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106 Daoism The city of Damascus lies within a fortification of walls and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world the birthplace of Abraham and is also where Moses was buried See also Syriac culture and church Further reading: Fawaz, Tarazi, and C A Bayly Modernity and Culture from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean New York: Columbia University Press, 2002; Ma’oz, Moshe, et al Modern Syria: From Ottoman Rule to Pivotal Role in the Middle East Portland: Sussex Academic Press, 1999; Weiss, Walter M The Bazaar: Markets and Merchants of the Islamic World New York: Thames and Hudson, 1998 Nurfadzilah Yahaya Daoism (Taoism) The period roughly between 600 and 300 b.c.e in China is called the era of the Hundred Schools of Philosophy, the term hundred meaning “many.” It was an age of political and social change and turmoil as the Zhou (Chou) dynasty was breaking down, which led thinking men to develop philosophies to explain, accommodate to, or change the state of affairs Two out of these philosophies, Daoism and Confucianism, would endure as dominant and complementary ways of life for the Chinese for more than two millennia While all schools of philosophy were seeking the way, or dao, one among them would appropriate the word for its teachings While Confucians sought to re- turn society to the golden age of antiquity through moral reform and study, others sought escape to a simple life, living as recluses and being content with nonaction; their philosophy is called Daoism It is difficult to find reliable information about early Daoism However, scholars accept two books as the earliest works on Daoism: the Laozi (Lao Tzu) or the Daodejing (Tao-te Ching), which translates as the “Canon of the Way and Virtue,” and the Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu) The Laozi’s purported author was a man called Laozi (Lao Tzu), which means the Old Master; he supposedly was a senior contemporary of Confucius and had worked as archivist at the royal court There is no proof that Laozi existed, and the short, cryptic book of about 5,000 words attributed to him seems to be a composite work that is no older than the fourth century b.c.e It teaches that the mystic Dao is the source of all being, which must be intuitively understood by leading a passively yielding life It is a terse and enigmatic work susceptible to many interpretations Its political philosophy teaches the sage ruler not to interfere in the lives of the people, give up warfare and luxuries, and passively guide the people to lives of innocence and harmony with the Dao Modern laissez-faire ideals find similarities with Daoism Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu), which means Master Zhuang, lived around 369–286 b.c.e Very little is known about him, and the book that bears his name is witty, full of paradoxes and imagery The message of the book is a plea for the freedom of the individual and his liberation from egotism so that he can come to understand the underlying unity of the Dao and thus achieve happiness that is beyond death Even though Daoists taught nonaction and passivity, they were nevertheless human enough to preach their view in competition with other philosophical views One can hardly imagine a country governed by the laissez-faire Daoist philosophy Nevertheless, when Confucianism became China’s official philosophy after c 100 b.c.e., Daoism continued to hold its attraction because of its imaginativeness and perhaps as an antidote to the serious-minded ideals taught by Confucius Daoist philosophy has been a leavening agent in Chinese life, a consolation for those who suffered failures and a relief to the many duties that circumscribed life In this way Confucian and Daoist philosophies supplemented and complemented each other Neo-Daoism is a movement that began in the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 c.e.) One part of this movement undertook to harmonize Daoist teachings with Confucian social and moral ideals that made it possible for a Confucian official to be both a conscientious pub-
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