Elephant invisibility means intentional or unintentional; Not deliberately, not advocating, just compatible with all kinds. Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching Chapter 41.
From the Tao Te Ching, "Generosity without horns, greatness without success. Elephants are invisible. " This is an aesthetic concept in China's ancient literary theory put forward by Laozi, which is intended to promote natural beauty rather than artificial beauty.
Vernacular translation: The better the music, the lower it is, and the better the image. It means "the greater the achievement, the more penetrating, the more tolerant and inclusive."
Extended data
The sentence "Loud voice and happy voice" comes from Chapter 41 of Laozi, and the full text is:
The staff sergeant listened to the word and worked diligently; The sergeant heard that living is death; The corporal smiled. Just laughing is not enough. It is based on the suggestion that if Ming Dow is ignorant, if he enters the Tao, if he retreats, if he is arrogant; If Suntech is in the valley, Guangde is insufficient, and Jiande is stolen, the quality is really embarrassing; If Bai is humiliated, he is generous and has no horns, and he is a late bloomer, and the elephant is invisible. Tao is hidden and nameless. The husband is only good at Tao, good at borrowing and good at doing things.
Translation:?
Staff sergeant listens to orders and is diligent in implementation; The sergeant listened with a grain of salt; The corporal laughed-it's not a way for them not to laugh at him.
As the old saying goes, the road to light is like darkness, the road to progress is like retreat, and the smooth road is like rugged; Gao De is like a river valley, broad virtue is like lack, strong virtue is like cowardice, and full virtue is like emptiness; The whitest seems to be dirty, the most square has no edges and corners, the biggest musical instrument is finally finished, the biggest music has no sound, and the biggest image has no image.
The avenue is hidden and nameless, but the road is good.
Laozi lists five phenomena here to illustrate the realm of Tao's inaction, that is, great humiliation, generosity without horns, great success coming late, loud joy, and elephant invisibility. That is, the whitest one looks dirty, the most square one has no edges and corners, the biggest musical instrument is finally completed, the biggest music has no sound, and the biggest image has no image.
Laozi believes that music can be divided into two categories: one is the natural joy of inaction; One kind is secular and unnatural music. The natural joy of doing nothing is the joy of Tao, which conforms to the characteristics of Tao and is the basis of all man-made pleasures. It is ubiquitous and unacceptable.
Creation background
According to the literature, Lao Tzu is quiet, studious and knowledgeable. In the process of teaching knowledge by his teacher, Shang Rong, Laozi always gets to the bottom of the matter and is very eager for knowledge. In order to solve doubts, he often looks up at the sun, moon and stars and thinks about what the sky is, so that he often can't sleep. Later, Mr. Shang Rong "really learned everything from the old lady."
Recommend Laozi to study in Zhoudu. The literature records: "When I went to see a doctor in Zhou, I went to imperial academy, and I learned all about astronomy, geography and human feelings. When I read all my poems, I could easily experience rituals and music, and I learned all my cultural relics, laws and history books, and I made great progress in my studies. The doctor also recommended him to be an official in the Tibetan room.
The sutra depository is a collection of ancient books in the Zhou Dynasty, which is full of articles and books from all over the world. "Through this experience, Lao Tzu has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and made him famous.
Laozi was born in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. At that time, the environment was weak in the Zhou Dynasty, and various governors constantly competed for hegemony. The violent turmoil and changes made Lao Tzu witness the sufferings of the people, which was regarded as the Tibetan history of the Zhou Dynasty, so he put forward a series of thoughts on governing the country and protecting the people.
Yin also played a great role in the compilation of Tao Te Ching. When he was young, he was fond of astronomy, reading ancient books, and had a profound cultivation. Sima Qian recorded in Historical Records Biography of Laozi that Laozi "lived in Zhou for a long time and saw Zhou decline, so he went away."
Guan Guan (Order) Yin said: My son must be hidden, and his book must be written by me. Therefore, Lao Tzu said, I should leave with five thousand words of morality and never know what to do. Yin moved Lao Tzu, who traced his life experience, learned lessons from the rise and fall of the dynasty and the safety of the people, and wrote the first and second books, * * * five thousand words, namely the Tao Te Ching.