical 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:05.620 details start to get twisted into the legendary 00:03:05.620 --> 00:03:08.360 almost instantly. There we go. A very popular 00:03:08.360 --> 00:03:10.620 story cropped up that Lousy's mother gave birth 00:03:10.620 --> 00:03:12.500 to him while she was leaning against a plum tree. 00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:15.639 It creates this immediate poetic link between 00:03:15.639 --> 00:03:18.159 the philosopher's name and a natural, venerable 00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:21.460 symbol. It adds a layer of destiny. But Lauer 00:03:21.460 --> 00:03:24.189 isn't the only name he's known by. Not by a long 00:03:24.189 --> 00:03:26.889 shot. He's also frequently identified as Lao 00:03:26.889 --> 00:03:31.409 Dan, Lum Dan. And this name is arguably more 00:03:31.409 --> 00:03:33.930 historically crucial. Why is that? Because it 00:03:33.930 --> 00:03:36.090 appears in the earliest and most authoritative 00:03:36.090 --> 00:03:39.530 sources we have, Sima Qin's Shiji, the records 00:03:39.530 --> 00:03:41.729 of the grand historian. And even in the other 00:03:41.729 --> 00:03:44.729 major Taoist text, the Zhuangzi. Exactly. And 00:03:44.729 --> 00:03:47.490 the character Dan holds this huge symbolic weight. 00:03:47.569 --> 00:03:49.969 It's often translated as long ear or the long 00:03:49.969 --> 00:03:52.430 -eared one. And in ancient Chinese culture, long 00:03:52.430 --> 00:03:54.789 ear... were a big deal. A very big deal. They 00:03:54.789 --> 00:03:57.129 were potent symbols of profound wisdom, long 00:03:57.129 --> 00:03:59.770 life, and high spiritual attainment. So to call 00:03:59.770 --> 00:04:02.250 him Lao Dan is to immediately label him a sage 00:04:02.250 --> 00:04:05.370 of ancient, almost mythical wisdom. So if we 00:04:05.370 --> 00:04:07.469 trace the names, we're moving from something 00:04:07.469 --> 00:04:10.030 potentially practical, Li Er Er, to something 00:04:10.030 --> 00:04:13.710 deeply symbolic and venerable, Lao Dan. But there's 00:04:13.710 --> 00:04:15.710 another formal name, too, that adds even more 00:04:15.710 --> 00:04:18.329 dignity to the figure. Yes, his courtesy name. 00:04:18.670 --> 00:04:21.110 This would be used in formal or more respectful 00:04:21.110 --> 00:04:24.790 situations. It's recorded as Bo Yang. Bo Yang. 00:04:25.259 --> 00:04:27.060 And looking at the characters here adds another 00:04:27.060 --> 00:04:29.819 level of aristocratic authority. The character 00:04:29.819 --> 00:04:32.740 Bo. Yeah, right. Bo historically meant the eldest 00:04:32.740 --> 00:04:35.800 son born to the primary wife. Or sometimes it 00:04:35.800 --> 00:04:37.839 was an aristocratic title, something like a count. 00:04:37.920 --> 00:04:40.139 It implies rulership or seniority. And Yang, 00:04:40.379 --> 00:04:43.300 of course, is the masculine, solar, positive 00:04:43.300 --> 00:04:46.819 life force in Taoist cosmology. The Yang in Yin 00:04:46.819 --> 00:04:49.439 and Yang. Correct. So his courtesy name layers 00:04:49.439 --> 00:04:52.439 dignity, lineage, and cosmic energy onto this 00:04:52.439 --> 00:04:54.670 figure. This sheer number of respectful names, 00:04:54.829 --> 00:04:57.470 Leier, Laudan, Boyang, and then the ultimate 00:04:57.470 --> 00:05:00.490 honorific Laozi, is really the first clearest 00:05:00.490 --> 00:05:02.889 sign that we're dealing with a composite construction 00:05:02.889 --> 00:05:05.350 built over time. That's it. We're not looking 00:05:05.350 --> 00:05:07.790 at a straightforward historical biography of 00:05:07.790 --> 00:05:10.250 one man. The name itself is fluid because the 00:05:10.250 --> 00:05:12.769 identity underneath it is fluid. Okay, here's 00:05:12.769 --> 00:05:15.649 where the tension really ratchets up. We rely 00:05:15.649 --> 00:05:19.029 so heavily on Sima Qin's records of the grand 00:05:19.029 --> 00:05:22.350 historian from the first century BC for almost... 00:05:22.490 --> 00:05:25.949 everything about early Chinese figures. But what's 00:05:25.949 --> 00:05:28.209 so fascinating is that Sima Qin, the grand historian 00:05:28.209 --> 00:05:31.029 himself, couldn't land on a single version for 00:05:31.029 --> 00:05:33.709 Laozi. He couldn't. He presented multiple distinct 00:05:33.709 --> 00:05:36.750 accounts and then openly expressed his own skepticism, 00:05:36.750 --> 00:05:38.629 saying, you know, I can't choose between them. 00:05:38.750 --> 00:05:40.889 Which is a profound act of historical transparency, 00:05:41.050 --> 00:05:43.170 really. It is. Sima Qin is essentially admitting 00:05:43.170 --> 00:05:47.209 that even just 300 years or so after Laozi supposedly 00:05:47.209 --> 00:05:50.209 lived, the facts were already impossible to pin 00:05:50.209 --> 00:05:53.139 down. So he gives us three distinct possibilities, 00:05:53.420 --> 00:05:56.000 which modern scholars use to analyze how the 00:05:56.000 --> 00:05:58.439 myth was layered over time. Let's break down 00:05:58.439 --> 00:06:00.600 the first and probably the most enduring account, 00:06:00.879 --> 00:06:03.699 the archivist. This is the narrative that really 00:06:03.699 --> 00:06:06.439 dominates the popular imagination. It places 00:06:06.439 --> 00:06:08.899 Laozi as a contemporary of Kongzi Confucius. 00:06:08.899 --> 00:06:11.339 So that situates him historically in the tumultuous 00:06:11.339 --> 00:06:14.500 6th or 5th century BC during the spring and autumn 00:06:14.500 --> 00:06:16.680 period. And in this version, he wasn't a wandering 00:06:16.680 --> 00:06:20.060 sage. No, not at all. He was said to be born 00:06:20.060 --> 00:06:22.060 in the southern state of Chu, and crucially, 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:25.699 he held a powerful bureaucratic role, the keeper 00:06:25.699 --> 00:06:28.379 of the archives for the royal zoo court. That 00:06:28.379 --> 00:06:30.740 position keeper of the archives, that's critical. 00:06:30.899 --> 00:06:33.939 It instantly elevates him beyond just some local 00:06:33.939 --> 00:06:36.560 philosopher. Absolutely. It implies he was embedded 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:38.660 right in the center of political and intellectual 00:06:38.660 --> 00:06:41.819 power. This would have granted him broad access 00:06:41.819 --> 00:06:44.660 to the Yellow Emperor's classic works, the entire 00:06:44.660 --> 00:06:47.689 repository of zoo history. It makes him the ultimate 00:06:47.689 --> 00:06:49.769 authority on traditional knowledge and history. 