"Tao Te Ching" is a Taoist philosophical work written by Laozi.

"Tao Te Ching", also known as "Tao Te Ching", "Laozi", "Five Thousand Words", "Laozi Five Thousand Essays", is a work written by the ancient Chinese pre-Qin philosophers before the division of the family. , which was admired by many scholars at that time, is a philosophical work written by Laozi (also known as Li Er) during the Spring and Autumn Period. In the pre-Qin period, the bamboo slips "Wenzi" were called "Shangzhi Jing" and "Lu Shi Chunqiu·Annotation" was called "Shangzhi Jing". In the early Han Dynasty, Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty revered it as "Tao Te Ching". The Tao Te Ching translated into Sanskrit. Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty respectfully called the Tao Te Ching the "Shang Jing", and Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty even called it the "Tao Te Ching".

The ancient Mawangdui edition is divided into chapters: the first chapter "De Pian" and the second chapter "Dao Pian". The modern version has 81 chapters, the first 37 chapters are "Dao Pian", and the last 44 chapters The chapter is "De Pian". The magical book "Tao Te Ching" is known as the King of Classics and one of the greatest masterpieces in Chinese history. It has had a profound impact on Chinese philosophy, science, politics, religion, etc. According to statistics from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the Tao Te Ching is the cultural masterpiece that has been translated into foreign languages ??the most and published besides the Bible.

Content:

1. The beauty of phonology

The Tao Te Ching has neat sentence patterns and roughly rhymes, and is a verse in poetic style. It is catchy to read, easy to recite and remember. It reflects the phonological beauty of Chinese characters. For example, "Existence and non-existence are interdependent, difficulty and ease are complementary to each other, long and short are in contrast to each other, and high and low are incompatible with each other" (Chapter 2), "Empty one's heart, strengthen one's belly, weaken one's ambition, and strengthen one's bones" (Chapter 3), "Frustrate one's sharpness" (Chapter 2) , resolve its conflicts, harmonize its light, and share its dust" (Chapter 4), "its government is boring, but its people are honest" (Chapter 58). These words and phrases not only rhyme, but also interlock with each other. They have beautiful sounds and melodies. Reciting scriptures is a kind of beautiful enjoyment, and you can appreciate the profound philosophy in the beauty of phonology.

2. Pay attention to rhetoric

The language of "Tao Te Ching" is very artistic and uses a variety of rhetorical methods to make the words and sentences accurate, clear, vivid, rational and contagious.

1. Duality. For example: "Tao can be Tao, but it is not Tao; name can be named, but it is not named", "Nothing is named the beginning of heaven and earth, existence is named the mother of all things" (Chapter 1), "Nobility is based on lowliness, and high and low are "Basic" (Chapter 39), "Misfortune is where blessings depend; blessings are where misfortune lies" (Chapter 58), "Difficult things in the world must be done with ease; great things in the world must be done with detail" (Chapter sixty-three). The dual sentences look neat and eye-catching, sound sonorous and pleasant to the ear, and are easy to remember and recite.

2. Comparison. Parallelism can enhance the momentum and motivation of language. There are many parallel sentences in the Tao Te Ching. For example: "The five colors make people blind; the five tones make people deaf; the five tastes make people feel refreshed; galloping and hunting make people feel crazy; rare goods make people feel frustrated" (Chapter 12), "The music is complete, but it is all in vain." If it is straight, it will be full; if it is hollow, it will be new; if it is small, it will be gained; if it is too much, it will be confused.” (Chapter 22) Chapter 24), "A generous person has no corners, a great talent comes late, a great sound is loud, and an elephant is invisible" (Forty-one Chapter).

3. Metaphor. There are also many metaphors in the Tao Te Ching. For example: "The immortality of the Grain God is called the mysterious female. The gate of the mysterious female is the root of heaven and earth. If it exists continuously, it is not used diligently" (Chapter 6). The mysterious female is used as a metaphor for "Tao", which gives birth to and nourishes all things. Another example is: "The best is like water, which benefits all things without fighting" (Chapter 8). Throughout the article, water is used as a metaphor for people, and water is personified to praise the noble qualities of those who have attained the Tao. Another example: "With dedicated Qi and softness, I can even give birth to a baby" (Chapter 10), "I am alone and there is no sign of it, just like a baby before it is born" (Chapter 20), "Return to the baby" (Chapter 28) , all use babies as metaphors for the purity, innocence, and simplicity of Taoists. Another example is, "A tree that hugs each other is born from the smallest grain; a nine-story tower is born from tired soil; a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" (Chapter 64). Three metaphors are used to illustrate the principle of starting from a young age. These metaphors enhance the image of the language and deepen the reader's impression.

4. Ask questions and rhetorical questions. For example: "What does it mean to be favored or disgraced? If you are favored, you will be frightened when you get it. If you lose it, you will be frightened." "What does it mean to be favored and disgraced like a body? The reason why I have a big patient is because I have a body, and I have no body, so what trouble do I have?" (Chapter 13), "What difference does it make between good and evil?" (Chapter 20), "People are not afraid of death, so how can they be afraid of death" (Chapter 20) Chapter Seventy-Four), these questions and rhetorical questions increase the excitement of the language, make it exciting, and have the effect of attracting attention and thinking.

5. Lianzhu.

Lianzhu, also called Dingzhen, is a rhetorical technique that uses the words after the previous sentence as the words at the beginning of the next sentence to continue the language. For example: "Man follows the earth, the earth follows the sky, heaven follows the Tao, and the Tao follows nature" (Chapter 25), and "Tao gives birth to one, one gives rise to two, two gives rise to three, and three gives rise to all things" (Chapter 42), Lianzhu makes the tone coherent and the structure tight, which better reflects the organic connection of things.

3. Incisive language

Some of the language in the "Tao Te Ching" is extremely incisive and is a wise saying that has become an idiom, aphorism, and motto to this day. For example: "Heaven and Earth last forever" (Chapter 7), "The best good is like water" (Chapter 8), "Have few selfish desires" (Chapter 19), "The weak overcomes the strong, the soft overcomes the strong" (Chapter 78), "Misfortune" Nothing is greater than dissatisfaction, and nothing is more to blame than desire” (Chapter 46). Some of the original sentences have evolved into aphorisms and are widely circulated. For example: "Succeeding in success, fame and retirement" (Chapter 9) is now "Retiring after success"; "Knowing the white and guarding the black" (Chapter 28) is now "Knowing the white and guarding the black" ; "Great skill is like clumsiness, great argument is like ignorance" (Chapter 45), now evolved into "Great wisdom is like foolishness"; "The sky net is huge, sparse but not missing" (Chapter 73), now evolved into "The sky net is huge, sparse but not missing" (Chapter 73) "; "To be content with one's content is always enough" (Chapter 46) is now "to be content with one's content and is always happy"; "To be favored or disgraced is like being frightened" (Chapter 13) is now to be "not to be frightened by favor or disgrace".