The Reception of Laozi
The Reception of Laozi
This essay urges teachers of the Daode jing to cultivate in their students an appreciation of the multifarious history and ongoing reception of the DDJ and the traditions it has helped spawn. In particular it urges that our students come to understand the textual history of the DDJ's development (as revealed via recent archeological finds), the historical reality surrounding the text's creation (e.g. Warring States politics; competing philosophic views), and the role the DDJ has played in the development of Daoist rituals and practices. Livia Kohn also suggests that students would benefit from an appreciation of the religious dimensions of Daoism, especially an understanding of the meditative and cultivation practices which seem so critical to the early Daoist communities and the development of Laozi from legendary antagonist of Confucius to the status of a divine being.
Keywords: Daode jing, Tao Te Ching, Laozi, Lao Tzu, Daoism, Taoism, Chinese religion, Daoist practice, Daoist rituals, archeology, popular culture
Oxford Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .
