Yue Shixuan (Yu Sheng)
(a) A culture of wealth accumulation implies a rapidly changing society.
(II) Establishing a correct philosophy of life
(III) The instability of secondary societies as seen from the perspective of total fins
(iv) Humanity has entered a new era
(V) Religious belief is the path to happiness.
(vi) The Chinese tradition of complementing Confucianism and Taoism in modern secondary society
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(a) A culture of wealth accumulation implies a rapidly changing society.
In 1998, a poor Canadian man named Gerald Muswagen bought a lottery ticket for two dollars and won a multi-million dollar jackpot. He then embarked on a spending spree and developed a drug addiction, ultimately being found hanged seven years later. Many people who have struck it rich have met with misfortune; there’s no need to list countless names and stories here, but Gerald is a prime example.
After Gerald won the lottery and became a millionaire overnight, he bought himself and his friends a luxury car, eight expensive large-screen color televisions for his friends, and a house specifically for parties, attracting all sorts of idle and unrestrained people. Under the influence of his friends, he began to drink heavily and use drugs. In October 2000, Gerald was arrested for “dangerous driving” while driving his luxury car at 180 kilometers per hour and was imprisoned for three months. In November 2002, after his wife’s death, Gerald attempted to rape a female cleaner and was imprisoned again for three months. After spending most of his money, Gerald finally thought of starting a business to create a stable income. He opened a logging company, but it eventually went bankrupt because he couldn’t sell the timber. Just like that, he went from being a “millionaire” back to being “penniless.” Gerald’s former “friends” abandoned him one after another, some even refusing to help him. In the summer of 2005, to support his girlfriend and six young children, Gerald had to work as a laborer on a friend’s farm, doing heavy manual labor. Having experienced a brief period of wealth, Gerald had lost the ability to endure poverty and finally ended his life with a rope in his parents’ garage, leaving his children to be cared for by others.
From a psychological perspective, in this society built on wealth, immense wealth means a completely different life, and not everyone has the ability to cope with such dramatic changes. Gerald couldn’t bear the same poverty as before and committed suicide; he was more preoccupied with solving the various problems brought about by money, trapped in a state of mental anguish from which he could not extricate himself.
The society we live in today is one of wealth accumulation. Stock market values double every decade or so, and children often possess wealth several times greater than their parents. Wealth itself signifies a change in lifestyle. For example, modern society rapidly expands its entertainment and gambling facilities, and wealth also motivates people to explore new pleasures, including political participation. This demands that society better adapt to its ever-expanding needs, resulting in rapid societal change. The social changes driven by wealth accumulation differ fundamentally from the aesthetic pursuits of Taoism.
The culture of accumulating wealth originated in the West. Traditional Chinese culture advocates finding joy in poverty, while before and after the Cultural Revolution, it promoted the idea that poverty was a virtue, demonstrating that the culture of making money is an import. Western wealth culture is the essence of modern capitalism, traceable back to the Renaissance of the 15th and 16th centuries. Before that, the West also valued finding joy in poverty. Once, Socrates, looking at the colorful and diverse goods in a marketplace, exclaimed, “There are so many things in the world that I don’t need!” Later, the Cynic school inherited this tradition of simple living.
The renowned Cynic scholar Diogenes Laertius lived in a large barrel, possessing nothing but a cane and a bread sack. Alexander the Great, impressed by his reputation, stood before him respectfully and asked, “Honorable sir, is there anything I can do for you?”
“Of course,” Diogenes replied. “Please move aside; you’re blocking my sunlight.”
Diogenes’s attitude towards life, seeking nothing but sunshine, was incredibly noble, and his freedom truly remarkable! Today, if someone were willing to live like Diogenes, they would enjoy spiritual freedom, prioritize entertainment, do whatever they want, and live quite comfortably materially. A man in Ontario, Canada, wrote a book based on his over twenty years of experience, titled “How to Survive Without a Wage?” The book advocates a middle-class lifestyle, a lifestyle akin to that of the middle-income working class. It lists various ways to save money, such as buying secondhand goods and finding high-quality yet inexpensive food. If you live this way and don’t want government assistance, that’s fine; if you do, don’t feel ashamed. Taoism originally advocated a life of equality, and since the environment belongs to everyone, those who amass great wealth have polluted the environment without your permission and should compensate you. Early Christian disciples lived this kind of austere communist life; Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven,” demonstrating that Christian doctrine is far removed from wealth. The Renaissance began with a critique of Christianity.
The profound changes in life brought about by wealth are first manifested in the physical form of the world around us. Once, I overheard two elderly people saying to each other as they went shopping, “If we don’t go now, you won’t recognize it anymore!” If a street changes so rapidly, feeling like a completely new street each time we visit, we might find it novel, but can our minds and bodies adapt? When we arrive in a new place, our minds need to be extra alert, and our heart rate and blood pressure need to rise. Years later, when we look back on our workplaces or the homes of friends and relatives, only the first visit remains vividly in our memories, while subsequent visits, though numerous, leave little impression. This clearly demonstrates how new places can mobilize our mental and physical potential. As for the intangible changes such as technological innovation and social interaction, they are even more difficult to adapt to. One problem is the huge generation gap brought about by rapid social change. The traditional Chinese family happiness has long lost its flavor. Parents and children have different cultural backgrounds and rarely have a common language to talk about. What’s the point of living together?
