Research On The Concept Of "sheng" In Pre-Qin Taoism

Taoism in the pre-Qin period opened the cosmological horizon of “great life” in which all things in nature coexist with each other.Tao,heaven,earth and human constitute the four major component of Taoism cosmology.Taoism inquires into the origin and basis of life phenomenon and ascribes it to “Tao”.“Tao” contains the multi-faceted theoretical refinement of the generation and operation of life phenomena.“Tao” is the origin of all things,also the general law and general rule of the operation of all things.From the perspective of “biological” individuals,the operation of life has its own unique principle.From the perspective of “all things”,“Tao” is the overall law of the operation of all things.In the history of ancient Chinese thought,the word “Sheng” is one of the ancient concepts with a long history.In the long-term use process,various intentions have evolved,among which the basic meaning is the emergence of life phenomenon,the operation and development of life activities.Tracing back to the brilliant ideological achievements created by ancient Chinese culture,it is full of the atmosphere of life activity of Sheng,the breath of movement and development of Sheng.The value theory of Taoism in the pre Qin period originates from “life”,which is refined from the phenomenon of all living things in nature as a kind of universal value of cultivating life and raising life.Tao,heaven and earth have the essence of “biology”.Lao Zi interprets“Tao Da” using “clothes cultivating all things”: It nurtures all things and does not give priority to itself,so can be called Great,(Chapter 34 of Lao Zi),“cultivating all things with clothes” contains the virtue value of “living” things.In Laozi,Tao is often referred to as mother,such as “Tao can be regarded as the cause of all things in the world”,“Since the cause has been found,we can know the result”,“Now that we understand the results,we can reverse the reasons”.Therefore,in the eyes of the ancients,all creatures generation after generation is the highest value of the operation of the universe,and the value of “clothing”,“life” is given to Tao,which shows that Taoism cherishes the life of all things.“Heaven and earth” is the mother of all things.“Heaven and earth are the parents of all things”(Chuang Zhou Da Sheng).Mother is from the perspective of breeding and nurturing all things,heaven and earth is the natural cause of all creatures generation after generation.Heaven and earth give equal alms to all things.The four seasons are changing.The sun,rain and dew nourish and equally endow all things with the conditions of life.Naturally,there is nothing to take,so the virtue of heaven and earth is very great.“Sheng” and “Chu” provide a basic perspective for us to understand the relationship between Tao and De in Taoism.Sheng and Chu are the natural stages of life activities of all things.After birth,they are faced with livestock raising,which is the process of life activities.While pursuing the origin of life phenomenon,Taoism also continue to pursue the process of activities after the birth of life.The former is refined into Tao and the latter is refined into De.Chapter 51 of Laozi expounds the eight links of “Tao generates,animal breeds,grows,nurtures,matures,raises and covers”,which are a series of life activities of plants from birth to maturity.Lao Zi's “Tao generates,virtue breeds”(Chapter 51 of Lao Zi)constitutes two different perspectives of “Sheng”and “De”.In the sense of “De”,the “De” interprets that “Tao” is implemented to the life of all things in the form of “De”.The highest pursuit of Taoism is to cultivate morality.Heaven and earth give birth to all things,love and give,all things get the freedom of their lives,“Heaven selfless cover,earth selfless carry”(“Zhuang Zhou · Great master”),people rule the virtue of heaven and earth,love the group,comply with the natural law of nature,always tolerant of things,“Zhuang Zhou · nature” says: “four seasons,all things do not hurt,group does not die." People who practice Tao are broad-minded and inclusive of all things.”Zhuang Zhou heaven and earth" puts forward the six virtues of heaven,virtue,benevolence,greatness,leniency and richness.Sages are tolerant of all things with a broad mind.They love all things without bigotry.They follow the virtue of heaven,earth,creatures and animals and follow the “truth” of all things.The people who cultivate morality are honest and simple.They have a pure heart.They are gentle and follow the principle of “supreme goodness”.Among all things in nature,Lao Zi praised“water” and “The highest good is like that of water”.The place where water flows is low-lying and humble.It moistens all things and gives equally without disadvantage.People who are willing to practice Tao are open-minded,comfortable,and good,so they say “the best”.The thought of “harmony between man and nature” in the “big life” cosmology of pre Qin Taoism,based on the natural harmony of human life and natural material exchange,is formed in the value harmony of “living” between man and all things in the world,and eventually leads to the spiritual harmony of the same flow of life weather between man and all things in the universe.Zhuang Zhou is full of poetic temperament.Its spiritual world is integrated with all things in the world.It pursues the free gallop of the soul and the harmonious beauty of survival.The “realm of heaven and earth”in Zhuang Zhou opens up the dimension of freedom of life.The realistic development of material activities is realistic,limited and visible natural operation.The aesthetic realm of spiritual activities leads to transcendent,metaphysical and waiting for freedom.“Heaven and earth coexist with me,and all things are one with me.” In Zhuang Zhou Qi Wu Lun,the spirit of Sheng shows the generation essence of equality of all things,and“equality” is based on the nature of natural extension of life.All things are born with long and short life span,body size,beauty and ugliness in value.Qi Wu Lun puts forward the self-awareness of man's “intention”.Man distinguishes between right and wrong from his own value standpoint.Qi Wu interprets man's retreat from the standpoint of “right and wrong” and “beauty and evil” of “teacher's mind”,which is the same as the “great life” of the universe The spiritual realm of flow.In “Xiaoyaoyou”,“freedom” is the “natural” essence of life operation,which explains the natural state of life extension and the way that all things obtain “heavenly pleasure”.In the scene of human life activities,there is a deep interaction between human and nature,and between human and human.In the process of communication between human and nature,the spirit of “Xiaoyao” is embodied in the natural rules and regulations that conform to the operation of things,and the pursuit of “harmony between heaven and nature”.