Throughout their history, Taoism and Confucianism have often been viewed as staunch opposing forces. Many Confucians have charged the Taoists with being subversive elements who are trying to undermine the social order with their lack of rigid rules of propriety.
So is it true? Are Taoists a danger to society?
Well, I guess that depends on what you think a perfect society should look like.
Whereas Confucians believe in conformity and etiquette to help reinforce proper social behavior, Taoists believe that the best way to live is to pretty much let life flow over you, being receptive to nature and the world and avoiding any attempt to control or interfere in the way things work.
As writers Brandon Toropov and Father Luke Buckles put it, according to Taoism, “The individual should seek the truth by means of a patient, accepting focus on natural patterns and influences worthy of emulation.”
Basically, Taoism says that nature already gives us all the rules we need, so all the strict hierarchical and behavioral codes of Confucianism are unnecessary, meaningless, and maybe even harmful.
The best way to follow the Taoist path, in an ideal world, would probably be to become a farmer. You’d live close to the land and your life would revolve around nature’s cycles and the changing seasons, unlike the life of the ideal Confucian, who would probably be a highly educated wise person working at the top tiers of government office. That’s a pretty big contrast.
So, do Confucianism and Taoism have anything at all in common?
Surprisingly, they do. For one thing, they both consider the I Ching (Book of Changes) an inspired, if not sacred, piece of literature. (We’ll talk more about the I Ching another day, I promise.)
Confucians and Taoists also both believe that the universe, all of life, everything that exists, is based on the concept of yin and yang (see the photo below).
Although most Americans probably know the yin-yang symbol primarily as a popular motif for jewelry, it actually represents the notion that everything is made up of opposing forces that merge to become one.
Religious scholar Huston Smith explains the idea of yin-yang in The World's Religions. He writes: “This polarity sums up all of life’s basic oppositions: good/evil, active/passive, positive/negative, light/dark, summer/winter, male/female. But though the halves are in tension, they are not flatly opposed; they complement and balance each other. Each invades the other’s hemisphere and takes up its abode in the deepest recess of its partner’s domain. And in the end both find themselves resolved by the circle that surrounds them, the Tao in its eternal wholeness.”
So it shouldn’t be too horrible of a transition for me to move from Confucianism to Taoism. At the heart of things, both Confucians and Taoists believe the universe is based on the same idea. The main difference is in how they believe you should live, based on that idea.
I guess I can handle being Taoist. Sure, I may have to give up on my beloved etiquette for a while, but maybe it’ll be a relief to fit in with the rest of you socially lazy people for once (just kidding).
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