In today’s society, with more money and easier living, how to maintain a positive and idealistic attitude towards life under these new circumstances is a problem that many of us have yet to solve. This book is not against the pursuit of wealth in various countries, but rather aims to help individuals understand that wealth is not the goal; a joyful and fulfilling life is the true objective.
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(II) Establishing a correct philosophy of life
Throughout their lives, everyone constantly asks themselves, “What is the meaning of life? What are the principles of living? What are my goals in life?” These questions can be summarized in a simple phrase: “Why am I alive?” The answer to this question constitutes a philosophy of life, similar in meaning to the worldview often discussed before and after the Cultural Revolution. This is especially important for young people. A correct philosophy of life is the guarantee of happiness, the key to harmonious relationships with the surrounding society, and a major path to social success. Having explained the importance of grounding oneself in the original society, we further point out that we should base ourselves on a relaxed and contented lifestyle, rather than specific goals of struggle. A relaxed and contented lifestyle means enjoying life itself, not abandoning work, but rather seeking ways to integrate work into life.
At the top of Figure 10 is a leisurely dog. Notice its relaxed posture and slightly curious expression; it faces the world without a focused goal. If you were to ask it what the world looks like to it, or what it pursues in life, its answer would be close to a Taoist perspective: the surrounding world includes its own existence, a unity of heaven and man; its goals in life are happiness and immortality.
At the bottom of Figure 10 are two dogs chasing a flock of sheep. If you ask them what the world looks like to them, or what they pursue in life, their answer is simple: the sheep. Because the sheep occupy their minds, their eyes can no longer see anything else. This is close to the mindset of Western material civilization, which is the culture of wealth accumulation mentioned above.
If you replace the two sheep with two dogs, they will turn around and fight the other two dogs, but after a while, they will disperse. If the fighting is between humans, the struggle is endless, constantly changing in content and form – this is the progress of human civilization. Its byproducts are material abundance and spiritual distress. War destroys the opponent’s body, competition crushes their production base, and considerations are entirely material, not spiritual.
Limiting one’s life goals to social success, such as wealth, fame, and a prominent position, is like a dog chasing a flock of sheep. Their highest ideal is to have only the sheep in front of them, forgetting the rest of the world and even themselves. They may run until they are exhausted without realizing it, or even if their feet are pricked by thorns. What good is it to the dog’s spiritual life, except for a fleeting moment of pride, when they finally catch up with the flock? Moreover, it’s difficult to completely forget oneself during the struggle; the pain is only endured to achieve the goal.
Recently, I skimmed through Zhang Hongjie’s *Five Fates of Chinese Emperors*. The book states that for thousands of years, China was engulfed in war to seize the throne. Sun Yat-sen said, “For thousands of years, all the wars in history have been about vying for the emperor’s throne.” To maintain their power, successive Chinese emperors had to rack their brains, embarking on a long relay race to consolidate their rule. They guarded against powerful ministers, relatives of the empress, eunuchs, and even their own wives and brothers… As a result, Chinese emperors became one of the most unfortunate groups, with short lifespans, high rates of unnatural deaths, and a relatively high incidence of mental illness.
Clearly, under the influence of imperial culture, people pursued honor, not happiness, amidst the flames of war. Zhang Hongjie uses the experiences and life details of five emperors to show us the cruel and inhumane side of their lives. Western culture seems to emphasize rationality and is much more realistic, while criticizing the inhumanity of Chinese feudal dynasties. But even today, the fate of Western leaders doesn’t seem much better. In recent years, a saying has become popular among some Americans: the most coveted job in America is being president. This makes a lot of sense. Parliament is often controlled by the opposition party, the fulfillment of campaign promises is under public scrutiny, and private lives are exposed to public scrutiny; both family and national affairs are not easy. Of the 43 presidents since the founding of the United States, four were assassinated and two died as a result, representing an accidental death rate of approximately 5%. This is true not only for the presidents whom everyone admires, but also for other jobs—jobs under pressure, lives squeezed into the cracks. The result is that while material wealth has increased, spiritual life has become increasingly miserable, leading to a doubling of suicide rates in Canada and the United States in the 20th century. How we, as individuals, can liberate ourselves from this tide of rampant materialism and spiritual depression, and return to the original joy and tranquility of humanity, is the question we currently face.
There are two ways to solve this problem. The first is a societal shift, which is fundamental and comprehensive. We believe this will happen in the near future, but it will be far from easy. The second method is personal change, which is simple and easy to implement: shifting the focus of one’s thinking from work to leisure. One can continue working, but view work from the perspective of leisure and enjoyment. For example, you can chat with colleagues while working, which introduces the kinship of the original society; you can treat work as an opportunity to showcase your talents, as an adventure to seek new experiences, and so on. I admit that transforming the work environment and secondary society into a Zhuangzi-style haven of carefree wandering requires some thought, but it is by no means impossible.