00:06:50.110 --> 00:06:53.050 Exactly. This account firmly positions him as 00:06:53.050 --> 00:06:55.110 a high -ranking intellectual. And this is the 00:06:55.110 --> 00:06:58.069 version that includes that famous, maybe legendary, 00:06:58.149 --> 00:07:00.730 meeting with Confucius. Yeah. That must have 00:07:00.730 --> 00:07:02.810 been politically significant for both philosophical 00:07:02.810 --> 00:07:05.670 schools. Incredibly significant. Though, ironically, 00:07:05.850 --> 00:07:07.889 the most detailed and well -known retelling of 00:07:07.889 --> 00:07:10.410 that meeting is actually in the Zhuangzi, the 00:07:10.410 --> 00:07:12.490 other great Taoist text. And how does that meeting 00:07:12.490 --> 00:07:15.139 go? Well, Confucius is often portrayed as being 00:07:15.139 --> 00:07:17.779 a bit overwhelmed or even chastised by Laozi 00:07:17.779 --> 00:07:21.000 for his rigid focus on rituals and conventional 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:24.240 morality. Laozi's advice to him is often about 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:27.319 shedding his aristocratic arrogance and seeking 00:07:27.319 --> 00:07:29.740 the stillness of the natural way. So whether 00:07:29.740 --> 00:07:32.060 it's historical or not, the story immediately 00:07:32.060 --> 00:07:35.379 establishes the superiority of Taoist spontaneity 00:07:35.379 --> 00:07:38.060 over Confucian formalism, at least in the eyes 00:07:38.060 --> 00:07:40.779 of Taoists. Precisely. Okay, so that's the historical 00:07:40.779 --> 00:07:43.459 scholarly version. knowledgeable bureaucrat. 00:07:43.959 --> 00:07:46.779 What about the second possibility Simakian gave 00:07:46.779 --> 00:07:50.040 us? Account two completely swaps out the protagonist. 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:52.860 Here, Laozi is identified as a different contemporary 00:07:52.860 --> 00:07:55.420 named Lao Lezi. Lao Lezi, and he's framed differently. 00:07:55.600 --> 00:07:57.620 Totally differently. This Lao Lezi is celebrated 00:07:57.620 --> 00:08:00.139 as one of the 24 filial exemplars, which gives 00:08:00.139 --> 00:08:02.540 him a moral pedigree rather than political one. 00:08:02.860 --> 00:08:05.620 He also wrote a book, but Simakian says it was 00:08:05.620 --> 00:08:07.819 in 15 parts, which immediately distinguishes 00:08:07.819 --> 00:08:10.290 it from the two -part Tao Te Ching. And this 00:08:10.290 --> 00:08:12.649 story has a very specific anecdote about military 00:08:12.649 --> 00:08:15.129 ethics that changes this whole character. It 00:08:15.129 --> 00:08:17.149 does. It tells the story of Zong the warrior 00:08:17.149 --> 00:08:21.009 who achieved a major military victory, but, well, 00:08:21.110 --> 00:08:23.610 she left the fallen enemy soldiers unburied to 00:08:23.610 --> 00:08:27.350 be eaten by vultures. Rim. Very. And Lao Laisi, 00:08:27.470 --> 00:08:29.730 traveling through, encounters Zong and reveals 00:08:29.730 --> 00:08:32.509 himself to be his long -lost father. And the 00:08:32.509 --> 00:08:35.750 core teaching here is profoundly Taoist, that 00:08:35.750 --> 00:08:38.250 Zong must treat a defeated enemy with respect. 00:08:38.870 --> 00:08:41.269 Disrespect to the dead, Laozi warns, will just 00:08:41.269 --> 00:08:44.210 lead to cycles of revenge and unending war. And 00:08:44.210 --> 00:08:46.789 the sources say Zong was convinced. He buried 00:08:46.789 --> 00:08:49.669 the enemy dead, held a shared funeral, and it 00:08:49.669 --> 00:08:52.309 led to a lasting peace. Right. So this narrative 00:08:52.309 --> 00:08:54.629 links Laozi to foundational teachings on military 00:08:54.629 --> 00:08:57.549 restraint and compassion. It's a completely different 00:08:57.549 --> 00:08:59.789 focus from the archivist who was all about historical 00:08:59.789 --> 00:09:02.470 records. It really shows the sage was already 00:09:02.470 --> 00:09:04.690 a kind of blank slate onto which these powerful 00:09:04.690 --> 00:09:06.809 moral lessons could be projected. Now for account 00:09:06.809 --> 00:09:09.409 three, the one most directly linked to how we 00:09:09.409 --> 00:09:11.590 think the Tao Te Ching came to be. This one is 00:09:11.590 --> 00:09:14.149 pure poetry. It really is. It identifies him 00:09:14.149 --> 00:09:16.889 as the court astrologer Lao Dan, a figure who 00:09:16.889 --> 00:09:19.110 lived much later, maybe during the fourth century 00:09:19.110 --> 00:09:22.769 B .C. This account dramatically shifts the timeline. 00:09:23.049 --> 00:09:25.970 It suggests the foundational text is later than 00:09:25.970 --> 00:09:28.429 the traditional Confucius timeline. And in this 00:09:28.429 --> 00:09:31.669 version, Lao Dan grows weary of the moral decay 00:09:31.669 --> 00:09:33.950 and political turmoil of the collapsing Zhou 00:09:33.950 --> 00:09:36.490 kingdom. He does. And at the advanced age of 00:09:36.490 --> 00:09:39.110 80, he decides to abandon civilization entirely 00:09:39.110 --> 00:09:42.289 and venture west toward the unsettled frontier. 00:09:42.809 --> 00:09:45.169 The journey to the edge of the known world, leaving 00:09:45.169 --> 00:09:48.169 society for a hermitage. Precisely. And at the 00:09:48.169 --> 00:09:50.490 westernmost pass of the kingdom, he was recognized 00:09:50.490 --> 00:09:53.549 by the guard, a man named Yingxi. The sentry, 00:09:53.590 --> 00:09:55.870 knowing this man was a great sage, begged the 00:09:55.870 --> 00:09:58.529 old master to record his wisdom for posterity 00:09:58.529 --> 00:10:00.610 before he would let him pass and disappear. And 00:10:00.610 --> 00:10:02.889 that text, supposedly written in a single sitting, 00:10:03.210 --> 00:10:05.830 basically as an exit visa. Was the Tao Te Ching. 00:10:06.029 --> 00:10:08.289 And the legend finishes with that powerful note 00:10:08.289 --> 00:10:10.889 that Yingxi was so moved by the work, he either 00:10:10.889 --> 00:10:13.549 became a disciple and left with Laozi, or just 00:10:13.549 --> 00:10:15.330 watched the old master vanish into the West, 00:10:15.470 --> 00:10:18.110 never to be seen again. That Western journey, 00:10:18.129 --> 00:10:20.529 that disappearance into the unknown, became the 00:10:20.529 --> 00:10:23.809 most powerful image of all. It even evolved into 00:10:23.809 --> 00:10:27.029 this highly influential idea that the old master 00:10:27.029 --> 00:10:29.470 kept going all the way to India. Where he taught 00:10:29.470 --> 00:10:31.799 Siddhartha Gautama. or that he was the Buddha 00:10:31.799 --> 00:10:35.220 himself in an earlier incarnation. This final 00:10:35.220 --> 00:10:37.860 legend tries to unify the intellectual traditions 00:10:37.860 --> 00:10:40.700 of China and India, which just shows the staggering 00:10:40.700 --> 00:10:43.320 stature Laozi had attained. If we just pause 00:10:43.320 --> 00:10:46.679 on that for a second, the desire to fuse Laozi 00:10:46.679 --> 00:10:49.870 and the Buddha. That tells you so much, not just 00:10:49.870 --> 00:10:51.750 about the spiritual power of Laozi's legend, 00:10:51.929 --> 00:10:54.850 but maybe about a cultural anxiety over foreign 00:10:54.850 --> 00:10:56.970 influence. How so? Well, by making the Buddha 00:10:56.970 --> 00:10:59.830 a disciple of a Chinese master, the Chinese philosophical 00:10:59.830 --> 00:11:02.789 tradition retains its perceived seniority. It's 00:11:02.789 --> 00:11:05.259 a profound act of cultural self -assertion. And 00:11:05.259 --> 00:11:07.500 that profound cultural self -assertion runs directly 00:11:07.500 --> 00:11:10.759 into the cold hard logic of modern textual criticism. 