For the assignment, the term I chose is a term that I learned in my Chinese course: “Dao” (or Tao) “Dao” is a very abstracted term, but it is very important in Chinese culture. Students who major in Chinese will encounter this term some point in their learning. Thus, only by understanding this term, students can understand the essence of Chinese culture.
What is “Dao”?
“Dao” can be interpreted as the “meaning of someone’s life”, or it could be interpreted as “kindness in someone’s heart”, or it could be interpreted as moralism. In Merriam Webster’s dictionary, “Dao” is defined as “ the unconditional and unknowable source and guiding principle of all reality as connived by Taoist” or “the process of nature by which all things change and which is to be followed for a life of harmony” (Merriam-Webster)
How did it develop?
The concept of “Dao” was developed by Taoist. Taoist is a Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu (c.500 BCE), who introduced Taosim. According to Emily Mark: “Taosim emphasizes doing what is natural and going with the follow in accordance with the Tao, a cosmic force which follows through all things and binds and releases them” (Mark, 2016). However, this statement by Mark is only one of the beliefs people have for Taosim. When I read Lao Tzu’s book, and combined his followers writings, I think Taoism is not about not doing anything and let things be. Rather, it is about accepting all the things (good and bad) along the way. As long as the person is still chasing his or her “Dao”, then his or her behaviour should be directed by the “Dao”, rather than the good things or the bad things that comes in the way.
Example
An abstract term such as “Dao” can be understood with examples. No one will know their “Dao”in the beginning, people will know their after they going through dramatic changes in their lives. For example, when one pursues money, and finds that money become useless when the people that he/she loves passed away, then he/she realizes what’s more important. As figure 1 indicate, nothing should be overly pursued, when one breaks the balance, either this person will become madness or this person will understand what to give up and what to pursue.
Figure 1. Nouah’s Ark. https://www.nouahsark.com/img/religions/what_is_taoism_01.php
Mark, E. (2016). Taoism. https://www.worldhistory.org/Taoism/
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Tao. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved Sept30, 2021, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Tao
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