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(III) The instability of secondary societies as seen from the perspective of total fins
Rapid evolutionary periods in biological evolution are caused by two factors: significant, favorable mutations and environmental changes. Significant mutations include gene recombination. When a mutation brings an organism to a new environment, these two factors intertwine; the migration of animals to land is such a process. After land appeared on Earth, aquatic animals had no need to move onto land unless they acquired the ability to do so through mutation. The transition of humans from primitive society to secondary society is remarkably similar to the migration of fish to land.
The animal kingdom on Earth originated in the ocean, so how fish crawled onto land was a crucial step in evolutionary history, and the common finfish was an intermediate form between aquatic and terrestrial animals. (Figure 10) Common finfish first appeared 400 million years ago in shallow seas around the world, and were numerous. They became extinct about 70 million years ago, around the same time as the extinction of dinosaurs. On December 23, 1938, fishermen on the east coast of South Africa caught a strange fish. The local museum notified scientists to come and examine it. Undoubtedly, it was a common finfish that the scientific community believed to be extinct. After that, there were more catches. By the time I took an animal class in university in the 1960s, there were a total of three to five, all caught on the east coast of Africa. Due to the small sample size, detailed research is difficult, and university textbooks only mention it briefly in a few sentences. It has been caught in large quantities in recent years, and the total fin was also discovered in Indonesia in 1997.
This species of fish, known as the common finfish, lives in rocky caves in the deep sea. It is photophobic, comes out at night to forage, and avoids moonlight, which is why it is so difficult to spot. This fish can grow to nearly two meters long and weigh 80 kilograms. It has many characteristics not found in modern fish, such as its kidneys being located on its ventral side; it is oviparous, developing to maturity inside the mother before being born, with a gestation period of 13 months, and giving birth to 5-25 fry each time.
The key difference between terrestrial animals and fish is that terrestrial animals have legs, while the common fin fish has rudimentary forms of legs. The base of the common fin fish’s fins has muscles and bones, and its pectoral fins can twist 180 degrees, making its shape and function somewhat like limbs. Some common fin fish have rudimentary lungs, such as the Australian lungfish, whose shape and habits are similar to common fin fish, but they possess only one lung.
Among fins with skeletal and muscular roots, the fins of the common finfish are more powerful and agile, giving it an advantage in swimming speed and turning agility over other fish of similar size, though otherwise there are no major differences. The superiority of the common finfish only becomes apparent when it reaches shallow waters, or even land, where other fish struggle to reach. They can survive there, while other fish cannot. Although the fins of the common finfish resemble rudimentary limbs, they are still fins, making movement difficult and lacking the agility they possess in water, and their lungs are also very small. Therefore, the common finfish itself has no inherent need to venture onto land.
Just as humans were forced into secondary societies due to population growth, the emergence of the common finfish onto land was a result of the shallowing and subsequent drying up of the waters where it lived, not an intention for the fish to crawl onto land. During this drying process, all other fish died, including the vast majority of common finfish; only individuals that underwent a further mutation survived, and the occurrence rate of such a mutation could be as low as one in a million. Therefore, the life of the common finfish on land is characterized by two main features: hardship and instability. Instability means continued transformation, and each step of transformation means the elimination of most individuals. This is a period of rapid biological evolution caused by environmental changes. What will their future be? They may evolve into amphibians, reptiles, mammals, or birds. This different evolution is not the choice of the finfish itself, but the arrangement of the natural creator or God.
The fins of a common finned fish, in humans, represent consciousness. The shallow waters and land areas of these fish constitute a secondary human society. Human consciousness, like the fins of a common finned fish, is unique on Earth. Some argue that apes also possess self-awareness, but their so-called “consciousness” is fundamentally different from human consciousness, much like the difference between the fins of an ordinary fish and those of a common finned fish. In primitive societies, common finned fish lived in the sea, and humans used their unique consciousness for life, including the pursuit of aesthetics—purely self-gratifying in nature, unrelated to physiological material needs. Besides making extremely simple tools, chimpanzees and other apes also have pursuits of pure self-pleasure, such as chasing and playing with each other, and painting with human dyes, which are unrelated to material and physiological needs. Early human societies also had religions and beliefs in deities, but these were fundamentally different from secondary societies.
Secondary societies possess five characteristics absent in primary societies, and these five characteristics drove people to seek a religious system entirely different from that of primary societies. These five characteristics are:
1. Individuals cannot communicate psychologically and emotionally with secondary society, but can form psychological and emotional unity with primary society; secondary society can only form temporary emotional unity under a common goal. The idiom “all people are of one mind” means that everyone is focused on a single goal.
2. Secondary societies have the ability to impose their will on people, but this ability often lacks a clear definition and effective control, making people feel powerless in the face of fate; Marx believed that social evolution has an inherent law that is unrelated to human thought and the will of leaders, that is, it is not a product of human free choice.
