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23. Taoism
There are deficiencies in Confucianism2. It has too much realism and too
little room for fancy and imagination. And the Chinese are childishly
imaginative . Something of that youthful wonder which we call magic and
superstition remains in the Chinese breast. Confucianism provides for3 the
existence of spirits, but takes care to keep them at a distance. It recognizes
the spirits of the mountains and the rivers, and even symbolically those of
human ancestors, but it has no heaven and hell, no hierarchy of gods and no
cosmogony4, and its rationalism shows little interest in magic and the pill of
immortality5. Even the realistic Chinese , apart from their rationalistic
scholars, always have a secret desire for immortality. Confucianism has no
fairies, while Taoism has. In short, Taoism stands for the childish world of
wonder and mystery for which Confucianism fails to provide .
Taoism, therefore , accounts for6 a side of the Chinese character which
Confucianism cannot satisfy. There is a natural romanticism and a natural
classicism in a nation, as in an individual. Taoism is the romantic school of
Chinese thought, as Confucianism is the classic school. Actually, Taoism is
romantic throughout. Firstly, it stands for the return to nature and the
romantic escape from the world, and revolt against the artificiality and
responsibilities of Confucian culture. Secondly, it stands for the rural ideal
of life, art and literature, and the worship of primitive simplicity. And
thirdly, it stands for the world of fancy and wonder, coupled with a childishly
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发表于 2018-1-25 22:09:29