Liezi was a famous thinker and writer during the Warring States Period. He was another representative figure of Taoism in addition to Laozi and Zhuangzi. Taoism was founded in the pre-Qin period. Taoist thought began with Laozi. He collected the wisdom of his ancestors and through continuous exploration, summarized and gradually formed related Taoist theories such as "Inaction", marking the initial formation of the Taoist school.
Statue of Liezi
These ideas have had a profound impact on our country's philosophy, religion, science, technology, literature, etc. Representative figures of Taoism include Huangdi, Taigong, Guan Yinzi, Wenzi, Liezi, Guanzi, etc. They take "Tao" as the core, advocate that Tao follows nature, and have simple dialectical thinking.
Laozi's "Tao Te Ching" is a symbol of the formation of Taoist thought. Other Taoist works include "Laozi", "Zhuangzi", "Huangdi Neijing", "Liezi", "Guanzi", "Guan Yinzi" ", "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals", etc. In addition to the above-mentioned ones, there are countless Taoist works, as well as many classics, which are the essence of our country's Taoist culture.
Taoism takes Tao as its foundation and advocates political governance by doing nothing. Due to the different understanding of "Tao" in each period, it has been divided into many schools in the development history of thousands of years. Each school was produced based on the special historical background at that time and has its own unique style and characteristics. According to "Hanshu. Yiwenzhi", there are as many as 37 Taoist schools with thousands of books. However, they were destroyed during the Qin and Han dynasties, and many of them have disappeared. The existing schools of Taoism include: Lao-Zhuang School, Huang-Lao School, Yang-Zhu School, Taoist School, New Taoism, etc. Although they are all developed from Laozi, they have their own characteristics and cannot be confused.
The Story of Liezi
"Liezi" contains many stories of Liezi, such as Liezi loves to travel, Liezi is poor, Liezi learns archery, etc. These deeds reflect Liezi's noble character. Sentiment and unique mentality show us a person who is indifferent to fame and wealth, unswerving from poverty and humbleness, and unfazed by favor or disgrace. It is an example for us to learn and can enable us to improve our own cultivation.
Statue of Liezi flying in the wind
Story 1: Liezi lived in poverty, and his appearance changed color due to hunger. Someone said to Zheng Guo Ziyang: "Lieyu Kou is a thoughtful Taoist man, but he is so poor in your country. Don't you like virtuous people?" Ziyang immediately asked the officials to send grain to Liezi. Liezi came out to receive the envoy, thanked him and refused to accept it, so the envoy had to leave. After Liezi returned to the house, his wife beat her chest and said, "I heard that the wife and children of a wise man can find comfort and happiness. Now we are hungry, and the king asked someone to give you food, but you refused. Is it our destiny to starve?" Liezi smiled and said to her: "The monarch does not know me himself, he only sends me food because of other people's words. This is why I don’t accept other people’s words to punish me.” Later, the people took advantage of the situation and killed Ziyang.
Story 2: Liezi was learning archery and had already hit the target, so he went to ask Guan Yinzi for advice. Guan Yinzi said: "Do you know why you can shoot?" Liezi replied: "I don't know." Guan Yinzi said: "Not yet." Liezi went back to continue learning. After three years, he learned how to shoot. Tell Guan Yinzi. Guan Yinzi said: "Do you know why you can hit it?" Liezi replied: "I know." Guan Yinzi said: "Well, you must remember the truth and don't waste it easily. This is not only true for archery, but also for governing the country and cultivating oneself.
Story 3: Liezi claimed to have studied with Huqiuzi for nine years and learned to fly with the wind. Every spring, Liezi would ride on the wind. Flying. When Liezi was flying, he felt the fusion of body and soul. His mind was concentrated, and his facial features and body no longer existed. He floated up unconsciously, and only heard the whistling of the wind in his ears.
Liezi's famous sayings
The book "Liezhu" records many of Liezi's words and deeds. Through this book, Liezi's thoughts are conveyed to the world. Through careful analysis of Liezi's words and deeds, people can be taught wisdom. Educate people to be virtuous.