3. Secondary societies have countless possible forms. A society can only choose one and is constantly faced with the challenges of other possibilities. Just as a ship on a stormy sea needs to drop an anchor to stabilize itself, an individual living in a secondary society needs a reference point that is higher than life itself. This reference point is in the heavens, not on earth.
4. Due to instability, secondary societies were in a period of rapid evolution, a period of rapid biological evolution caused by environmental changes and major mutations—the time when the common finned fish had just crawled onto land. The mastermind behind this process was clearly not the organisms or humans themselves, but rather the creator of nature or God. This period of rapid evolution in secondary societies is relative to the stability of the original society; therefore, it includes the five thousand years of human civilization to date, and differs from the period of rapid progress mentioned in Section 3 of Chapter 1 of this book.
5. During the process of the common finned fish coming ashore, a large number of individuals are eliminated and die. In human secondary societies, elimination occurs in two ways: one is individual elimination, such as war, murder, suicide, and hunger caused by unequal distribution of social wealth; the other is spiritual elimination, namely, the suppression of countless aesthetic innovations because they contradict the social direction of wealth accumulation, leading to spiritual suffering. Spiritual elimination also includes the countless disappearances of languages and cultures.
The above five points demonstrate that secondary societies are unstable and unsuitable for human nature, much like a finned fish struggling to climb onto land—the difficulty is self-evident. It is therefore easy to understand why, as our material world becomes increasingly prosperous, our inner world, besides being filled with tension and anxiety, becomes increasingly empty, leading to a simultaneous rise in social wealth and suicide rates.
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(iv) Humanity has entered a new era
We can cite numerous pieces of evidence and reasons to argue that the human world has entered a new era, an era never before experienced by humankind, and therefore we also need a completely new attitude towards life. The author firmly believes that social and philosophical thought will move closer to Taoist philosophy:
1. First, advanced communication technology and rapid transportation have shrunk our world, turning it into a global village. People all over the world can communicate face-to-face via the internet and communication satellites, just like neighbors in the same village in ancient times. People can also travel from one end of the earth to the other in a single day.
2. The history of human civilization is a history of escalating warfare, from violent conflicts between tribes and villages to wars between states, and then to wars between alliances of nations. The number of people involved in these wars has also steadily increased, from a few, dozens, hundreds, to hundreds of millions. This escalating warfare has a limit: the entire human world is divided into two major camps waging war. This is the two World Wars of the 20th century and the subsequent Cold War. If this becomes the peak of warfare in human history, then warfare will gradually disappear from the human world.
3. During wartime, people are forced to work and struggle to survive. This drive for survival forms the basis of competitive social systems. In peacetime, people tend to enjoy life, allowing their humanity to be fully expressed without restraint or choice, rather than solely relying on the discipline, struggle, and cruelty required during wartime. From the baby boomers to Generation X to Generation Y, people are becoming increasingly relaxed, increasingly distanced from the pursuit of lofty external goals, and increasingly focused on personal freedom and happiness. They are also increasingly downplaying the complexities of the external world and placing greater emphasis on inner peace and tranquility.
4. Western modern culture, beginning with the Renaissance, is a capitalist system characterized by wealth accumulation, or what could be called a wealth-building culture. This culture excels in economics and technology, but the rapid advancements in these fields have brought convenience and comfort, not the happiness people truly desire. On the contrary, economic and technological progress is still based on a competitive system of survival of the fittest, often at the cost of happiness. This wealth-building culture requires resources while simultaneously generating waste and causing environmental pollution. This wealth-building culture has reached its limit; we need a new culture and a new outlook on life.
5. The United Nations, established after World War II, provided a platform for consultation and compromise among nations. This is similar to the political situation in China during the Spring and Autumn Period, the era that gave rise to Daoist philosophy, and before that period. There existed a super-dynasty in the known world, which, while not possessing absolute power to command feudal lords, played a crucial role in maintaining peace. Chinese Daoism is a philosophy, a religion, a way of life, and a worldview. It advocates following nature and emphasizing inner peace, offering many beneficial insights for the new era and new life.
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(V) Religious belief is the path to happiness.
Many people join religious organizations to escape earthly suffering and pursue heavenly happiness. Religious organizations largely mimic primitive society, creating a sub-society within a secondary society that resembles primitive society: people interact relatively equally before God, and shared worship rituals, chanting, and solemn, slow religious music create a temporary psychological and emotional unity. They provide a refuge and sanctuary for the spiritual trauma of secondary society. It’s easy to imagine that religion often brings peace of mind and well-being, thus benefiting physical health. This is not contradictory to Marx’s assertion that religion is the opium of the people; since a communist society is difficult to achieve in the short term, people use opium and fantasy to create a similar, egalitarian society.
