A Comparative Study Of Laozi’s And Zhuangzi’s Thoughts On Heaven

"Heaven" has an extremely special position in ancient China.The concept of "heaven" often used by ancient Chinese people contains many connotations.There are two widely used viewpoints in academia nowadays,namely,"three meanings" and "five meanings".On the basis of the theory of "three righteousnesses" and referring to the theory of "five righteousnesses",this paper studies what Lao Tzu and Zhuang Tzu call "heaven".In the Shang Dynasty and the Western Zhou Dynasty,"heaven" mainly refers to the "dictatorial Heaven".In the Spring and Autumn Period,when Lao Tzu lived,the concept of "dictatorial Heaven" still occupied the mainstream of thought,but the concept of "natural Heaven" has also been widely used.Therefore,there are both "natural Heaven" and "dictatorial Heaven" in Lao Tzu’s theory of heaven,and "natural Heaven" are the main ones.In the Warring States period,the concept of "dictatorial Heaven" was gradually abandoned by the prevailing mainstream thought at that time.Chuang-tzu inherited Lao Tzu’s thought,and he called "heaven" as the "natural Heaven".The connotation of "dictatorial Heaven" basically disappeared in Chuang-tzu’s ideological system.Lao Tzu and Chuang-tzu both use the concept of "natural Heaven",but they have different emphasis.As a official historian,Lao Tzu paid more attention to the law of natural movement,the development of human society and other issues.His vision was broader,so what Lao Tzu called "heaven" was mainly referring to the natural world.Chuang-tzu lived a very poor life,so he was more concerned about personal freedom and spiritual transcendence.He emphasized returning to nature and restoring natural instincts,so Chuang Tzu’s "heaven" refers to the non-artificial natural property.