From: Zhuangzi by Zhuang Zhou in the Warring States Period.
Original text:
Far and near, lead Lao Wang.
It's far. You are far from Yao, too.
Since ancient times, it has never been easy.
No matter ancient or modern.
Translation:
In ancient times, the emperor ruled the world, no matter far or near, it was a whole, and people all over the country came to submit to Wang Hua. There has been a truth that does not change with time since ancient times. No matter how long it takes, the fact remains the same.
Extended data:
Creative background:
Laozi and Zhuangzi, the products of China's Taoist enlightenment thought, belong to the most precocious and widespread enlightenment thought in the world. In any case, they are far from the real religion, and always have a strong critical spirit, humanistic care and countless colors (this does not prevent Huang Lao from evolving into a religious self-organization at the end of Han Dynasty after Yang Gong School replaced Huang Lao School).
Whenever the political situation is turbulent and the society is chaotic, Confucianism loses its effectiveness, while Taoism keeps pace with the times. Because Taoism does not hold lofty moral principles, it can go deep into human nature, get to the point of the current disadvantages, and thoroughly investigate the root causes of unrest; It faces up to the unfortunate fate of mankind and can understand people's anxiety.
For the traumatized soul, it can give great comfort and realistic care. Therefore, the turmoil in China in the past dynasties was a heavy burden for Confucianism, and the result was often borne by Taoism. The Taoist figure is Zhuangzi.
Under the special historical conditions in the early Han Dynasty, the idea of "Huang Lao" with the theme of "inaction" in Laozi was highly praised by the rulers. However, times have changed, and after Confucianism was the only one, Taoism became an opposing knowledge. The change of the social role of Taoism led to the rise of Zhuangzi's political heresy, which combined with Laozi's view of nature and cosmology to form the thought of "Laozi and Zhuangzi".
Since then, Taoism, with Laozi and Zhuangzi as the mainstream thought, has challenged Confucian classics from the aspects of heaven, life, aesthetics and political theory, and has had a far-reaching impact on the politics of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the ideological circles of Wei and Jin Dynasties.
The critical spirit of Laozi and Zhuangzi in studying social and political alienation and cultural bias generally exists in the thoughts and behaviors of heretical scholars in past dynasties, and is cited as the same origin by them, which has become their spiritual weapon to criticize unreasonable reality. For example, Bao Jingyan's theory of no monarch in Jin Dynasty; In the Ming Dynasty, Li Zhi's childlike innocence theory, He's fertility desire theory and Tang Xianzu's closest relatives theory; In the Qing Dynasty, there were Tang Zhen's theory of breaking experts and Yuan Mu's theory of spiritual nature. Thanks to the spirit of Zhuangzi.