Friendship with God is illusory, and therefore devoid of any intrigue or authoritarianism, thus fulfilling people’s need for genuine friendship in primal society. Kaldor’s 1994 survey of Australian churchgoers found that 70% said their close friends were within the church’s social circle, with 24% saying their closest friends were met at church. Considering that Westerners spend the vast majority of their time working and entertaining, the limited time spent at church suggests that religious social interaction is closer to equal exchange, where people consider each other as confidants. Ellison and George found a positive correlation between church attendance frequency and social contact and support outside the family, meaning that frequent churchgoers have broader social circles. The support provided includes gifts, financial advice, home repairs, and shopping. Turner described a special collective spiritual state, called communinitas, where people are immersed in a state of ecstatic bliss of love, harmony, equality, and unity. Turner found this spiritual state only in primitive tribal religious rituals. This spiritual state described by Turner can also be summarized by the Taoist concept of the unity of heaven and man, which is the holistic nature of the original society mentioned above, and is not found in secondary societies. Turner’s findings demonstrate that the religion of secondary societies cannot completely replace the original society.
There is no fixed concept of God. The God of the Old Testament is the God who protected the Israelites in their battles against other nations. A major reason Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire was that Emperor Astantin believed he received help from the Christian God to defeat his enemies. People today no longer define God in this way. In fact, God lives in a person’s heart, and therefore God can be defined by individual imagination. Many people imagine God as a friend with whom they can communicate at any time. In this way, both within religious organizations and in the concept of God, religion provides a space that approximates the relationships between people in primitive society. As mentioned in previous chapters (16.6; 8.6), a large part of human happiness comes from relationships with others, and the relationships that bring happiness are equal, mutually beneficial, and full of love. Many studies have shown that religion functions through social support systems: religion inspires positive emotions and increases people’s socialization needs for communication with others; the benefits of religion to personal happiness and health are most evident among those who actively participate in religious activities and those with strong religious beliefs: the elderly and religious extremists.
In 1990, Inglehart compiled data from 163,000 people in fourteen European countries and found that among those who attended church at least once a week, 85% were very satisfied with their lives; among those who attended church occasionally, 82% were very satisfied; and among those who never attended church, only 77% were very satisfied. Religion can make a person feel happy, but for the general population, this effect is only moderate, not particularly significant. This effect is more pronounced for vulnerable groups in society. Vulnerable groups include the elderly, minorities, women, and those who are marginalized and isolated.
Happiness can be measured by objective health indicators, and religious belief is beneficial to physical health. In 1972, Komsdok and Paltridge divided the population into two groups based on the frequency of church attendance: those who attended at least once a week and those who attended less than once a week. They found a significant difference in the incidence of disease between the two groups.
The relationship between church attendance frequency and disease incidence (number of cases per 1,000 people over three to six years).
At least once a week, less than once a week
Heart disease (5 years) 38 89
Emphysema (3 years) 18 52
Cirrhosis (3 years) 5 25
Cervical cancer (5 years) 13 17
Suicide (6 years) 11 29
Hummel et al. used data from the National Institutes of Health Interviews (NIH) in 1999 to track the relationship between mortality rates and religious affiliation. They surveyed 22,800 people and found 2,016 deaths over a seven-year period. They calculated that church attendees had a life expectancy of seven years longer at age twenty than other groups. This difference in life expectancy was 14 years among Black people; and 4.4 years between those who attended church occasionally and those who never attended.
Regarding the above survey results, it should be pointed out that people who attend church are healthier, less prone to illness, and have a lower mortality rate, partly due to their more disciplined lifestyles, such as drinking less alcohol and overeating less. These disciplined behaviors can also be explained as a result of religious faith, or as a greater susceptibility to religious attraction. Nevertheless, the health benefits of religious faith are undeniable; however, these functions may be replaced by other social behaviors, such as a harmonious and loving family, or similar circles of friends and relatives; of course, one could achieve the same level of self-discipline as Confucius at seventy.
During the qigong craze in China a few years ago, there were often cases of people going astray. For a minority, religion can have a similar effect, causing some to experience emotional abnormalities. Jerusalem is the holy city of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; one can imagine the intense emotions of pilgrims who undertake long pilgrimages there. As a result, every year some people are admitted to mental hospitals due to this, a condition known as “Jerusalem Syndrome.” (This section is from: Michael Argyle, *The Psychology of Happiness*, second edition, East Sussex, Britain: Routledge, 2001)
Religion does not necessarily involve belief in God; one can pursue spiritual transcendence and liberation while abandoning faith in God. For ordinary people, there is often a divine authority within their hearts, making faith easier and more secure. For example, Buddhism does not believe in God, but the Buddha in the minds of most people is already considered a complete god.
Since religion serves as a form of compensation for the loss of the original society by civilized humanity, its contribution to individual happiness and health is undeniable. However, this effect varies across different societies, cultures, and individual circumstances, and cannot be generalized. The data cited in this section may be biased, and the figures may be inflated.
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(V) The spiritual pursuits of modern people
Sima Qian said, “Heaven is the beginning of man; parents are the foundation of man. When people are impoverished, they return to their roots; therefore, when weary and exhausted, they invariably call upon Heaven; when suffering from illness and pain, they invariably call upon their parents.” Even during the Cultural Revolution, people did not stop calling upon Heaven. This shows that people have an inherent, latent religious consciousness. Throughout human history, countless nations and cultures have emerged, and almost no nation or culture has been without religious belief.