00:11:11.100 --> 00:11:13.720 With three conflicting biographies, a figure 00:11:13.720 --> 00:11:16.519 who writes a book in 15 parts, a timeline that 00:11:16.519 --> 00:11:19.259 shifts over centuries, modern scholars had immense 00:11:19.259 --> 00:11:22.320 difficulty establishing a historical lousy. This 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:25.480 skepticism led to a pretty strong consensus by 00:11:25.480 --> 00:11:27.899 the mid -20th century, right? A very strong consensus 00:11:27.899 --> 00:11:30.220 that the historicity of a single person named 00:11:30.220 --> 00:11:33.620 Laozi is highly doubtful. The scholarly view 00:11:33.620 --> 00:11:36.700 now generally regards the Tao Te Ching as a compilation 00:11:36.700 --> 00:11:39.840 of Taoist sayings by many hands. With the old 00:11:39.840 --> 00:11:42.759 master being invented later to consolidate these 00:11:42.759 --> 00:11:45.200 sayings and give the tradition an authority figure. 00:11:45.419 --> 00:11:48.179 Exactly. And this is reinforced by the style 00:11:48.179 --> 00:11:50.840 of the book itself. The Tao Te Ching is unique 00:11:50.840 --> 00:11:53.490 among... early Chinese philosophical works because 00:11:53.490 --> 00:11:56.049 it conspicuously lacks a central master figure. 00:11:56.250 --> 00:11:59.070 Right. You don't read the master said like you 00:11:59.070 --> 00:12:01.529 do in the Analects or even in this onesie. The 00:12:01.529 --> 00:12:03.769 text just speaks for itself, which suggests that 00:12:03.769 --> 00:12:06.149 maybe there was no single master speaking. And 00:12:06.149 --> 00:12:08.629 this scholarly doubt moved from just theoretical 00:12:08.629 --> 00:12:12.690 skepticism to near certainty. Thanks to some 00:12:12.690 --> 00:12:15.450 monumental archaeological discoveries in the 00:12:15.450 --> 00:12:18.250 late 20th century, they provided actual textual 00:12:18.250 --> 00:12:20.450 evidence of the text evolving over time. This 00:12:20.450 --> 00:12:22.850 is where the archaeology just fundamentally shatters 00:12:22.850 --> 00:12:24.929 the traditional story of the single -session 00:12:24.929 --> 00:12:27.809 masterpiece. We have to look first at the Gordian 00:12:27.809 --> 00:12:30.730 Chu slips. So what exactly did the Gordian Chu 00:12:30.730 --> 00:12:33.370 slips reveal, and why were they so revolutionary? 00:12:34.039 --> 00:12:36.159 Well, they were discovered in a tomb in Hubei, 00:12:36.299 --> 00:12:39.519 and they date to the late 4th century BC, so 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:42.139 they predate the traditional timeline for a singular 00:12:42.139 --> 00:12:44.919 author. They are the oldest manuscript fragments 00:12:44.919 --> 00:12:47.039 containing text we can recognize from the Tao 00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:49.620 Te Ching, about a third of the final received 00:12:49.620 --> 00:12:52.759 text. But the truly crucial finding wasn't just 00:12:52.759 --> 00:12:55.620 the age, it was the context of the passages on 00:12:55.620 --> 00:12:58.759 those bamboo slips. Exactly. These passages were 00:12:58.759 --> 00:13:02.019 not collected neatly together. They were interspersed, 00:13:02.019 --> 00:13:03.590 mixed in with texts that were not... carried 00:13:03.590 --> 00:13:06.370 into the later official Tao Te Ching. So what 00:13:06.370 --> 00:13:08.450 does that prove? It's decisive evidence that 00:13:08.450 --> 00:13:11.330 in the late 4th century BC, the core verses of 00:13:11.330 --> 00:13:13.509 what would become the Tao Te Ching were still 00:13:13.509 --> 00:13:15.750 circulating as independent sayings. They were 00:13:15.750 --> 00:13:18.029 being edited, compiled, and actively revised 00:13:18.029 --> 00:13:20.889 within this wider body of Taoist wisdom. It was 00:13:20.889 --> 00:13:23.429 a fluid body of knowledge, proving the compilation 00:13:23.429 --> 00:13:25.690 was still in progress. So the whole idea of an 00:13:25.690 --> 00:13:27.470 80 -year -old man sitting down and writing the 00:13:27.470 --> 00:13:29.590 whole thing in one go for Yingxi at the gate 00:13:29.590 --> 00:13:33.730 becomes, well, highly unlikely. Very unlikely. 00:13:33.870 --> 00:13:36.090 The text seems to have existed before the man 00:13:36.090 --> 00:13:39.269 did. And then we have the Muang Dui manuscripts, 00:13:39.629 --> 00:13:42.110 which push the evidence even further. These were 00:13:42.110 --> 00:13:44.509 the early complete versions, correct? Yes. The 00:13:44.509 --> 00:13:46.929 Muang Dui manuscripts are essential because they 00:13:46.929 --> 00:13:49.190 represent the oldest complete versions of the 00:13:49.190 --> 00:13:51.909 Tao Te Ching ever discovered. They were sealed 00:13:51.909 --> 00:13:56.389 in a tomb in Hunan in 168 BC. And they show the 00:13:56.389 --> 00:13:59.070 final stage of the text's evolution. They do. 00:13:59.269 --> 00:14:02.149 And what's fascinating is that... These manuscripts 00:14:02.149 --> 00:14:04.529 divide the text differently than the version 00:14:04.529 --> 00:14:07.490 we have now. The ti se or virtue section comes 00:14:07.490 --> 00:14:09.809 before the tao, the way section. The order is 00:14:09.809 --> 00:14:12.110 reversed. So it's the ti tao ching instead of 00:14:12.110 --> 00:14:14.350 the tao ti ching. Right. And while they are complete, 00:14:14.570 --> 00:14:16.870 they still predate the canonical received text 00:14:16.870 --> 00:14:19.789 by centuries, and they reveal slight variations 00:14:19.789 --> 00:14:22.610 in wording, content arrangement, and even how 00:14:22.610 --> 00:14:24.960 the chapters are divided. It just shows that 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:27.519 the structure was built up over time by anonymous 00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:31.139 editors and contributors. An evolutionary creation, 00:14:31.360 --> 00:14:33.879 not an instantaneous one. That's it. The tension 00:14:33.879 --> 00:14:36.820 here is immense. You have this beautiful, powerful 00:14:36.820 --> 00:14:40.360 narrative of the wise old man earlier who wrote 00:14:40.360 --> 00:14:43.929 a perfect, unified book before vanishing. But 00:14:43.929 --> 00:14:46.269 then you have the archaeology of bamboo and silk 00:14:46.269 --> 00:14:49.110 slips showing the text was a dynamic, collaborative, 00:14:49.330 --> 00:14:52.230 and evolving tradition over at least two centuries. 00:14:52.490 --> 00:14:54.809 So what's clear is that the text itself has become 00:14:54.809 --> 00:14:57.029 the ultimate authority, regardless of whether 00:14:57.029 --> 00:14:59.009 the man ever existed. Right. Which brings us 00:14:59.009 --> 00:15:01.190 to the actual content. Let's shift our focus 00:15:01.190 --> 00:15:04.149 entirely from the author debate to the work itself. 00:15:04.779 --> 00:15:07.220 The Tao Te Ching is revered not just for its 00:15:07.220 --> 00:15:09.659 wisdom, but for its utterly distinctive literary 00:15:09.659 --> 00:15:13.159 form. The literary style is inseparable from 00:15:13.159 --> 00:15:15.139 the philosophy it imparts. It's deliberately 00:15:15.139 --> 00:15:17.580 elusive. It doesn't teach through, you know. 00:15:18.090 --> 00:15:20.009 linear instruction or argument. No, it's not 00:15:20.009 --> 00:15:22.669 a textbook. Not at all. It uses a highly specialized 00:15:22.669 --> 00:15:25.629 method that relies on paradox, evocative analogy, 00:15:26.070 --> 00:15:29.190 repetition, symmetry, rhyme, rhythm. It's designed 00:15:29.190 --> 00:15:31.929 to be absorbed intuitively, not logically. It's 00:15:31.929 --> 00:15:34.210 designed to make you think sideways, to break 00:15:34.210 --> 00:15:36.250 you out of conventional binary thought patterns. 