| S: | 无为 |
| T: | 無為 |
| P: | wúwéi |
| W: | wu2-wei2 |
| J: | mou4-wai4 |
| Y: | mòuhwàih |
| Vie: | vô vi |
| Order: | ts |
| Hiragana: | むい |
| Kanji: | 無為 |
| Revhep: | mui |
| Hanja: | Korean: 無爲 |
| Hangul: | 무위 |
| Rr: | muwi |
Wu wei is an ancient Chinese concept literally meaning "inexertion", "inaction", or "effortless action".[1] Wu wei emerged in the Spring and Autumn period. With early literary examples, as an idea, in the Classic of Poetry,[2] it becomes an important concept in the Confucian Analects,[3] Chinese statecraft,[4] and Daoism. It was most commonly used to refer to an ideal form of government, including the behavior of the emperor, describing a state of personal harmony, free-flowing spontaneity and laissez-faire. It generally denotes a state of spirit or state of mind, and in Confucianism, accords with conventional morality.
Wu Wei is the main principle of Dao philosophy, which speaks of the importance of achieving the Dao or the Natural Way in all actions and development of things. Without forcing or rushing against the natural order of things to avoid false development and mistakes. The philosophy of Dao, 'Dao Jia' and the religion of Dao, 'Dao Jiao' are two different things. For example, in the philosophy of Dao, 'Dao Jia' there is no mysticism and belief in ghosts and evil spirits.
Sinologist Jean François Billeter describes wu-wei as a "state of perfect knowledge of the reality of the situation, perfect efficaciousness and the realization of a perfect economy of energy", which Edward Slingerland qualifies in practice as a "set of ('transformed') dispositions (including physical bearing)... conforming with the normative order".
The founder of Dao philosophy, Lao Zi, successfully founded his philosophical school with the manuscript 'Dao De Jing' ('Treatise on Morals'). In addition, to achieve the state of Dao, the followers were required to perform certain physical exercises. Later, during the Warring States era, professional warriors used Wu Wei as the primary guide for their training and fighting methods and created Wu Wei Martial Arts. At that harsh time, among the best ancient martial arts schools, the Wu Wei school had an undeniable reputation. The core fighting skill of Wu Wei Martial Arts is the skill of the rolling power, 'Hun Yuan Gong'. According to ancient tradition, the name of that combat system was most often known as Wuweimen, 'Gates to Wu Wei'.
As quoted by the sinologist Herrlee Creel, the early scholarship of Feng Youlan considered there to be a difference between philosophical and religious Daoism, with contradictory teachings. Creel took them as arising simultaneously, representing the Xian concept in Daoism as a cult of immortality and that of the more philosophical Zhuangzi.
Hence, Creel considered wu wei, as found in the Daodejing and Zhuangzi, to denote two different things.
The first is quite in line with the contemplative Daoism of the Zhuangzi. Creel believed that "contemplative Daoism" came first, and "purposive Daoism" second.
Described as a source of serenity in Daoist thought, only rarely do Daoist texts suggest that ordinary people could gain political power through wu wei. The Zhuangzi does not seem to indicate a definitive philosophical idea, simply that the sage "does not occupy himself with the affairs of the world".
Creel believed the second interpretation to have been imported from the earlier political thought of Legalist Shen Buhai (400 BCE –) as Daoists became more interested in the exercise of power by the ruler.[5] Called "rule by non-activity" and strongly advocated by Han Fei, during the Han dynasty until the reign of Han Wudi, rulers confined their activity "chiefly to the appointment and dismissal of his high officials", a plainly Legalist practice inherited from the Qin dynasty.[6] This "conception of the ruler's role as a supreme arbiter, who keeps the essential power firmly in his grasp" while leaving details to ministers, has a "deep influence on the theory and practice of Chinese monarchy", and played a "crucial role in the promotion of the autocratic tradition of the Chinese polity", ensuring the ruler's power and the stability of the polity.
