Taoism represented by Zhuangzi and Laozi has a certain influence in Japan

As we all know, Taoism was an important ideological school in the pre-Qin period, with Laozi and Zhuangzi as the main representatives. Although Taoism has not become the official ideology of Japan like Confucianism and Buddhism, its influence on Japanese culture is quite extensive. Taoist thought has also penetrated into the depths of Japanese culture and has a certain impact on the aesthetic consciousness and cultural psychology of the Japanese people. The fusion of Taoism and Shinto has resulted in the Japanese advocating nature and simplicity.

The accumulation of Taoist thought in Japanese culture before modern times. It is mainly divided into two historical stages: "Before the Heian Period" and "Heian-Muromachi Period", starting from "Seventeen Articles of the Constitution", "Kojiki", "Nihon Shoki", "Kaifusa", and "Man'shu" Ancient Japanese classics, as well as the works of the monk Kukai in the Heian period and the Gozan Zen monk in the Muromachi period, reveal the penetration of Taoist thought into Japanese culture before modern times. This penetration is not profound in general, but after a long process of dissemination, Taoist thought has formed a relatively deep accumulation in Japanese culture.

In the early modern period of Japan (before the end of the 17th century), the feudal system of the Tokugawa shogunate was relatively stable, and Zhu Xixue was regarded as an official school. After the middle period, the crisis of its feudal system deepened, the authority of Zhu Xi's studies gradually lost, and the ideological and cultural fields began to diverge and diversify. Taoism began to receive unprecedented attention, research, absorption and utilization in Japanese history, while Taoist thought was relatively weak before modern times. The profound cultural accumulation provided sufficient preparation for its development in modern times.

The Kurai School is an important branch of Confucianism in the mid-Edo period. While criticizing Lao-Zhuang Taoism, it also attaches great importance to the study and absorption of Taoist thought. This is concentratedly reflected in its three representative figures, Ogiyu Surai, Dazai Shuntai and Hattori Nanguo. In the methodology of "Ancient Literary Studies", Ogi absorbed the idea of ??"forgetting words when one is proud" of Zhuangzi; in the theory of Taoism as the core of his theory, he made use of the philosophy of "Tao" in Laozi; in the management of the world Theoretically, the "ruling by inaction" in "Laozi" is regarded as an important supplement to "the way of the sage". Dazai Shuntai paid more attention to the "inaction" of "Laozi" in the theory of managing the world, and proposed and demonstrated it as "the way to govern the declining world". Hattori Nanguo's absorption of Taoism is mainly reflected in following "Zhuangzi" and proposing a "hidden" theory of life.

The influence of Taoism on social critical thinkers. Masaki Ando was a representative of the anti-feudal thoughts of farmers in the Edo period, and was substantially different from Confucian schools such as Zhu Xixue, Sura Xue, and retro Shinto. Although Ando severely criticized Lao-Zhuang Taoism as "not cultivating food", he also borrowed Taoist ideas. In terms of cosmology, Ando proposed that the origin of the universe is "all true" and "living true one Qi", which is consistent with Zhuangzi's ideas of "one Qi of heaven and earth" and "the Tao is one"; in the theory of social life and Among social critical thoughts, Taoism has a more prominent influence on it. He pointed out that saints and their "private laws" (the hierarchy of the "Four People" and the moral norms of the "Five Constants") are the "roots of evil", which can be said to be the same as that of Taoism. The thoughts of "Laozi" "Absolute sage and abandon wisdom" and "Zhuangzi" "Unless the saint dies, there will be no more thieves" are exactly the same. His "natural world" of "straight tilling and straight weaving, having adequate clothing and food, traveling in the four seasons with the heaven and earth" is very similar to Lao and Zhuang's "small country and few people" and "the world of supreme virtue", which is characterized by "nature" The social criticism theory of the opposition between "the world" and "the world of law" originates from the Taoist thinking mode of examining the real society from the standpoint of "nature", and its ideal personality of "real people" also comes from "Zhuangzi".