00:15:36.450 --> 00:15:40.090 And that's the core Taoist critique. Taoism fundamentally 00:15:40.090 --> 00:15:42.669 holds that language and conventional wisdom are 00:15:42.669 --> 00:15:46.429 inherently biased and artificial. The human distinctions 00:15:46.429 --> 00:15:49.850 we insist on good versus bad, beautiful versus 00:15:49.850 --> 00:15:53.269 ugly, full versus empty, these are constructs 00:15:53.269 --> 00:15:55.129 that lead directly to struggle and suffering. 00:15:55.330 --> 00:15:58.370 So if language is the problem, the solution is 00:15:58.370 --> 00:16:01.090 using language to undermine itself. How does 00:16:01.090 --> 00:16:02.870 the text do that? Can you give us some specific 00:16:02.870 --> 00:16:05.889 examples of those paradoxes? The paradoxes are 00:16:05.889 --> 00:16:08.610 absolutely key to that subversion. They challenge 00:16:08.610 --> 00:16:10.990 your ingrained assumptions. For example, the 00:16:10.990 --> 00:16:13.730 text states, the softest thing in the world overcomes 00:16:13.730 --> 00:16:15.830 the hardest thing in the world. Water eroding 00:16:15.830 --> 00:16:18.149 stone. Exactly. It's a literal statement about 00:16:18.149 --> 00:16:19.929 that, but it's a philosophical instruction about 00:16:19.929 --> 00:16:22.529 yielding over forcing. Or consider the spatial 00:16:22.529 --> 00:16:25.210 paradoxes like the great swear has no corners 00:16:25.210 --> 00:16:28.460 or the great image has no shape. Those statements 00:16:28.460 --> 00:16:30.759 are intentionally baffling to the logical mind. 00:16:30.899 --> 00:16:33.779 I mean, a square has corners by definition. It 00:16:33.779 --> 00:16:36.340 does to the logical mind. But the philosopher 00:16:36.340 --> 00:16:39.299 is instructing you that the most complete, the 00:16:39.299 --> 00:16:41.639 most perfect square, the square that is everywhere, 00:16:41.919 --> 00:16:45.860 must, by definition, transcend the limiting concept 00:16:45.860 --> 00:16:49.600 of corners. By forcing you, the reader, to embrace 00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:52.320 a logical absurdity, the text tries to get around 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:55.659 those ingrained linguistic biases. This literary 00:16:55.659 --> 00:16:58.379 strategy also gives the text its famed air of 00:16:58.379 --> 00:17:01.029 timelessness. That's the other crucial characteristic. 00:17:01.269 --> 00:17:03.789 Unlike the Analects, or many philosophical works 00:17:03.789 --> 00:17:06.410 from that era, the Tao Te Ching almost entirely 00:17:06.410 --> 00:17:09.009 avoids referencing specific historical people, 00:17:09.190 --> 00:17:11.430 events, or battles. Right. There are no political 00:17:11.430 --> 00:17:14.049 hot takes on specific dukes or historical policies. 00:17:14.049 --> 00:17:17.369 None. By avoiding those historical markers, the 00:17:17.369 --> 00:17:19.930 text achieves a universal applicability that 00:17:19.930 --> 00:17:22.950 transcends dynastic concerns. It means that whether 00:17:22.950 --> 00:17:25.150 you're reading it in the 4th century BC or in 00:17:25.150 --> 00:17:28.390 the 21st century AD, the core concepts feel accessible 00:17:28.390 --> 00:17:30.950 and direct. It's not constrained by its historical 00:17:30.950 --> 00:17:33.170 context. Okay, let's move to the ultimate yet 00:17:33.170 --> 00:17:36.549 most elusive concept, the Tao itself. We often 00:17:36.549 --> 00:17:38.910 just translate it as the way. For the listener, 00:17:38.990 --> 00:17:41.490 what is the Tao in the context of this text beyond 00:17:41.490 --> 00:17:43.970 that literal definition? The Tao is described 00:17:43.970 --> 00:17:47.049 as the source, the pattern, and the ideal of 00:17:47.049 --> 00:17:49.990 all existence. It's the underlying, spontaneous, 00:17:50.269 --> 00:17:52.849 natural order that governs the universe. It's 00:17:52.849 --> 00:17:55.470 simultaneously the origin of all things and the 00:17:55.470 --> 00:17:58.400 way that all things follow. The text... uses 00:17:58.400 --> 00:18:00.940 some profound imagery to describe it. It does. 00:18:01.220 --> 00:18:05.619 It's unseen, yet immensely powerful. It's supremely 00:18:05.619 --> 00:18:07.799 humble, yet at the same time, it's the root of 00:18:07.799 --> 00:18:10.319 all things. The humility aspect is often tied 00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:12.299 to the imagery of water, isn't it? Absolutely. 00:18:12.539 --> 00:18:15.519 Water is the perfect Taoist metaphor. Chapter 00:18:15.519 --> 00:18:17.460 8 of the text describes how the highest good 00:18:17.460 --> 00:18:19.619 is like water because water benefits all things 00:18:19.619 --> 00:18:22.279 and doesn't strive. It's content to dwell in 00:18:22.279 --> 00:18:24.619 low places that people disdain. And yet water 00:18:24.619 --> 00:18:27.480 is unstoppable. Unstoppable. It adapts to any 00:18:27.480 --> 00:18:30.720 vessel, and over time, it carves canyons. This 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:33.539 is the power of the Tao. Passive strength, not 00:18:33.539 --> 00:18:35.779 aggressive force. It sounds a bit like a deity 00:18:35.779 --> 00:18:38.160 or some transcendent force. Is the Tao meant 00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:40.980 to be worshipped? Crucially, no. The sources 00:18:40.980 --> 00:18:43.500 really emphasize that the Tao is unseen, but 00:18:43.500 --> 00:18:45.279 it is not transcendent. Okay, what's the difference? 00:18:45.539 --> 00:18:48.750 It's imminent. It's right here, woven into the 00:18:48.750 --> 00:18:51.329 fabric of the universe. It's in the flow of the 00:18:51.329 --> 00:18:53.450 river, in the growth of the trees, in the silence 00:18:53.450 --> 00:18:56.269 of the valley. It's a natural pattern, which 00:18:56.269 --> 00:18:59.769 is why Taoism focuses on observation and yielding 00:18:59.769 --> 00:19:02.990 rather than striving towards some distant heavenly 00:19:02.990 --> 00:19:05.710 goal, like in some Western philosophies or theistic 00:19:05.710 --> 00:19:07.710 religions. This brings us to the human condition. 