The writers of the Huainanzi 淮南子 show that emotions are based on resonance. In this ancient Chinese text, emotional expressions are considered natural phenomena; however, at the same time, they are sometimes evaluated negatively. It states that sometimes, not only emotions stemming from desires but also emotional expressions in daily lives must be controlled. This is due to the following prescriptions stemming from the art of rulership: (1) a ruler must clearly and distinctly recognize a situation. Emotional expressions lose the (...) Quintessential Spirit (jingshen 精神), which mediates the recognition of the situation; and (2) the intention must not be revealed to the ruler’s vassals. The concept of heart (xin 心) in the Huainanzi, on the foundation called the “theory of cultivation” of Daoism, is influenced by the art of rulership from Legalism. (shrink)

In The Contemplative Foundations of Classical Daoism, Harold D. Roth explores the origins and nature of the Daoist tradition, arguing that its creators and innovators were not abstract philosophers but, rather, mystics engaged in self-exploration and self-cultivation, which in turn provided the insights embodied in such famed works as the Daodejing and Zhuangzi. In this compilation of essays and chapters representing nearly thirty years of scholarship, Roth examines the historical and intellectual origins of Daoism and demonstrates how this distinctive philosophy (...) emerged directly from practices that were essentially contemplative in nature. In the first part of the book, Roth applies text-critical methods to derive the hidden contemplative dimensions of classical Daoism. In the second part, he applies a "contemplative hermeneutic" to explore the relationship between contemplative practices and classical Daoist philosophy and, in so doing, brings early Daoist writings into conversation with contemporary contemplative studies. To this he adds an introduction in which he reflects on the arc and influence on the field of early Chinese thought of this rich vein of scholarship and an afterword in which he applies both interpretive methods to the vexing question of the authorship of the Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi. The Contemplative Foundations of Classical Daoism brings to fruition the cumulative investigations and observations of a leading figure in the emerging field of contemplative studies as they pertain to a core component of early Chinese thought. (shrink)