The influence of Taoist thought on economic thinkers and townspeople. Faced with the rapid development of the commodity economy in Japan after the mid-modern period, Haibo Seiryo, as an economic thinker, affirmed it from the standpoint of the feudal government and formed a mercantile economic thought that was opposed to agrarianism, with "reason" and "wisdom" The thought is the theoretical basis of Haibao's economic thought. Regarding "Laozi", Haibao believes that "Laozi is a true Confucian" and "Laozi" is a book that "generates wisdom". He absorbed the thoughts of Laozi and Zhuangzi, and his concept of "reason" was formed based on the interpretation of "Tao" in "Laozi". It has the "seemingly non-existent" characteristics of "Laozi"'s "Tao". His " "Wisdom" means "following the laws of heaven" and "not using oneself", which is actually the "inaction" of Lao and Zhuang, and the method of "generating wisdom" is the "emptiness" and "quietness" of Lao and Zhuang.

In terms of social and economic theory, Haibao proposed the social and economic management principle of "governing according to reason", that is, "no self-righteousness, no artificiality, no overprotection", and the use of "encouragement techniques" incentive measures, that is, through rewards for "making It "naturally understands it" and "does not rebuke the people and does not force it but enforces the laws and regulations" to achieve the social management goal of making the people "forget", absorbing the Taoist ideas of "inaction", "nature" and "forgetfulness", and also quoted "Laozi" The theory of the relationship between the king and the people demonstrates his economic theory on the balance of state and private wealth flows and taxation. In short, Haibao had an important absorption in the thoughts of "Laozi" and developed and transformed them. With the rapid development of the commodity economy, Japan's "machi" (merchants and craftsmen living in cities) class has risen. Ishida Umeiwa and the mind-study movement he founded are representatives of the systematization and theorization of machi people's thoughts. Ishida affirmed that Lao-Zhuang Taoism helped people wake up from the confusion of being "cluttered with the words of the sage" and not knowing the "entity" of the sage. Influenced by his emphasis on meaning over words, emphasis on reality over names, he emphasized "knowing the heart" and "knowing the heart" in understanding. "Get it from the heart" and oppose "sticking to the words of saints".

The influence of Taoist thought on natural philosophers. Miura Umeen is a representative natural philosopher in modern Japan who has relatively transcended the boundaries of traditional schools. His philosophy has absorbed a lot of Taoist ideas. In terms of cosmology, his "mysterious" thoughts about the origin of the universe come from Lao-Zhuang Taoism, especially directly from "Zhuangzi". He specifically understood "Xuan" as "the Xuan of one Yuan Qi", attributed the "gathering, dispersion and biochemistry" of the universe to "the connection of one Qi", and developed the idea of ??"one Qi connecting the world" in "Zhuangzi", and his theory of the laws of the universe The philosophy of "level" is also influenced by the "reason" thought of "Zhuangzi"; in terms of epistemology, Miura's cognitive goal of "contemplating the heaven and earth" and the cognitive method of "reflecting on the unity" have absorbed Taoist ideas to varying degrees. The content, in particular, is about the equality of all things, criticizing human beings' struggle for right and wrong, and advocating the cognitive standard thought of "right and wrong are determined by heaven and earth", which can be said to be a replica of Zhuangzi's theory of "equalizing right and wrong". In addition, as a natural philosopher, Miura also followed "Zhuangzi" in his theory of life, pursuing the realm of "assimilation with creation" and "forgetting and understanding". Chapter Six takes retro Shinto as an example to discuss the impact of Taoist thought on Japanese national religion. Shinto is Japan’s inherent national religion, and retro Shinto is one of the most theorized forms of Shinto, and it is also the Shinto sect with the greatest influence in modern Japan. Retro Shinto adopts a fierce rejection of foreign culture and advocates seeking "Japanese spirit" in ancient Japanese classics. The absorption of Taoism is evident in the thoughts of representatives of retro Shinto such as Kichong, Mabuchi Kamo, and Nobunaga Motoi. In Qichong's thoughts, there are the imprints of "Zhuangzi"'s philosophy of life of not being burdened by things and pursuing "freedom" and "Laozi's" noble and soft" thoughts. Kamo Mabuchi clearly affirmed that Laozi "sings obedience to heaven and earth, which is in line with the world. "Tao", which believes that the emergence and formation of Japan's "ancient Tao" is completely "natural" and is the way of "submitting to heaven and earth". This idea is basically consistent with the Taoist "nature" and "inaction". As a characteristic of "Japanese spirit", Kamo advocates the morality of "sincerity" and "nobility and gentleness". His so-called "true heart" refers to the true and natural heart obtained from heaven and earth, which is no different from the "truth" and "authenticity" of "Zhuangzi". As for the idea of ??"noble and soft", it obviously comes from "Laozi". As the perfecter of retro Shintoism, Nobunaga Motoi rejected Chinese culture ("Han meaning") the most intensely, but he was still influenced by Taoist thought to a certain extent. He admitted that Lao and Zhuang "have many similarities to Shinto" and affirmed that they "dislike wisdom and respect for nature". He criticized the hypocrisy of Confucianism's ritual system, opposed "artificial wisdom" and "greed for fame", and opposed violations of human nature. The natural emotions and desires, that is, the "true heart", although its theoretical destination is different from that of Taoism, its focus and methods are consistent.