00:19:08.349 --> 00:19:11.589 If the Tao is a perfect natural order, where 00:19:11.589 --> 00:19:13.829 do people fit in and why do we always seem to 00:19:13.829 --> 00:19:16.490 mess it up? Well, we possess desires and free 00:19:16.490 --> 00:19:19.650 will, which allows us to act unnaturally. Our 00:19:19.650 --> 00:19:22.769 ambition, our insistence on rigid moral and political 00:19:22.769 --> 00:19:25.769 distinctions, our striving for wealth or fame, 00:19:25.990 --> 00:19:28.509 these are human -made constructs that upset the 00:19:28.509 --> 00:19:30.849 natural balance of the Tao. So the core intention 00:19:30.849 --> 00:19:33.150 of the Tao Te Ching isn't to introduce a new 00:19:33.150 --> 00:19:35.849 ethical code? Not at all. It's to lead the student 00:19:35.849 --> 00:19:39.029 to a return, a kind of philosophical and spiritual 00:19:39.029 --> 00:19:41.670 de -learning back to their original natural state 00:19:41.670 --> 00:19:44.500 in spontaneous harmony with the way. And this 00:19:44.500 --> 00:19:47.140 process of returning is achieved primarily through 00:19:47.140 --> 00:19:51.059 the practice of wu -wei. Ah, wu -wei. Probably 00:19:51.059 --> 00:19:53.420 the most famous and most misleadingly translated 00:19:53.420 --> 00:19:56.940 concept in the text. Literally, wu -wei means 00:19:56.940 --> 00:19:59.700 non -action or not acting. But if we took that 00:19:59.700 --> 00:20:02.339 literally... We'd all just be sitting in a cave 00:20:02.339 --> 00:20:04.720 starving. Exactly. We have to move beyond that 00:20:04.720 --> 00:20:07.660 literal translation. Wu Wei describes the quality 00:20:07.660 --> 00:20:10.220 of the action, not the absence of movement. It's 00:20:10.220 --> 00:20:13.500 deeply multifaceted. It can mean not forcing, 00:20:13.579 --> 00:20:15.940 not acting in a theatrical or self -conscious 00:20:15.940 --> 00:20:18.819 sense. Or acting spontaneously. Or my favorite, 00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:21.680 flowing with the moment. So it's not about inaction, 00:20:21.799 --> 00:20:25.160 but non -coercive action. Can we use a modern 00:20:25.160 --> 00:20:27.759 analogy to ground this a bit? Sure. Think of 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:29.559 the concept of flow state in high performance 00:20:29.559 --> 00:20:32.240 sports or creative work. When a jazz musician 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:35.359 improvises perfectly or an athlete performs flawlessly, 00:20:35.599 --> 00:20:38.019 they aren't consciously straining or calculating 00:20:38.019 --> 00:20:40.559 every single move. They're in the zone. They 00:20:40.559 --> 00:20:42.640 are in the zone. They're acting without self 00:20:42.640 --> 00:20:44.380 -consciousness, allowing their training in the 00:20:44.380 --> 00:20:47.720 moment to guide them. That spontaneous, effortless 00:20:47.720 --> 00:20:50.579 integration with the task at hand. That's the 00:20:50.579 --> 00:20:52.819 form of wu -wei. It's like riding a wave rather 00:20:52.819 --> 00:20:55.289 than trying to wrestle it to the shore. And this 00:20:55.289 --> 00:20:57.549 requires recognizing that all these human imposed 00:20:57.549 --> 00:21:00.910 value distinctions, our desperate need to label 00:21:00.910 --> 00:21:03.750 and control things, are just artificial constructs 00:21:03.750 --> 00:21:06.730 that lead to effort and strain. Yes. The practice 00:21:06.730 --> 00:21:09.710 of Wu Wei demands simplicity and humility in 00:21:09.710 --> 00:21:13.089 contrast to ambitious, selfish striving. It's 00:21:13.089 --> 00:21:15.950 the direct connection to Xeron, which is spontaneity 00:21:15.950 --> 00:21:18.789 or harmony with the Tao. It's about being like 00:21:18.789 --> 00:21:21.769 the uncarved block, undifferentiated potential 00:21:21.769 --> 00:21:24.049 that remains whole. This concept immediately 00:21:24.049 --> 00:21:26.829 gained profound political relevance. How does 00:21:26.829 --> 00:21:29.269 Wu Wei translate into statecraft? On political 00:21:29.269 --> 00:21:31.309 level, it translates into radical governmental 00:21:31.309 --> 00:21:34.809 restraint. The ideal ruler practices non -interference. 00:21:35.529 --> 00:21:39.009 in politics means avoiding war, harsh laws, excessive 00:21:39.009 --> 00:21:42.529 bureaucracy, and critically heavy taxes. So the 00:21:42.529 --> 00:21:44.529 text suggests that the perfect ruler is the one 00:21:44.529 --> 00:21:47.019 that people barely even know exists. Exactly, 00:21:47.140 --> 00:21:49.240 because they aren't constantly interfering or 00:21:49.240 --> 00:21:52.740 trying to mold society. The idea is that minimizing 00:21:52.740 --> 00:21:55.279 the role of government allows individuals and 00:21:55.279 --> 00:21:58.039 society to develop spontaneously, which naturally 00:21:58.039 --> 00:22:01.220 achieves harmony. Chapter 57 is often cited here. 00:22:01.420 --> 00:22:03.700 I take no action and the people are transformed 00:22:03.700 --> 00:22:06.279 by themselves. I love tranquility and the people 00:22:06.279 --> 00:22:08.660 become righteous by themselves. I engage in no 00:22:08.660 --> 00:22:10.759 activity and the people prosper by themselves. 00:22:11.160 --> 00:22:13.059 However, this interpretation runs into a really 00:22:13.059 --> 00:22:16.380 serious philosophical ambiguity. There are statements 00:22:16.380 --> 00:22:18.559 in the Tao Te Ching that seem to encourage rulers 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:22.900 to keep their people in ignorance or simple -minded, 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:25.980 which sounds highly authoritarian. This is the 00:22:25.980 --> 00:22:29.319 crucial point of scholarly debate. Some insist 00:22:29.319 --> 00:22:31.839 that these controversial lines are indeed pragmatic, 00:22:32.180 --> 00:22:34.839 maybe somewhat cynical, political advice meant 00:22:34.839 --> 00:22:37.259 to stabilize a chaotic state. But if the text 00:22:37.259 --> 00:22:40.099 is truly about returning to the Tao, that simplicity 00:22:40.099 --> 00:22:43.380 can't just be enforced ignorance. It can't be. 00:22:43.740 --> 00:22:46.720 If the goal is spiritual return, then the simplicity 00:22:46.720 --> 00:22:50.140 must be internal. And this is where those highly 00:22:50.140 --> 00:22:53.140 technical metaphysical terms come in, which really 00:22:53.140 --> 00:22:55.819 challenge a simple political reading. You mentioned 00:22:55.819 --> 00:22:59.319 the valley spirit, jingshen, and the soul, po. 00:22:59.619 --> 00:23:02.440 Right. What do those terms imply? These terms 00:23:02.440 --> 00:23:04.619 elevate the discussion immediately out of political 00:23:04.619 --> 00:23:08.039 theory and into cosmology. Zheng Shen, the valley 00:23:08.039 --> 00:23:11.400 spirit, is an early Taoist term often associated 00:23:11.400 --> 00:23:13.960 with the primordial feminine receptive energy, 00:23:14.180 --> 00:23:17.440 the eternal nurturing void that gives birth to 00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:20.259 the universe. It represents the deepest, most 00:23:20.259 --> 00:23:22.799 mysterious source of vitality. So it's the generative 00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:25.000 force that is receptive, like a valley collecting 00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:28.259 water. Precisely. And Poe refers to the corporeal 00:23:28.259 --> 00:23:30.859 soul or the animal, instinctive aspect of the 00:23:30.859 --> 00:23:33.049 self. which is often contrasted with the more 00:23:33.049 --> 00:23:35.950 ethereal or spiritual soul, the Hun. So when 00:23:35.950 --> 00:23:38.549 the text mentions these concepts, it's grounding 00:23:38.549 --> 00:23:40.690 the philosophy in the internal cultivation of 00:23:40.690 --> 00:23:42.869 this primordial energy, not just social engineering. 