Sima Qian’s description of “the Heaven” as a manifestation of humanity’s desperation and call upon Heaven is not a personified deity; its image is vague, but it possesses qualities superior to humanity. The underlying meaning of modern Chinese people’s cries to Heaven and Earth remains unchanged. While English and American people call upon God, they also call upon Heaven in the same situations, indicating that they merely borrow the Christian term “God,” not intending it to represent a personified deity. This means that the phenomenon of humanity’s desperation and call upon Heaven transcends ethnicities and eras; the names and words used may differ, and even silence, simply placing hands on the chest and looking up at the sky, expresses the same underlying meaning: a vague image and a concept of being superior to humanity. According to Karen Armstrong, this is precisely the first concept of God to appear in human history. Later schools of philosophy and religion philosophized this concept, but it still retained its fundamental connotations of being abstract and superior to humanity. This includes the Dao in Taoism, the Heaven in Confucianism (the concept of the connection between Heaven and humanity), and is different from the Christian concept of God. People sometimes use “parents” to express this concept, such as Chinese women often calling out “My mother!” Here, “parents” is an abstract concept, not the parents in everyday life. They can call out “Mother” to Heaven in front of their parents.
We summarize this innate quality as a feeling of awe and dependence arising from looking upwards. Human culture constructs this into an entity of awe and dependence, thus forming religious belief, which is the character of God. As religion develops into an institution with broad social and psychological functions, its functions naturally involve various aspects of human nature, which are beyond the scope of this article.
As can be seen from the cosmological evolution chart below, the human world is a complex system operating on multiple levels, with each level of complexity and subtlety progressively increasing. This feeling of awe and dependence that arises from looking upwards may be a projection of this multi-layered system into human consciousness, or perhaps an innate expression of cosmic evolution even within the deepest recesses of human consciousness.
Cosmic Evolution Table
Life and cultural consciousness in the physical world
1 None
2 Yes
3 Elementary Particles
4 atoms
5 DNA molecules
6. Object Cells
7 Planets Organization
8. Galaxy Organs
9 cosmic individuals
10. Original Social Culture Subconscious
11. Secondary level of social civilization consciousness
12. Rational Cognition System
13. Spiritual and Aesthetic Pursuits
The table above lists “nothingness” and “existence” as the first and second levels, respectively. According to Taoist teachings, the Tao, whose essence is nothingness, is the origin of all things in the universe. All things are born from existence, and existence is born from nothingness. Most of the vertical columns in the table above have been explained in Chapter 7; the horizontal columns covering physics, life, culture, and consciousness, as well as the two columns under culture and consciousness, are self-explanatory and require no further explanation.
People in primitive societies possessed culture and consciousness, but the forces maintaining social harmony and stability lay in the subconscious—in the emotional connections between individuals. The structure and stability of secondary societies primarily relied on a clear understanding at the conscious level. This is the main consideration behind listing the subconscious and conscious aspects in the rows representing primitive and secondary societies, respectively, in the table above. The author firmly believes that 21st-century society and life should align with Chinese Taoism, and that 21st-century religious needs should return to the religions of primitive societies—a determination determined by human genetic nature. The religious characteristics of primitive societies will be discussed below.
The spirits and deities of early human society were part of early animism. At that time, like children under three or four years old, humans believed that everything in nature, like themselves, possessed consciousness and a soul. The religious characteristics of this period can be summarized by Lao Tzu and Zhuangzi’s sayings, “The spirits do not harm people,” and “The spirits and deities do not disturb,” meaning that spirits and deities did not hold a special status or authority in the human world. (See Chapter 12, Section 6 for Lao Tzu and Zhuangzi’s original words and translations.)
In primitive societies, people also systematized, institutionalized, and organized their beliefs to solve the material and spiritual problems they faced. In primitive societies, there was no strong authority, and the discourse was confined to a small group of people interacting face-to-face. Therefore, religion in primitive societies was more practical and personalized, reflecting the inherent forms of human thought: freedom, arbitrariness, and uncertainty. The phrases “mixture of gods and people” and “family with shamans and officials” indicate that religion in primitive societies was primarily an activity of individuals and families; it could be called personal religion or family religion. Like the chieftain politics of primitive societies, religion lacked authority; even in religious matters, people acted independently. Even unified religious activities were contingent upon the voluntary participation of members.
Full-time clergy were part of the secondary social division of labor. In primitive society, there were no full-time clergy, but there were semi-full-time clergy, called shamans. The characteristic of primitive social shamans was that they could communicate directly with the gods. This communication usually required substances such as tobacco and alcohol to make them delirious, or they would use some kind of ritual to make them enter a state of deep meditation to understand the will of the gods.