The influence of Taoist thought on modern Japanese literature. There are many characters and works close to Taoism in modern Japanese literature. As an epoch-making representative of Edo haiku literature, Matsuo Basho occupies an important position in the history of Japanese Edo literature. Matsuo proposed "following nature and being friends with the four seasons". In terms of ideological connotation and language expression, they are all based on "Zhuangzi" Taking the idea of ??"being a human being with the Creator and traveling in the heaven and earth as one breath" as a copy, "Zhuangzi" became the spiritual support of his life and literature. Taoist thought also had a great influence on modern Japanese popular literature, and Yi Zhai Aoshan was its representative. Yi Zhai put forward the view of Zhuangzi that "Zhuangzi is a different sect of the Holy Sect" and tried to integrate Zhuangzi's thoughts into the Confucian system.

Yi Zhai interprets Zhuangzi's idea of ??obeying "creation" and "settling life" as being content with the "nature" "made by nature", and then interpreting it as being content with social "duties". This makes the idea of ??"Zhuangzi" "Safe life" was transformed into an ideological concept that was consistent with the existing social system, reflecting the psychology of the citizens at that time seeking a sense of stability in urban life under the existing social system.

The role and changes of Taoist thought in the development of modern Japanese culture. The role of Taoist thought in the development of modern Japanese culture is mainly reflected in five aspects: First, it serves as the theoretical basis for constructing natural philosophy. The basic thoughts about the universe unique to Taoism, especially Zhuangzi, play a structural and even leading role in Miura Plum Garden's natural philosophy. "Nature", "Truth" and "Tao" are Taoist unique and profound ideological concepts that constitute the keynote of Ando Masayoshi's natural philosophy. The second is as an ideological weapon for social and cultural criticism. The basic philosophy of Lao-Zhuang Taoism in examining the real society from the concept of "nature" constitutes the basic framework of Ando Masayoshi's social and cultural critical thoughts, that is, starting from the concept of "natural world" to examine, criticize and transcend the "law world". Taoism provides a model of cultural criticism that restores Shintoism, that is, it criticizes the distortion of human "sincerity" by Confucianism's "artificial wisdom" and proposes a return to the ancient natural way without artificiality. In the Edo period, the critical spirit and utilization of Taoist thoughts were universal. The third is as an important content of political and economic thought. The Taoist concept of "governing by doing nothing" entered the political thought of Ogiyo Kurai, Dazai Shuntai and others and became an integral part of it, and was gradually strengthened. In Haibao Qingling’s economic thought, “inaction” is transformed into the basic principles and strategies of social and economic management. The fourth is as the ideal state of life. The ideas of "creation" and "you" in "Zhuangzi" penetrated into all fields and levels of modern Japanese culture and formed the main concepts of the literati's theory of life. The fifth is as an ideological resource for developing wisdom. The thoughts of "inaction", "emptiness" and "quietness" in "Laozi" have been interpreted by Haibao Qingling from the perspective of wisdom and have become a driving mechanism for generating wisdom. The cultural role of Taoist thought has extended into modern times, and it has also influenced Japan’s Meiji modernization trend.

Taoist thought has undergone three changes in the development of modern Japanese culture: First, it has become hidden. In modern Japan, Taoist thought did not form a school, and most of its recipients did not openly admit their absorption of Taoist thought. Some of them held a fierce critical attitude, and its influence was hidden. The second is to combine it with Confucianism. In modern Japan, Taoism has been combined with Confucianism to form a unified ideological form of Confucianism and Taoism. This has both social and historical reasons and also reflects Japanese culture’s flexible attitude towards implanted foreign cultures. The third is Japaneseization. Taoist thought was "translated" in Japanese culture, thus taking on Japanese characteristics and undergoing "Japanization", such as the change in the concept of "nature". The "Japanization" of Taoist thought is the result of its integration with the deep characteristics of Japanese culture.