Fundamentally,Laozi’s philosophy is a philosophy of power and contains reflections on the origin,role,and restraint of power. Accordingly,a series of important concepts in his philosophy,such as Dao(道),De(德),Wuwei(无为),Ziran(自然)can be sensibly and appropriately understood only in regard to the power. For instance,Laozi’s Dao and De are actually the Dao and De of a king, which focus on the understanding and use of power. The cosmological Dao simply provides a paradigm for the king in this world to model on,and the relationship between Dao and things lays the foundation for that between king and common people. Laozi’s basic idea concerning the use of power is Rouruo (柔弱),which manifests in the Wuwei of the king and the Ziran of the common people. Wuwei is essentially the self restraint of power and requires the king not to force his own will upon the common people and the world. Under these circumstances,the common people can have larger living space, which is actually the core of the conception of Ziran. Different from the emphasis on love in Confucianism,Laozi’s philosophy exhibits a greater spirit of tolerance.