Regarding the religious features of primitive society, Mou Zhongjian and Zhang Jian (2003, p. 75) provided a relatively detailed description of primitive religion in their *General History of Chinese Religions*, and I agree with their opinions and understanding. They stated that primitive religion possessed spontaneity, clan characteristics, regionality, and practicality. Spontaneity meant that primitive religion was not the mature, systematic thought of a single scholar, but rather an accumulation of spontaneous ideas from many individuals. Clan characteristics meant that it was based on considerations of one’s own primitive society, lacking a universal perspective. Regionality meant that it utilized local resources; the concept of deities originated from the local environment, resulting in polytheism, with various gods having hierarchical distinctions and no systematic hierarchical relationships—what might be called natural religion.
As for practicality, I would like to quote the original words of Mou Zhongjian and Zhang Jian: “Practicality: the main purpose of people worshiping gods is not for spiritual liberation, but to ask the gods to help solve the problems encountered in real production and life, so as to achieve the goals of eliminating disasters and calamities, curing diseases and warding off evil, ensuring the prosperity of the population, abundant harvests of grains, thriving livestock, and social peace.”
In conclusion, Mou Zhongjian and Zhang Jian’s descriptions of primitive religion further support the fundamental difference between the religious concepts of primitive society and secondary society. The religion of primitive society lacks the utilitarian elements of secondary society, making it more aesthetically pleasing.
People in secondary societies established many systematic and well-organized religions, which to varying degrees compensated for the differences between secondary and primary societies: religious rituals, scripture reading, and prayer enabled people to achieve the psychological and emotional wholeness of primary society; religious theories provided a relatively stable systemic reference point; and the transcendent God or Deity was a reflection of the essence of secondary society at the level of human consciousness.
Many modern religious organizations struggle to keep pace with the times and adapt to the diversity of contemporary society. Many people are seeking their own spiritual fulfillment, especially in the West where traditional religions like Christianity have dominated. This explains the recent surge in the so-called New Age Movement. Lacking rigorous organization, the New Age Movement is largely a matter of personal religious practice, with many turning to Eastern religions for inspiration, particularly Buddhism. This suggests a gradual decline in the prevalence of orthodox Christianity in the West, manifested in a decrease in church attendance and growing aversion to tedious rituals and dogmatic preaching. Consequently, while societal enthusiasm for church has waned, the drive for religious pursuits has increased.
Traditional Chinese religious organizations, such as Buddhism and Taoism, have always suffered from loose organization and a high degree of freedom. The general public typically only visits temples to burn incense during festivals, and the three schools of thought (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism) are often indistinctly intertwined. People might visit one Buddhist temple one day and another Taoist temple the next – a phenomenon unprecedented in the West, where people usually maintain a lifelong connection with a single church. Many scholars of religion believe this is a developing trend: religious institutions are becoming like department stores, offering various religious services for customers to choose from, and even charging them. While this smacks of commercializing religion, the nature of religion dictates that it is not profit-driven. Such religions are more like the religions of primitive societies. However, it is important to emphasize the necessity of ritual and strict organization.
All existing religious organizations emphasize rituals and precepts. However, as people’s knowledge and cultural level improve, they begin to feel aversion to the cumbersome rituals and strict precepts of religions, becoming one of the important reasons for people leaving religious organizations. As individuals pursuing spirituality, it is even more difficult for them to recognize the significance of rituals and precepts in their spiritual pursuits, because they are one-sidedly influenced by the rational thinking of secondary society and ignore the irrational side of human consciousness.
Strict organizations provide a sub-society that approximates a primitive society, while personal religious pursuits will not necessarily meet this need. This can be replaced by other forms, such as strengthening family and kinship ties to prevent them from being eroded by secondary society, or organizing clubs with religious and aesthetic goals.
The advancement and increasing prevalence of science have significantly impacted religion. Coupled with China’s unique political situation, Chinese people are increasingly lacking in religious faith; for example, overseas Chinese often state on forms that they have no religious affiliation. For instance, Statistics Canada’s 2001 statistics show that there were over one million Chinese Canadians, representing 4% of the population. However, 56% of these Chinese Canadians stated they had no religious beliefs, while only 17% of the total Canadian population had no religious affiliation. This means that the 4% of the total population who are Chinese Canadians comprise 13% of all Canadians without religious faith. Therefore, personal spiritual pursuits and guidance are even more important to Chinese people.
The twelve chapters of this book have already elaborated on the pursuit of personal spirituality from a Taoist perspective, so they will not be repeated here. Readers can refer to those chapters.
(vi) The Chinese tradition of complementing Confucianism and Taoism in modern secondary society
The guiding role of Taoism in personal life has been discussed in Chapters 11 and 12, and will not be repeated here. This section focuses specifically on the social significance of Taoism. A popular Western fable tells of a group of frogs living in a pond who traditionally regarded a wooden stake as their king. Over time, they lost respect for their king. One by one, they climbed onto the stake and discovered that their king was just an ordinary wooden stake. Their chaos led to a snake replacing the stake as the frogs’ king, and this new king spent his days devouring frogs. This story illustrates that the governing system of a secondary society is not the same as its people; it is better, as Lao Tzu said, to be like the function of a wooden stake, imperceptible to its people. The United Nations’ peaceful function, which it respects but has no real power over, is like the dynasties of Xia, Shang, and Zhou. The two World Wars and the Cold War represent the pinnacle of human history of warfare over thousands of years. People can revisit the Taoist ideas of non-action and tranquility.
