A Study Of Wu Cheng’s Laozi Philosophy In Notes On Tao Te Ching

Lao Zi’s Tao Te Ching is a very classic work in the history of Chinese philosophy.There are many annotators for it all the time.Among the numerous Notes on Tao Te Ching,the academic circles pay little attention to the Notes on Tao Te Ching in the Yuan Dynasty.However,the Yuan Dynasty is exactly an important period for the development of the Laozi philosophy,and many outstanding researchers of Laozi philosophy were produced,Wu Cheng being one of them.As a neo-Confucianist,Wu Cheng inevitably added neo-Confucianism in his Notes on Tao Te Ching,which has strong neo-Confucianism characteristics.In the introduction,this paper briefly introduces the research background and significance,research status and research methods.In the last chapter,it briefly summarizes the status and influence of the thoughts of the Laozi philosophy in Wu Cheng’s Notes on Tao Te Ching.In this paper,the emphasis is mainly laid on the four aspects of Tao theory,sage theory,political view and the characteristics of Wu Cheng’s Laozi philosophy.At the level of Tao theory,Wu Cheng first made a creative play on the "nature of Tao".Lao Zi’s "Tao can be Tao,extraordinary Tao" has always been interpreted as the Tao of Lao Zi unspeakable.However,Wu Cheng broke the convention and interpreted it as an unpracticability of Lao Zi’s Tao.In addition,Wu Cheng also pointed out the characteristics of the Tao’s permanence and anonymity.He interpreted "Chang Dao" as "the Tao that will never change" and mentioned the anonymity of Tao several times in his Notes on Tao Te Ching.Secondly,Wu Cheng not only attached importance to the Tao of Lao Zi,but also had a full understanding of De,and made more play on the relationship between Tao and De,and analyzed the difference and unity of the two in detail.Thirdly,Wu Cheng gives a more detailed explanation of how Tao is the biochemical of everything,and points out the key role of Qi in this process.On the level of sage theory,Wu Cheng pointed out that a sage is a person with Tao and De.In addition,he also said that in order to become a real sage,one should get rid of the external vanity and keep the inner truth.On the level of political view,Wu Cheng put forward the political idea of simple and quiet governance,the core of which is Lao Zi’s inaction.In addition,he also mentioned the rule of the ancients many times in his Notes on Tao Te Ching,which strongly expressed his infinite yearning for the politics of the ancients,and also reflected his political view of imitating the rule of the ancients.Based on the above comprehensive analysis of Wu Cheng’s thoughts on the Laozi philosophy,this paper sorts out Wu Cheng’s characteristics of his Notes on Tao Te Ching,and carries out a detailed analysis and discussion in three aspects,namely,explaining the Tao Te Ching by Li,promoting Confucianism by explaining the Tao Te Ching,and assisting Buddhism into the Tao Te Ching.