Statue of Liezi
Everyone knows the story of "The Foolish Old Man Moved the Mountain". This allusion comes from "Liezi·Tang Wen", which warns people to persevere, have perseverance and not be afraid of difficulties in whatever they do. . The famous saying also comes from this article: "The lingering sound lingers around Liang Li for three days without stopping." This sentence is used to describe a person's singing voice, which is high-pitched, passionate, beautiful and beautiful. "All things are born, but humans are the most valuable." This sentence comes from "Liezi Tianrui". This sentence means that nature can produce all things, but among all things, humans are the most precious. "Those who gain the time will prosper, and those who lose the time will perish" comes from "Liezi Persuasion", which is used to warn people to grasp the timing and recognize the essence of things when doing things, otherwise it will bring bad results. It also comes from persuasion, "If the shape is wrong, the shadow will be curved, if the shape is straight, the shadow will be correct", which warns people to have principles and cultivation, so as to correct their behavior. The same saying "the sage does not care about life and death but observes why" also comes from here.
There are countless famous sayings by Liezi, here are some for learning: 1. The natural laws of heaven and earth are either yin or yang; the teachings of sages are either benevolence or justice; the nature of things is either weak or strong. 2. He who treats the big will not treat the small, and he who achieves great success will not treat the small. 3. Heaven has shortcomings and earth has longings. Sometimes saints are blocked and things are sometimes smooth. 4. The difficulty of governing a country lies in knowing the virtuous rather than in being virtuous. 5. If you don’t rebel against your destiny, how can you envy your longevity? If you don’t respect your nobility, how can you envy your fame? If you don’t want power, how can you envy your position? If you don’t be greedy for wealth, how can you envy your goods? 6. If people don’t respect themselves, they will be in danger and humiliation. 7. If you say something beautiful, it will echo beauty; if you say something evil, it will echo evil. 8. There is no permanent right or wrong in the world.
Tomb of Liezi
Liezi was a thinker during the Warring States Period and one of the representatives of the Taoist school. He wrote the book "Liezi". Dog, Xue Tan Xue Ge, Two Children Debating the Sun, Unfounded Worry, and Lost Sheep on the Wrong Road all come from this book.
Tomb of Liezi
Tomb of Liezi is located in Putian Village, Zhengzhou City, not far east of Zhengzhou. There is a small tomb in the village. According to legend, this is the tomb of Liezi. There are rivers and many jujube trees surrounding Liezi's tomb. There is a Liezi Temple nearby, which is said to have been converted into a Buddhist temple. It was rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty, but unfortunately was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. Liezi's tomb is in the shape of a semi-circular mound, 2 meters high, with several pines and cypresses standing on its edge. There are three stone tablets in front of the tomb. The oldest one seems to be the oldest one. However, due to the passage of time and the erosion of wind and rain, the content of the tablet is no longer identifiable. The second one is written on it as "The Tomb of Immortal Liezi", and the recorded time is the Republic of China. The clearest one can clearly see the inscription, which was written by Su Minwang, the censor of the Ming Dynasty. It is now well preserved. In 2012, the government also built the Liezi Memorial Tomb, which is close to the Liezi Temple and the Liezi Monument. There is a stone tablet in front of the tomb, which is engraved with the life story of Liezi.
In recent years, Liezi has gradually become familiar to people, and government departments have also rebuilt and protected Liezi’s hometown. The statue of Liezi, Yufeng Tower, etc. were added, and an exhibition hall of Liezi's hometown was built to enhance people's understanding of Liezi. The local government has widely publicized Liezi's hometown, making it a famous local tourist attraction, attracting many foreign tourists to come here because of Liezi, and improving the local tourism economy. In 2011, "The Legend of Liezi" was also rated as an intangible cultural heritage project in Henan Province. There is also a local cultural festival about Liezi, and Liezi has become the pride of the locals.