You Laozi
The most famous was in the fourth century BC.
Among China's voluminous books, there is a thin paper, which may have the most translators and readers abroad. This book is called Laozi or Tao Te Ching. Tao Te Ching is the main text to explain Taoist philosophy.
This is a subtle and difficult book. The writing is extremely obscure and can be interpreted in many different ways. The main concept of Tao is usually translated as "method" or "road". But this concept is a bit vague, because the Tao Te Ching itself says at the beginning: "Tao, if it can be said, is not an eternal Tao;" Name', if you can call it, it is not an eternal name. " But we can say that the general meaning of Tao is "nature" or "laws of nature".
Taoism believes that people should not fight against Tao, but should obey and act according to Tao. It is not so much immoral to actively pursue power or actively seek to exercise power as ignorance and futility. The Tao cannot be extinguished, and people should try to take the road in life. A Taoist may point out that water is infinitely soft, it flows to the lowest point in a tame way, even without resisting the weakest force, but it is indestructible; The hardest rocks will eventually be worn away.
For individuals, simplicity and naturalness should usually be advocated; Violence should be avoided, just as all pursuit of fame and fortune should be avoided. People should not seek to transform the world, but should respect it. For the government, a slightly negative policy is usually the most sensible policy. Laws and regulations are cumbersome, and passing more laws or strictly enforcing old laws usually makes things worse. High taxes, ambitious government plans and waging war all run counter to the spirit of Taoist philosophy.
According to the legend of China, the author of Tao Te Ching is a man named Lao Zi. It is said that he was a contemporary of Confucius, but he was older than Confucius. Confucius lived in the sixth century BC. Judging from the content and style of Tao Te Ching, few modern scholars think it is such an early work. There are many controversies about the actual creation date of the book (the Tao Te Ching itself does not mention specific people, places, dates or historical events). But 320 BC is a reliable estimate-the error with the actual date is within 80 years-perhaps much smaller than this error range.