The Zhuangzi derives more from the later part of the Warring States period, ridiculing Confucian moralization.[7] Only appearing three times in the second (more contemplative) half of the Zhuangzi, early Daoists may have avoided the term for its association with Legalism before ultimately co-opting its governmental sense as well. Creel regarded this as having been attempted in the Zhuangzis chapter. In the more "purposive" Daoism of the Daodejing, much of which was which was believed by Creel if not modern scholarship to have been written after the Zhuangzi, wu wei becomes a major "guiding principle for social and political pursuit", in which the Daoist "seeks to use his power to control and govern the world".[5]
Given scant data, sinologist Roger T. Ames regards attempts to determine the origin of wu wei as amounting to strained speculation, although Ames speculates that Shen Buhai's interpretation originated in the Han state he had governance over.[8] [9] Few modern scholars necessarily find Creel's chronology entirely convincing. While early scholarship may have assumed an earlier dating of the Daodejing, few critical scholars believe, for instance, that Laozi was a contemporary of Confucius.
Apart from Shen Buhai, the Analects (Lun-yu) is the only preserved text to make use of the term prior to the Zhuangzi. Hence, Creel believed that an important clue to the development of wu wei existed in the Analects, in a saying attributed to Confucius, which reads: "The Master said, 'Was it not Shun who did nothing and yet ruled well? What did he do? He merely corrected his person ("made himself reverent" – Edward Slingerland) and took his proper position (facing south) as ruler'". The concept of a divine king whose "magic power" (virtue) "regulates everything in the land" (Creel) pervades early Chinese philosophy, particularly "in the early branches of Quietism that developed in the fourth century B.C."
Edward Slingerland argues wu wei in this sense has to be attained. But in the Confucian conception of virtue, virtue can only be attained by not consciously trying to attain it. The manifestation of virtue is regarded as a reward by Heaven for following its will – as a power that enables them to establish this will on earth. In this, probably more original sense, wu wei may be regarded as the "skill" of "becoming a fully realized human being", a sense which it shares with Daoism. This "skill" avoids relativity through being linked to a "normative" metaphysical order, making its spontaneity "objective". By achieving a state of wu wei (and taking his proper ritual place), Shun "unifies and orders" the entire world, and finds his place in the "cosmos". Taken as a historical fact demonstrating the viable superiority of Confucianism (or Daoism, for Daoist depictions), wu wei may be understood as a strongly "realist" spiritual-religious ideal, differing from Kantian or Cartesian realism in its Chinese emphasis on practice.
The "object" of wu wei "skill-knowledge" is the Way, which is – to an extent regardless of school – "embodying" the mind to a "normative order existing independently of the minds of the practitioners". The primary example of Confucianism – Confucius at age 7 – displays "mastery of morality" spontaneously, his inclinations being in harmony with his virtue. Confucius considers training unnecessary if one is born loving the Way, as with the disciple Yan Hui. Mencius believed that men are already good, and need only realize it not by trying, but by allowing virtue to realize itself, and coming to love the Way. Training is done to learn to spontaneously love the Way. Virtue is compared with the grain seed (being domesticated) and the flow of water. On the other hand, Xun Kuang considered it possible to attain wu wei only through a long and intensive traditional training.
Following its developments elsewhere, Zhuang Zhou and Laozi turn towards an unadorned "no effort". Laozi, as opposed to carved Confucian jade, advocates a return to the primordial Mother and to become like uncarved wood. He condemns doing and grasping, urging the reader to cognitively grasp oneness (still the mind), reduce desires and the size of the state, leaving human nature untouched. In practice, wu wei is aimed at through behaviour modification; cryptically referenced meditation and more purely physical breathing techniques as in the Guanzi, which includes just taking the right posture. The Guanzi itself may have been compiled even after the Han Feizi.