00:23:43.130 --> 00:23:45.910 Exactly. The argument is that the text is advocating 00:23:45.910 --> 00:23:48.730 for cultivating a spiritual state of simple -mindedness, 00:23:48.869 --> 00:23:51.509 a state free from the corrupting desires and 00:23:51.509 --> 00:23:53.710 artificial complexities that our animal self, 00:23:53.849 --> 00:23:58.029 our paw, creates, not enforcing political stupidity. 00:23:58.299 --> 00:24:00.440 It shifts the goal from controlling the masses 00:24:00.440 --> 00:24:03.369 to achieving internal freedom. And that internal 00:24:03.369 --> 00:24:06.130 quiet is what Alan Chan connects to the modern 00:24:06.130 --> 00:24:08.869 world, especially regarding technology and manufactured 00:24:08.869 --> 00:24:11.970 desire. He suggests that our constant striving, 00:24:12.049 --> 00:24:14.849 our technological progress, it often brings about 00:24:14.849 --> 00:24:17.190 this false sense of superiority and leads us 00:24:17.190 --> 00:24:18.990 further from our natural state, from the Tao. 00:24:19.250 --> 00:24:21.410 And the answer isn't a Luddite rejection of the 00:24:21.410 --> 00:24:23.529 material world. No, not at all. Instead, the 00:24:23.529 --> 00:24:25.930 answer is cultivating the calm state of wu -wei, 00:24:26.150 --> 00:24:28.890 free from the consuming desires that technology 00:24:28.890 --> 00:24:31.789 or any complex artificial system is constant. 00:24:31.849 --> 00:24:35.430 So Wu Wei is ultimately about choosing quiet 00:24:35.430 --> 00:24:38.569 presence over noisy ambition. That's a powerful 00:24:38.569 --> 00:24:41.289 idea for a world just saturated by information. 00:24:41.849 --> 00:24:45.009 It's truly remarkable that a text compiled anonymously 00:24:45.009 --> 00:24:47.670 and attributed to a possibly fictional old master 00:24:47.670 --> 00:24:50.869 could have such wide -ranging influence. We've 00:24:50.869 --> 00:24:53.089 established the text's power. Now let's look 00:24:53.089 --> 00:24:55.609 at the astonishing afterlife of the man, the 00:24:55.609 --> 00:24:58.680 legend Laozi. The transformation from skeptical 00:24:58.680 --> 00:25:01.480 archivist to divine figure really began during 00:25:01.480 --> 00:25:04.440 the Han Dynasty. As Taoism organized itself into 00:25:04.440 --> 00:25:06.819 a formal structured religion rather than just 00:25:06.819 --> 00:25:09.059 a philosophical school, they needed a divine 00:25:09.059 --> 00:25:11.559 source of revelation. And Laozi filled that gap 00:25:11.559 --> 00:25:13.700 perfectly. He did. He went from a philosophical 00:25:13.700 --> 00:25:16.779 ancestor to a full -fledged divine ancestor, 00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:19.480 a figure whose wisdom was not merely earned but 00:25:19.480 --> 00:25:22.059 revealed. And this belief in revelation from 00:25:22.059 --> 00:25:24.200 the divine Laozi led directly to the formation 00:25:24.200 --> 00:25:26.259 of the Way of the Celestial Masters, the very 00:25:26.259 --> 00:25:28.859 first organized religious Taoist sect. In later 00:25:28.859 --> 00:25:31.140 tradition, he became nothing less than a personification 00:25:31.140 --> 00:25:34.039 of the Tao itself. The source incarnate. He was 00:25:34.039 --> 00:25:35.859 said to have undergone numerous transformations 00:25:35.859 --> 00:25:38.839 and taken on various guises across history to 00:25:38.839 --> 00:25:41.519 initiate the faithful. And this deification demanded 00:25:41.519 --> 00:25:45.240 increasingly spectacular origin myths. The birth 00:25:45.240 --> 00:25:47.500 story is one of the most memorable in all of 00:25:47.500 --> 00:25:49.819 Chinese religion. The myth of his virgin birth 00:25:49.819 --> 00:25:52.779 is key to his divine status. It describes him 00:25:52.779 --> 00:25:55.039 being conceived when his mother gazed upon a 00:25:55.039 --> 00:25:57.579 falling star, a clear sign of cosmic intervention. 00:25:58.299 --> 00:26:01.700 But the famous fantastic detail is the gestation 00:26:01.700 --> 00:26:04.740 period. He supposedly remained in her womb for... 00:26:05.670 --> 00:26:09.309 62 years. 62 years. He was born ancient. He was. 00:26:09.349 --> 00:26:11.690 When he was finally born, he emerged as a grown 00:26:11.690 --> 00:26:14.490 man with a full gray beard and those long earlobes 00:26:14.490 --> 00:26:16.869 we mentioned already possessing the wisdom of 00:26:16.869 --> 00:26:19.829 age. This established him as Laozi, the old master, 00:26:19.950 --> 00:26:21.750 from the moment of his birth under the plum tree. 00:26:22.190 --> 00:26:24.670 These myths were essential for cementing his 00:26:24.670 --> 00:26:26.869 religious authority, and this political dimension 00:26:26.869 --> 00:26:30.029 just exploded during the Tang Dynasty. Why did 00:26:30.029 --> 00:26:33.150 the Tang emperors elevate Laozi's status so significantly? 00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:36.220 It was a monumental act of political legitimization. 00:26:36.680 --> 00:26:38.859 The Tang imperial family, the powerful Longshi 00:26:38.859 --> 00:26:41.579 Li lineage, claimed descent from Laozi. They 00:26:41.579 --> 00:26:43.380 capitalized on his traditional personal name, 00:26:43.559 --> 00:26:46.059 Lair. So the ruling family wasn't just sanctioned 00:26:46.059 --> 00:26:48.299 by the Tao. They were literally related to its 00:26:48.299 --> 00:26:51.119 physical manifestation. Exactly. That is an incredible 00:26:51.119 --> 00:26:53.920 political maneuver. It tied their mandate to 00:26:53.920 --> 00:26:56.680 heaven, to the wisdom and lineage of the ultimate 00:26:56.680 --> 00:27:00.200 old master. It provided an unassailable foundation 00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:02.960 for their authority. And it guaranteed him unprecedented 00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:06.359 veneration. Oh, the state invested immense capital 00:27:06.359 --> 00:27:09.359 in his legend. This manifested in escalating 00:27:09.359 --> 00:27:13.220 imperial titles. In 666, Emperor Gaozong named 00:27:13.220 --> 00:27:16.460 Laozi the supremely mysterious and primordial 00:27:16.460 --> 00:27:18.920 emperor. The titles just kept getting grander. 00:27:18.980 --> 00:27:22.720 In 743, Emperor Xuanzong declared him the sage 00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:25.779 ancestor of the dynasty and gave him the posthumous 00:27:25.779 --> 00:27:29.130 title of mysterious and primordial emperor. This 00:27:29.130 --> 00:27:31.730 wasn't just religious patronage. It was dynastic 00:27:31.730 --> 00:27:34.589 policy. It absolutely was. They also elevated 00:27:34.589 --> 00:27:37.109 Laozi's parents to the ranks of innately supreme 00:27:37.109 --> 00:27:40.769 emperor and innate empress. By 754, his official 00:27:40.769 --> 00:27:42.549 title had ballooned to the utterly magnificent. 00:27:43.289 --> 00:27:46.609 Great sage ancestor and mysterious and primordial 00:27:46.609 --> 00:27:48.849 heavenly emperor and great sovereign of the golden 00:27:48.849 --> 00:27:51.430 palace of the high and supreme great way. Yeah, 00:27:51.529 --> 00:27:54.109 it's perhaps the ultimate demonstration of how 00:27:54.109 --> 00:27:57.069 a philosopher's legend can be adapted and repurposed 00:27:57.069 --> 00:27:59.650 by the ruling class to solidify their own power. 