In my last post, What is Taoism?, I discussed a bit about the differences between philosophical and religious Taoism. In the comments section, Baroness Radon touched on another point that is a very important for this overall discussion. She wrote, "Taoism is so intricately connected with Chinese culture, it really is the fundamental element of Chinese culture, and that is how I came to it."
One thing that I need to make as clear as day is that I am no student of almost anything Chinese, save for philosophical Taoism. As is too often the case in the American educational system, little attention is paid to the history of the Far East. If it is touched on ever so briefly, about the only thing that is covered is 20th century Japan and this is done only in the most superficial manner.
Before I began to study the chief topic of this blog, I knew nothing of Chinese history. I have since picked up a little along the way, but I want to emphasize the word, little. I know next to nothing about Chinese culture and, of course, I neither speak nor read a lick of Mandarin or any other Chinese language or dialect.
Consequently, my understanding, analysis and commentary on the works of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu are indebted to the understanding and translations of others. Were it not for their scholarship and insights, this blog would not exist and I would still be flailing about trying to find a way of seeing the world that made sense to me.
As you read my various ramblings, you need to keep in mind my limitations. While I can certainly tease out conceptual ideas from the ancient texts, I fully acknowledge that I do so from a westernized perspective. There is nothing inherently wrong with this type of perspective, but it doesn't make use of the cultural moorings that are extant in the Taoist worldview.
One thing that I need to make as clear as day is that I am no student of almost anything Chinese, save for philosophical Taoism. As is too often the case in the American educational system, little attention is paid to the history of the Far East. If it is touched on ever so briefly, about the only thing that is covered is 20th century Japan and this is done only in the most superficial manner.
Before I began to study the chief topic of this blog, I knew nothing of Chinese history. I have since picked up a little along the way, but I want to emphasize the word, little. I know next to nothing about Chinese culture and, of course, I neither speak nor read a lick of Mandarin or any other Chinese language or dialect.
Consequently, my understanding, analysis and commentary on the works of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu are indebted to the understanding and translations of others. Were it not for their scholarship and insights, this blog would not exist and I would still be flailing about trying to find a way of seeing the world that made sense to me.
As you read my various ramblings, you need to keep in mind my limitations. While I can certainly tease out conceptual ideas from the ancient texts, I fully acknowledge that I do so from a westernized perspective. There is nothing inherently wrong with this type of perspective, but it doesn't make use of the cultural moorings that are extant in the Taoist worldview.
But of course there is much in Taoism that is so similar to Native American spirituality, Native Hawaiian spirituality, probably Australian aboriginal spirituality. Druids and Celts,too, and African. All from the same seed, just differentiated (like the "races") in roots and branches. I am interested in Chinese history and culture, it enriches my Taoist experience, but I don't think it's NECESSARY.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reference.
And I think it is unfortunate that American education ignores the East as a whole, except in terms of current events that shake us up. It's bad enough not to know who Confucius, Lao Tzu or Mo Zi are; worse to realize that many young people haven't a clue about Sun Yat Sen, Chiang Kai Shek, Zhou En Lai or Mao. They just know that everything in Wal-Mart comes from China.
ReplyDelete(Language is hard--but I can count and order a beer or tea in Mandarin! And recall a few phrases that are useful only in Ming-era martial arts movies.)