Though, by still needing to make a cognitive effort, perhaps not resolving the paradox of not doing, the concentration on accomplishing wu wei through the physiological would influence later thinkers. The Daodejing became influential in intellectual circles around 250 BCE (1999: 26–27). Included in the 2nd century Guanzi, the likely older Neiye (or Inward Training) may be the oldest recovered Chinese text, describing what would become Daoist breath meditation techniques and qi circulation, with Harold D. Roth considering it to be a genuine 4th-century BCE text.
Verse 13 describes the aspects of, attained through relaxed efforts.
Unable to find his philosopher-king, Confucius placed his hope in virtuous ministers. Apart from the Confucian ruler's "divine essence" (ling) "ensuring the fecundity of his people" and fertility of the soil, Creel notes that he was also assisted by "five servants", who "performed the active functions of government". Xun Kuang's Xunzi, a Confucian adaptation to Qin Legalism, defines the ruler in much the same sense, saying that the ruler "need only correct his person" because the "abilities of the ruler appear in his appointment of men to office": namely, appraising virtue and causing others to perform.
Important information lay in the recovery of the fragments of administrator Shen Buhai. Shen portrays Yao as using Fa (administrative method) in the selection and evaluation of men. Though not a conclusive argument against proto-Daoist influence, Shen's Daoist terms do not show evidence of Daoist usage (Confucianism also uses terms like 'Dao', meaning the 'Way' of government), lacking any metaphysical connotation. The later Legalist book, the Han Feizi has a commentary on the Daodejing, but references Shen Buhai rather than Laozi for this usage.
Shen is credited with the dictum "The Sage ruler relies on method and does not rely on wisdom; he relies on technique, not on persuasions",[10] and used the term wu wei to mean that the ruler, though vigilant, should not interfere with the duties of his ministers, saying "One who has the right way of government does not perform the functions of the five (aka various) officials, and yet is the master of the government".[11]
Since the bulk of both the Daodejing and Zhuangzi appear to have been composed at a later point, Creel argued that it may therefore be assumed that Shen influenced them,[11] much of both appearing to be counter-arguments against Legalist controls. The "Way of Heaven" chapter of the Zhuangzi seems to follow Shen Buhai down to the detail, saying "Superiors must be without action in-order to control the world; inferiors must be active in-order to be employed in the world's business..." and to paraphrase, that foundation and principle are the responsibility of the superior, superstructure and details that of the minister, but then goes on to attack Shen's administrative details as non-essential.
Elsewhere, the Zhuangzi references another Legalist, Shen Dao, as impartial and lacking selfishness, his "great way embracing all things".[12]
Shen Buhai argued that if the government were organized and supervised relying on proper method (Fa), the ruler needs to do little – and must do little. Apparently paraphrasing the Analects, Shen did not consider the relationship between ruler and minister antagonistic necessarily,[13] but still believed that the ruler's most able ministers were his greatest danger, and was convinced that it was impossible to make them loyal without techniques. Sinologist Herrlee G. Creel explains: "The ruler's subjects are so numerous, and so on alert to discover his weaknesses and get the better of him, that it is hopeless for him alone as one man to try to learn their characteristics and control them by his knowledge... the ruler must refrain from taking the initiative, and from making himself conspicuous – and therefore vulnerable – by taking any overt action."
Emphasizing the use of administrative methods (Fa) in secrecy, Shen Buhai portrays the ruler as putting up a front to hide his weaknesses and dependence on his advisers.[14] Shen therefore advises the ruler to keep his own counsel, hide his motivations, and conceal his tracks in inaction, availing himself of an appearance of stupidity and insufficiency. Shen says:
Acting through Fa, the ruler conceals his intentions, likes and dislikes, skills and opinions. Not acting himself, he can avoid being manipulated.[11] The ruler plays no active role in governmental functions. He should not use his talent even if he has it. Not using his own skills, he is better able to secure the services of capable functionaries. Creel argues that not getting involved in details allowed Shen's ruler to "truly rule", because it leaves him free to supervise the government without interfering, maintaining his perspective. Seeing and hearing independently, the ruler is able to make decisions independently, and is, Shen says, able to rule the world thereby.
