Starting Midstream

Trey Smith

When paddling in a canoe on a river, a person doesn't start the trek midstream. No, you push off from the shore and get your bearings in the more shallow water before heading out to the main current. If you don't happen to be a very accomplished canoeist, you search for lazy pools to work on your technique and, once you feel a little more confident, most sensible people don't go looking for Class V rapids! The difficulty such whitewater entails is beyond your meager skills.

Yet, in terms of religious or philosophic beliefs, most of us begin our journey by being dropped headfirst smack dab in the middle of the stream! We are born into the belief system of our parents (or guardians). In a typical Christian household, for example, we begin to attend Sunday School at around the same time we start formal schooling.

What typically is missing from our early indoctrination into the faith is the cultural milieu from which that faith or belief system arose. No one bothers to explain the philosophical forces or cultural context that led some people to create a new way of looking at the world. Instead of exploring the history of the founding members and the interplay of ideas and concepts that percolated amongst and between the various societies, we are presented with a belief system that is said to be unique and self-evident.

This helps to explain why the vast majority of Christians are flabbergasted to learn -- though many choose adamantly to refuse to accept it -- that the story of the Great Flood or the virgin birth of their savior were concepts borrowed from previous or then-contemporary belief systems. I certainly can tell you that as a young adult I was dumbfounded to learn of these truths. I had always been taught that the Christian worldview was singularly unique and that it was "better" than all the other such systems of the early years of the modern era.

But this isn't a problem solely reserved for Christians! I came to philosophical Taoism in much the same way. One day I discovered the Tao Te Ching and, after digesting it, I was spurred to read other Taoist classics. While I have gained much in terms of wisdom and insight by reading and contemplating these important texts, I must honestly admit that I know little, if anything, about the historical and cultural context from which philosophical Taoism arose.

As my friend Baroness Radon often points out, not understanding the historical and cultural references contained in the texts robs a person of a more clear and thorough understanding of what the writers are trying to convey. For example, if a passage references a specific person or an historical event, the reader would be well-served to know something ABOUT the person or event. Devoid of this knowledge, it would be easy for the reader to miss many a nuance or completely to misunderstand the point the writer is making.

To this end, I have realized that my knowledge and understanding of Chinese culture and history is wanting severely. For the most part, my knowledge of all things Chinese could probably fit on a 3" x 5" index card! So, I have decided that the time has come to fill-in the huge blank space.

I recently purchased Chinese Thought, from Confucius to Mao Tse-Tung by Herrlee Glessner Creel. It's an old book, published in the early 1950s, but it covers many of the important philosophies that have dominated Chinese history. I figured it would be a good place to start and, hopefully, it will spur me to check out other books.

Who knows. While I will never surpass the Baroness in her understanding of all things Chinese, maybe I can learn to paddle my canoe a little better. ;-)