What does Veeky Forums think of Taoism?

what does Veeky Forums think of Taoism?

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I recommend this book. Anyone else read it?

Interesting monist philosophy and mysticism is turned into polytheism, elaborate liturgies, priestly classes, quests for immortality, divinization of Laozi, alchemy, etc.

For an example of "the Daoism that doesn't end with the Zhuangzi", here's some stuff from Introducing Daoism by Kohn:

Once they exist, the Dao as Great Nonbeing creates the three fundamental qi of the cosmos: mysterious, primordial, and beginning. They in turn intermingle in chaos and bring forth a primordial goddess called Jade Maiden of Mystery and Wonder, a name that combines the basic attributes of Dao with the formal title of a Daoist goddess. She next gives birth to the celestial version of Laozi through her left armpit. The god in this version is not Dao as such but its direct product, mediated through a series of transformations that bring forth heavens, spiritual powers, pure energies, and a mother figure. He is born supernaturally even in Heaven. His emergence from the left armpit, moreover, borrows from the birth story of the Buddha, who leaves his mother through her right hip.

I didn't read that translation, I recommend Red Pine's.

There's some interesting commentary in LaFargue's edition too.

Degeneracy.

t. high ranking, filial, scholar-bureaucrat who has graduated the academy with a jinshi degree.

Go away Confucius

>Metaphysics.
>Practical
Call me when you need me to buy something from town again, hermit.

Confucius pls go.

You're no scholar-bureaucrat, nobody wanted to hire you in particular, or Confucians in general back in the day.

The Legalists' opinions were those that mattered and united Tianxia under the first Qin emperor, Hanfeizi's book comments on the Daodejing and is part of the Daozang.

Yes, the Daodejing is a political treatise, too.

I've never read any Red Pine translations but I always just assumed he was Alan Watts tier, am I wrong?

Finished the Tao Te Ching, and just finishing the Chuang Tzu. I'll be checking out the Lieh Tzu and I Ching afterwards. What I've read so far is interesting and carries a lot of wisdom within it. I'm honestly surprised at how Chuang Tzu is covering in the third century BCE ground that wouldn't really be much touched upon in western philosophy until post-structuralism; there is a surprisingly modern bent to his opinions, or perhaps it's just that his opinions are easily cast in a modern light.

>Yes, the Daodejing is a political treatise, too.

I've actually seen it referred to as a manual of rulership.

Absolutely disgusting

No regard for filial piety or social order

An ideology for dreamers, lazy bums, and cucks

Laotse is not my philosopher, he is a collection of wildly different folk ideas and most likely fictional as well.

Duty and tradition, not weed and alchemy ok?

Praise the Master