Lao-tzu

From The Political Differences Between China and other Countries by Sun Yat-sen, 1921

. . . Chinese political history has moved from freedom to autocracy. Since ancient China had such wise rulers as Yao⁶ and Shun,⁷ who made the people enjoy peace and prosperity peculiar social and political ideas sprang up. For instance, an ancient poet said,

�I obtain my food by farming, And my drink by digging a well.�8

And Lao Tzu said,

�The country can be governed without exertion.�⁹

These statements prove that the ancient Chinese had so much liberty that they did not appreciate its importance. Foreign writers, who have not known this fact about China, have ridiculed the Chinese for not knowing the value of individual liberty. As a matter of fact, the Chinese enjoyed abundant liberty from the days of Yao and Shun to the end of the Chou dynasty.¹⁰

      ⁶ A legendary emperor who is said to have ascended the throne in 2357 B.C. and who had abdicated voluntarily in favor of Shun in 2258 B.C. because of old age.
      ⁷ Shun was supposed to be the successor of Yao, 2258-2206 B.C..
      ⁸ Historians place this poem in the time of Yao.
      ⁹ Lao Tzu was one of China�s great philosophers ; and was said to be the founder of the Taoist Religion.
      ¹⁰ The Chou dynasty was founded by Wu Wang in 1122 B.C. and lasted until 255 B.C.

The Five-Power Constitution
( An address delivered by Dr. Sun in July, 1921, before a group
of Kuomintang members at the Party Headquarters in Canton. )
SUN YAT-SEN HIS POLITICAL AND SOCIAL IDEAS
Compiled, Translated and Annotated by Leonard Shihlien Hsü.
University Park, Los Angeles :
University of Southern California Press, 1933.

From The Equilibrium of Liberty and Autocracy by Sun Yat-sen, 1921

. . . The importance of liberty was not realized by the common people until Proudhon of France, and Bakunin and Kropotkin of Russia came forward with their anarchistic philosophy, which advocates liberty in its most extreme form. Anarchism is a rather new social doctrine in the West. Because it is new, Chinese students have taken a fancy to it, although they have not had time to examined it thoroughly.

As a matter of fact, China had advocates of anarchism as early as the time of the Three Dynasties.¹⁵ For instance, the philosophy of Lao Tzu and his school is highly anarchistic. The second part of the book Leh Tze, describes the kingdom of Hua Hsü as a place with no king and no low, and where the people lived in a state of nature—indeed, a perfect description of an anarchistic utopia.

I cite this merely to show that in China the theory of anarchism is already many thousand years old. But after a long period of political experience the Chinese people have found no use for anarchism. Being utterly ignorant of our own history, our young students have hailed the foreign doctrine as something newly discovered ; but what is new in Europe is already too old in China.

      ¹⁵ Hsia, Shang, and Chou, China�s Golden Age.

( ibidem, page 106 )

Laozi. [?] Title(s) Wisdom of Laotse. Korean Changja ka Noja rŭl iyagi hada / Im Ŏ-dang chiŭm ; Chang Sun-yong omgim. Edition Chʻopʻan. Publisher Sŏul-si : Chajak Namu, 1998. Paging 332 p. : ill. ; 23 cm. Subject Headings Laozi. Dao de jing. Zhuangzi. Nanhua jing. Other Entries Lin, Yutang, 1895-1976. Chang, Sun-yong. Laozi. Dao de jing. Selections. 1998. Zhuangzi. Nanhua jing. Selections. 1998. Format qKorean Korean

Laozi. [?] Title(s) Dao de jing. English Tao te ching : liber CLV11 / translated with an introduction and commentary by Aleister Crowley. Publisher York Beach, ME : Samuel Weiser, 1995. Paging xvi, 112 p. : ill. ; 23 cm. Notes The Equinox ; v. 3, no. 8. Includes bibliographical references (p. 109-110) and index.

Laozi. [?] Uniform Title [ Dao de jing. English] Title Aleister Crowley's Tao Teh King [translated from the Chinese] : Liber CLVII / edited and introducted by Stephen Skinner. Publisher London : Askin Publishers, 1976. Description [5], 116 p. : facsims ; 22 cm. Note Translation of Dao de jing. ISBN 0950387649 : Language English

Laozi. [?] Title(s) Dao de jing. English. 1948 The wisdom of Laotse, tr., edited and with an introd. and notes by Lin Yutang. Publisher New York, Modern Library [1948] Paging xx, 326 p. 19 cm. Series Modern library of the world's best books ; 262 Notes Contains the "Book of Tao," each chapter of which is followed by a comparable passage from Chuangtse's writings; supplemented by "Prolegomena" and "Imaginary conversations between Laotse and Confucius" by Chuangtse.