00:27:59.829 --> 00:28:02.490 And this established the clear ideal of the master 00:28:02.490 --> 00:28:05.009 -student relationship in Taoist thought, focusing 00:28:05.009 --> 00:28:08.259 on Laozi as the model of perfection. Yes. The 00:28:08.259 --> 00:28:10.839 7th century Sandong Zunang, the pearly bag of 00:28:10.839 --> 00:28:13.859 the three caverns, codified this. It used Luozi 00:28:13.859 --> 00:28:16.960 as the perfect master in Ningxi, the humble gate 00:28:16.960 --> 00:28:19.059 -sentry who begged him to write down his wisdom 00:28:19.059 --> 00:28:22.140 as the ultimate ideal student. It emphasizes 00:28:22.140 --> 00:28:24.400 the notion that profound truth is revealed not 00:28:24.400 --> 00:28:27.039 in the clamor of the court, but at the periphery, 00:28:27.039 --> 00:28:29.200 to the pure of heart. The journey to the West, 00:28:29.359 --> 00:28:32.279 which began as a philosophical retreat, morphed 00:28:32.279 --> 00:28:34.569 into a divine mission. But what truly speaks 00:28:34.569 --> 00:28:37.170 to the universal, adaptable nature of his wisdom 00:28:37.170 --> 00:28:40.349 is his influence thousands of miles away in a 00:28:40.349 --> 00:28:42.009 completely different spiritual and linguistic 00:28:42.009 --> 00:28:44.109 tradition. This is one of the most compelling 00:28:44.109 --> 00:28:47.349 cross -cultural links. We find Laozi woven into 00:28:47.349 --> 00:28:49.809 the Siddhar tradition of Tamil Nadu in South 00:28:49.809 --> 00:28:53.240 India. In this tradition, the greatly revered 00:28:53.240 --> 00:28:55.819 Siddhar Bagar, one of the 18 esteemed Siddhars 00:28:55.819 --> 00:28:58.539 of yore, is believed to be none other than Laozi 00:28:58.539 --> 00:29:00.920 himself, having traveled from China. A Chinese 00:29:00.920 --> 00:29:03.599 philosopher traveling to South India and integrating 00:29:03.599 --> 00:29:06.140 into their highly esoteric spiritual lineage. 00:29:07.230 --> 00:29:09.650 How is this identity handled in the Tamil tradition? 00:29:10.029 --> 00:29:12.549 Well, Bogar is even sometimes noted by the caste 00:29:12.549 --> 00:29:15.750 designation Sanatakarkuivar, or Chinese potter, 00:29:15.789 --> 00:29:18.990 confirming his perceived foreign origin. His 00:29:18.990 --> 00:29:22.029 principal book of poetry, the Bogar 7000, actually 00:29:22.029 --> 00:29:24.390 contains autobiographical sections that describe 00:29:24.390 --> 00:29:27.230 his travels to China and back to India. And what 00:29:27.230 --> 00:29:29.390 specifically did he carry from the Taoist tradition 00:29:29.390 --> 00:29:31.930 into the Siddharth practices? The philosophical 00:29:31.930 --> 00:29:34.289 focus he brought was highly esoteric, aligning 00:29:34.289 --> 00:29:36.490 with specific Taoist internal alchemy practices. 00:29:37.150 --> 00:29:39.589 Bogar's work deals heavily with kaya kalpa methods 00:29:39.589 --> 00:29:41.970 for achieving immortality or radical longevity 00:29:41.970 --> 00:29:44.710 and the sublimation of sexual energies for self 00:29:44.710 --> 00:29:47.390 -realization. So it blends the Taoist concept 00:29:47.390 --> 00:29:50.910 of vital energy cultivation, qi, with the unique 00:29:50.910 --> 00:29:54.170 demands of the Siddhar system. Exactly. Bogar's 00:29:54.170 --> 00:29:56.990 shrine, his Jivasamadhi, is found at the Tandayuth 00:29:56.990 --> 00:29:59.349 Bunny Temple, making him a cornerstone of this 00:29:59.349 --> 00:30:02.309 regional religious framework. It confirms how 00:30:02.309 --> 00:30:04.509 profoundly the legend of the old master's journey 00:30:04.509 --> 00:30:07.069 was adapted and internalized into a completely 00:30:07.069 --> 00:30:09.750 foreign context, fulfilling that early legend 00:30:09.750 --> 00:30:12.450 that he went west to teach. Now, we jump ahead 00:30:12.450 --> 00:30:15.369 nearly two millennia across continents and political 00:30:15.369 --> 00:30:18.430 systems where Laozi's teachings on limited government 00:30:18.430 --> 00:30:21.069 and non -intervention find fertile ground in 00:30:21.069 --> 00:30:24.109 contemporary political philosophy. The anti -authoritarian 00:30:24.109 --> 00:30:26.490 streak inherent in Wu Wei has resonated deeply 00:30:26.490 --> 00:30:29.049 with thinkers looking for alternatives to centralize 00:30:29.049 --> 00:30:31.799 state power. Historically, this was evident in 00:30:31.799 --> 00:30:33.680 China, where potential officials would use the 00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:36.799 authority of Laozi and Zhuangzi to justify denying 00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:39.980 service to corrupted rulers. They advocated for 00:30:39.980 --> 00:30:41.779 radical humility and restraint in leadership. 00:30:41.960 --> 00:30:44.240 Right. So let's start with the contemporary libertarian 00:30:44.240 --> 00:30:46.180 claim, which is very explicit in our sources. 00:30:46.359 --> 00:30:48.680 The right libertarian economist Murray Rothbard 00:30:48.680 --> 00:30:51.460 actually called Laozi the first libertarian. 00:30:51.710 --> 00:30:54.450 He did. Rothbard drew a clear parallel between 00:30:54.450 --> 00:30:57.789 Lousy's ideas on minimizing government and Friedrich 00:30:57.789 --> 00:31:00.809 Hayek's theory of spontaneous order, the idea 00:31:00.809 --> 00:31:03.029 that harmony emerges organically in a complex 00:31:03.029 --> 00:31:05.430 system without central planning or coercion. 00:31:06.029 --> 00:31:08.750 Can we point to a specific verse or concept in 00:31:08.750 --> 00:31:10.569 the Tao Te Ching that these libertarian thinkers 00:31:10.569 --> 00:31:12.849 cite to support this claim? A classic citation 00:31:12.849 --> 00:31:15.970 is often Chapter 57, which speaks directly to 00:31:15.970 --> 00:31:18.509 the ill effects of interference. The more restrictions 00:31:18.509 --> 00:31:20.690 and prohibitions there are in the world, the 00:31:20.690 --> 00:31:23.289 poorer the people become. The more sharp weapons 00:31:23.289 --> 00:31:25.250 the people have, the more turmoil the country 00:31:25.250 --> 00:31:27.509 is in. That's a direct critique of regulation 00:31:27.509 --> 00:31:30.650 and state force. Precisely. James A. Dorn argued 00:31:30.650 --> 00:31:33.170 that lousy, much like 18th century classical 00:31:33.170 --> 00:31:35.779 liberals, sought social and economic harmony 00:31:35.779 --> 00:31:38.480 by minimizing government interference. David 00:31:38.480 --> 00:31:41.019 Boaz of the Cato Institute, who published Lousy 00:31:41.019 --> 00:31:43.400 Passages in the Libertarian Reader, highlighted 00:31:43.400 --> 00:31:46.180 that Lousy advocated for rulers to do nothing 00:31:46.180 --> 00:31:49.059 because without law or compulsion, men would 00:31:49.059 --> 00:31:52.140 dwell in harmony. The core appeal is the inherent 00:31:52.140 --> 00:31:55.039 trust in the natural order, the Tao or Xeron, 00:31:55.259 --> 00:31:58.140 over the coerced order of state control. It's 00:31:58.140 --> 00:31:59.960 important to note, however, that it's not just 00:31:59.960 --> 00:32:01.940 the right libertarian space that claims him. 00:32:02.269 --> 00:32:05.589 Anarchists who distrust all concentrated authority 00:32:05.589 --> 00:32:08.609 have also found immense wisdom in the old master. 