Due to a temporary void of faith caused by various social factors, moral values declined, and resentment was palpable. Some scholars began to revive Confucianism, which was beneficial in filling the void in people’s hearts and saving social morality. This is precisely the role of Confucianism in Chinese history. To be precise, apart from becoming the dominant philosophy in the sub-society formed by Confucius’s disciples, Confucianism has never held a dominant position in Chinese history; that is to say, Chinese society has never been built according to Confucian doctrines. The author believes that during the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, the mainstream philosophy in China was close to Daoism, while Confucianism occupied a subordinate and complementary position. After the Qin and Han dynasties, the dominant philosophy was imperial Confucianism, a hybrid of Confucianism and Legalism, which was fundamentally different from orthodox Confucianism. Another description of this imperial Confucianism is that it internally employed Huang-Lao thought while outwardly displaying Confucianism; its essence was Huang-Lao political maneuvering, while the thoughts of the vast majority of farmers were closer to Daoist thought and farther from Confucianism. Theoretically, Confucianism could be used to organize society, but in reality, there was no ready-made template to follow. The incompetent rulers and chaotic periods in Chinese history, along with various cruel punishments such as the execution of nine generations of relatives, dismemberment, and skinning alive, sufficiently demonstrate that Confucianism did not truly hold a dominant position, and its restraining effect on the ruling class was very limited. Historically, Chinese governments were secular, not religious.
The West values competition and champions equality before opportunity. They have many internal mechanisms to ensure the fairest possible competition, a key one being that no single competition is unique; selection is multi-faceted. Companies select employees, and employees select companies. If we interpret the Confucian social system as a stable system based on seniority and popularity rather than ability, the author’s experience working in Western hospitals for many years suggests that they also internally operate on seniority and personal connections, implementing hourly wages rather than piece-rate wages. Although both Confucianism and Taoism are based on self-sufficient rural economies, Confucianism carries the burden of two thousand years of cooperation with feudal autocracy, while Taoism’s burden lies in providing spiritual support for historical peasant uprisings. Taoism is more easily adapted to modern society.
Besides restraining the government from a humanitarian perspective, Confucianism provided intellectuals in feudal society with a foothold, granting them a degree of ideological independence under an autocratic system. This may be one reason why some intellectuals in China are currently enthusiastic about Confucianism. Confucius emphasized the virtues of a gentleman, and Mencius proposed the concept of “vast and righteous energy,” both aiming to elevate the pursuit of moral perfection to an intrinsic level. A significant reason for this pursuit of morality by intellectuals in feudal society was the suffocating atmosphere of an autocratic system; high-pressure politics forced people to seek inner peace. This differs from Daoism’s approach of seeking inner peace outside of politics, although high-pressure politics also contributed to the flourishing of Daoism.
The most distinctive feature of Taoism is its use of individual psychological experiences within society as the standard for social judgment. It rejects both Legalist utilitarianism and Confucian doctrines of benevolence and righteousness, instead prioritizing the inner well-being of the vast majority of society as its social ideal. European culture originated from the Aryan nomadic culture of the Central Asian plateau, guided by utilitarianism and focused on conquest. More than three thousand years later, it has become the dominant culture in the world—the end of this cultural line. Taoism, on the other hand, advocates peace and tranquility, returning to the humanity and ideals of prehistoric societies. If the Aryan nomadic peoples represent masculine culture, Taoism promotes feminine culture: peace, gentleness, and harmony.
Before the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of China, there existed a matriarchal society, and there is also considerable evidence of prehistoric matriarchal societies around the world. However, scholars do not reach a consensus on the existence of prehistoric matriarchal societies, let alone matriarchal societies. One point that most agree on is that pre-civilization societies were egalitarian societies without class distinctions, where men and women were equal. Because children grew up with their mothers, women were especially respected, and older men, possessing experience and wisdom, also received respect. Even so, neither men nor women had absolute authority; everyone cooperated and relied on principles of tolerance and coordination. This is the ancient, simple society repeatedly mentioned by Daoist authors such as Lao Tzu and Zhuangzi. The mention of female culture here is in contrast to the class distinctions of patriarchal societies, and is not intended to advocate for a women’s suffrage society.
If the social orientation of conquest and wealth accumulation has reached its end, and people need to look back, the most striking thing is the prehistoric matriarchal culture. This matriarchal culture is precisely the ancient society advocated by Taoism, while Confucian culture and female culture are almost unrelated.
In conclusion, how to construct a modern society using Confucianism and how to guide modern people’s lives using Confucianism is a huge issue. The author does not deny this possibility, but believes that the Daoist thought is more practical: leaving the secondary society to be built by others, focusing on the protection and guidance of the original society, providing a place for spiritual trauma to recuperate outside of society, and providing guidance for personal life in the secondary society.
author By Dr. You-Sheng Li
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