This wu wei might be said to end up the political theory of the "Legalists", if not becoming their general term for political strategy, playing a "crucial role in the promotion of the autocratic tradition of the Chinese polity". The (qualified) non-action of the ruler ensures his power and the stability of the polity.
Shen Buhai insisted that the ruler must be fully informed of the state of his realm, but couldn't afford to get caught up in details and in an ideal situation need listen to no one. Listening to his courtiers might interfere with promotions, and he does not, as Sinologist Herrlee G. Creel says, have the time to do so. The way to see and hear independently is the grouping together of particulars into categories using mechanical or operational method (Fa). On the contrary the ruler's eyes and ears will make him "deaf and blind" (unable to obtain accurate information).[15] [16] Seeing and hearing independently, the ruler is able to make decisions independently, and is, Shen says, able to rule the world thereby.
Despite this, Shen's method of appointment, Ming-shih, advises a particular method for listening to petitioners in the final analyses, which would be articulated as Xing-Ming by Han Fei. In the Han Dynasty secretaries of government who had charge of the records of decisions in criminal matters were called Xing-Ming, which Sima Qian (145 or 135 – 86 BC) and Liu Xiang (77–6 BC) attributed to the doctrine of Shen Buhai (400 –). Liu Xiang goes as far as to define Shen Buhai's doctrine as Xing-Ming.[17] Rather than having to look for "good" men, ming-shih or xing-ming can seek the right man for a particular post by comparing his reputation with real conduct (xing "form" or shih "reality"), though doing so implies a total organizational knowledge of the regime.[18]
More simply though, one can allow ministers to "name" themselves through accounts of specific cost and time frame, leaving their definition to competing ministers. Claims or utterances "bind the speaker to the realization a job (Makeham)". This was the doctrine, with subtle differences, favoured by Han Fei. Favoring exactness, it combats the tendency to promise too much.[19] The correct articulation of is considered crucial to the realization of projects.[20]
Shen resolved hair-splitting litigation through wu wei, or not getting involved, making an official's words his own responsibility. Shen Buhai says, "The ruler controls the policy, the ministers manage affairs. To speak ten times and ten times be right, to act a hundred times and a hundred times succeed – this is the business of one who serves another as minister; it is not the way to rule." The correlation between wu wei and ming-shih likely informed the Taoist conception of the formless Tao that "gives rise to the ten thousand things."[21]
Adherence to the use of technique in governing requires the ruler not engage in any interference or subjective consideration. Sinologist John Makeham explains: "assessing words and deeds requires the ruler's dispassionate attention; (yin is) the skill or technique of making one's mind a tabula rasa, non-committaly taking note of all the details of a man's claims and then objectively comparing his achievements of the original claims."
A commentary to the Shiji cites a now-lost book as quoting Shen Buhai saying: "By employing (yin), 'passive mindfulness', in overseeing and keeping account of his vassals, accountability is deeply engraved." The Guanzi similarly says: "Yin is the way of non-action. Yin is neither to add to nor to detract from anything. To give something a name strictly on the basis of its form – this is the Method of yin."[22] Yin also aimed at concealing the ruler's intentions, likes and opinions.
Shen Dao espouses an impersonal administration in much the same sense as Shen Buhai, and argued for wu wei, or the non action of the ruler, along the same lines, saying
Shen Dao eschews appointment by interview in favour of a mechanical distribution apportioning every person according to their achievement.[23] [24] Linking administrative methods or standards to the notion of impartial objectivity associated with universal interest, and reframing the language of the old ritual order to fit a universal, imperial and highly bureaucratized state,[25] Shen cautions the ruler against relying on his own personal judgment,[26] contrasting personal opinions with the merit of the objective standard as preventing personal judgements or opinions from being exercised. Personal opinions destroy standards, and Shen Dao's ruler therefore "does not show favoritism toward a single person".[25]