00:32:08.769 --> 00:32:12.250 Absolutely. The anarcho -syndicalist Rudolf Rocker 00:32:12.250 --> 00:32:15.390 praised Laozi's gentle wisdom and specifically 00:32:15.390 --> 00:32:17.470 noted his deep understanding of the opposition 00:32:17.470 --> 00:32:20.529 between coercive political power and the spontaneous 00:32:20.529 --> 00:32:23.269 natural cultural activities of the people and 00:32:23.269 --> 00:32:26.220 the community. Lousy's emphasis on decentralized 00:32:26.220 --> 00:32:29.039 simplicity fits perfectly within the anarchist 00:32:29.039 --> 00:32:32.079 rejection of hierarchical control. It does. And 00:32:32.079 --> 00:32:34.380 Peter Kropotkin, another foundational anarchist 00:32:34.380 --> 00:32:36.940 thinker, similarly noted that Lousy was among 00:32:36.940 --> 00:32:39.220 the earliest historical proponents of essential 00:32:39.220 --> 00:32:41.759 anarchist concepts, suggesting the philosophy 00:32:41.759 --> 00:32:44.599 predated its Western articulation by millennia. 00:32:44.660 --> 00:32:46.740 Ursula K. Le Guin, in her famous translation, 00:32:47.099 --> 00:32:49.779 she connects the dots perfectly. She does. She 00:32:49.779 --> 00:32:52.220 highlights the anti -authoritarian spirit, noting 00:32:52.220 --> 00:32:54.880 that Lousy does not see political power as magic. 00:32:55.079 --> 00:32:57.720 Instead, rightful power is earned by aligning 00:32:57.720 --> 00:33:00.019 with the way, and wrongful power is inherently 00:33:00.019 --> 00:33:02.759 usurped and corrupted by striving. She specifically 00:33:02.759 --> 00:33:06.279 concludes that Laozi sees the ultimate self -sacrifice 00:33:06.279 --> 00:33:08.880 or sacrifice of others as a corruption of power, 00:33:09.019 --> 00:33:11.220 stating that the old master teaches restraint, 00:33:11.519 --> 00:33:14.890 not domination. And her conclusion. No wonder 00:33:14.890 --> 00:33:17.750 anarchists and Taoists make good friends. This 00:33:17.750 --> 00:33:21.049 shared value of self -mastery and community spontaneity 00:33:21.049 --> 00:33:24.470 over external coercive authority unites the anti 00:33:24.470 --> 00:33:27.329 -authoritarian left and right. However, in maintaining 00:33:27.329 --> 00:33:29.890 our impartial analysis, we have to note the critical 00:33:29.890 --> 00:33:33.309 counterpoint. Not all scholars agree that Taoism 00:33:33.309 --> 00:33:35.690 is the original source for these anti -statist 00:33:35.690 --> 00:33:38.329 ideas, which is a fascinating complication. Roderick 00:33:38.329 --> 00:33:40.569 Long, for instance, challenges the narrative 00:33:40.569 --> 00:33:43.250 of Taoist originality. Long argues that while 00:33:43.250 --> 00:33:45.750 libertarian themes are profoundly present in 00:33:45.750 --> 00:33:48.210 Taoist thought, these ideas might actually have 00:33:48.210 --> 00:33:50.609 been borrowed from earlier non -statist Confucian 00:33:50.609 --> 00:33:52.630 or even legalist writers who are also deeply 00:33:52.630 --> 00:33:54.750 concerned with the proper limits and function 00:33:54.750 --> 00:33:57.150 of government. It suggests a more complex intellectual 00:33:57.150 --> 00:34:00.349 history where ideas were exchanged and refined 00:34:00.349 --> 00:34:03.769 across competing schools before coalescing into 00:34:03.769 --> 00:34:06.480 the Tao Te Ching. Exactly. It reminds us that 00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:08.699 intellectual history is a constantly flowing 00:34:08.699 --> 00:34:11.500 river, not a simple linear progression from a 00:34:11.500 --> 00:34:14.059 single spring. This has been a profound journey. 00:34:14.199 --> 00:34:16.940 We started with the search for a single historical 00:34:16.940 --> 00:34:20.659 archivist named Li Er, and ended up with a deified 00:34:20.659 --> 00:34:23.719 ancestor, a Tamil Siddhar, and the spiritual 00:34:23.719 --> 00:34:26.280 guide for anti -authoritarian political movements 00:34:26.280 --> 00:34:28.590 globally. The core takeaways are really defined 00:34:28.590 --> 00:34:31.530 by radical transformation and tension. We tracked 00:34:31.530 --> 00:34:33.989 the shift from the potentially historical archivist 00:34:33.989 --> 00:34:36.730 to the philosophical legend of Lao Dan, whose 00:34:36.730 --> 00:34:39.349 disappearance is key to his myth. We explored 00:34:39.349 --> 00:34:41.230 the textual evidence of the anonymous Tao Te 00:34:41.230 --> 00:34:44.210 Ching, the Gordian, and Ma Long Tui slips, which 00:34:44.210 --> 00:34:47.170 reveal the text to be a slow compilation rather 00:34:47.170 --> 00:34:49.650 than an instantaneous masterpiece. And we defined 00:34:49.650 --> 00:34:52.820 the core concepts. The Tao is the imminent, spontaneous 00:34:52.820 --> 00:34:56.159 way, and Wu Wei as spontaneous, non -coercive 00:34:56.159 --> 00:34:58.659 action, which demands internal simplicity rather 00:34:58.659 --> 00:35:01.039 than political oppression. The true power of 00:35:01.039 --> 00:35:03.920 Laozi is that whether he existed as a single 00:35:03.920 --> 00:35:07.219 person in the 6th century BC or not is now. Well, 00:35:07.320 --> 00:35:10.320 it's entirely irrelevant. His work forces you, 00:35:10.539 --> 00:35:12.619 the learner, to question the most foundational 00:35:12.619 --> 00:35:15.320 assumptions of society, conventional wisdom, 00:35:15.719 --> 00:35:18.059 the reliability of language, and the fundamental 00:35:18.059 --> 00:35:20.960 nature of political power. The text has become 00:35:20.960 --> 00:35:23.659 the master. It's a remarkable legacy built on 00:35:23.659 --> 00:35:26.119 the power of absence, the utility of the empty 00:35:26.119 --> 00:35:28.539 space in the cup, the usefulness, the uncarved 00:35:28.539 --> 00:35:30.800 lock, the strength of the invisible way. And 00:35:30.800 --> 00:35:32.639 that leads us back to the most poignant part 00:35:32.639 --> 00:35:35.360 of the legend, account three. The old master 00:35:35.360 --> 00:35:37.539 found enlightenment not in the center of the 00:35:37.539 --> 00:35:40.139 court, but by retreating into the unsettled frontier, 00:35:40.579 --> 00:35:43.760 recording his wisdom for Yinksi, the gate sentry. 00:35:45.230 --> 00:35:47.909 He wrote his definitive philosophy literally 00:35:47.909 --> 00:35:50.710 at the edge of civilization just before he chose 00:35:50.710 --> 00:35:53.260 to vanish from it. It raises a profound question 00:35:53.260 --> 00:35:56.199 for us today, in a modern world drowning in information, 00:35:56.420 --> 00:35:59.440 connectivity, and constant noise. What essential 00:35:59.440 --> 00:36:02.179 knowledge, what spiritual clarity might we gain 00:36:02.179 --> 00:36:05.079 if we too sought a Western jade, a deliberate 00:36:05.079 --> 00:36:08.099 internal or physical retreat, to escape the striving, 00:36:08.239 --> 00:36:10.780 the desires, and the artificial constraints of 00:36:10.780 --> 00:36:12.960 our hyper -connected world? The search for wisdom, 00:36:13.079 --> 00:36:15.639 Laozi suggests, begins with the courageous choice 00:36:15.639 --> 00:36:16.119 to disappear.