An Analysis Of The Daodejing

The Daodejing is often attributed to Laozi. However, it is likely that Laozi never existed. Furthermore it is likely that the Daodejing was compiled by multiple authors over a lengthy period of time. It is separated into two sections or two “books.” The two sections are the “Dao” and the “De.” In other words it is separated into the “Way” section and the “Virtue” section. However, the two sections do not, necessarily, have differentiated content. The Daodejing was written down during the Warring States Period in China. The Daodejing calls for return of the ways of past when things were supposedly better (Ivanhoe). The Daodejing is somewhat hard to read. This may, possibly, be to the multiple sources of the chapters. It seems to contradict

Meaning, people have a tendency to read into it too much. There is something in the Daodejing for everyone. One can find different meanings in the text. If one were to follow what the Daodejing, as a guide to life, it would be easy to justify multiple actions or opinions. Multiple authors, however, are not the only thing that makes the Daodejing hard to read. There seems to be very little structure. Also, the poetic style of the verses in the Daodejing are layered with subtleties upon subtleties. It is hard to derive any particular meaning out of any one chapter. While this makes the reading aesthetically pleasing, it also makes it hard to read. Still, what is interesting about the Daodejing is the idea of returning to a way of the past. For example in chapter 80 it says, “Make sure that even though there are labor-saving tools, they are never used (Ivanhoe 203).” A return to the way of the past was meant quite literally. The Daodejing required more than a just a return to an old way of thinking. This is odd, and it quite possibly reflects the time. It is hard to imagine in today’s world anyone honestly wanting to return to a time without modern medicine, for example. Many people do talk about wishing to go back to “simpler” time without as much “background noise” such as smart phones. However, most people wouldn’t have smart phones and the like completely thrown out. Instead people