>>> "Henry C.K. Liu" <hliu at mindspring.com> 11/20 1:55 PM >>>
To Jim Farmelant:
Mao's relations with classical Chinese intellectual traditions is at once derivative and antagonistic. My view is that Mao, like most modern Chinese, was intellectually anti-Confucian yet inescapably conditioned by Confucianism culturally. (I have more to say about Confucianism, but unless a request for posting on the topic is received, I hesitate to impose it on this list.) A strong case can be built to support the thesis that Mao is a modern Daoist, though the paradox is that he was unquestionably a materialist. But, as I have pointed out, paradoxes are the specialties of Daoism. For example, gunpowder had been invented around the fourth century by Daoist alchemist Ko Hong while seeking an elixir for immortality. It represents the height of Daoist irony that the search for an elixir for immortality only yields a substance that ends life abruptly. ___________
Charles: I have studied Daoism a little lately ( very little and I am glad to have Henry Liu's posts to teach me more). It of course struck me that the paradoxical center of Daoism is dialectical but way before Hegel. It is not surprising that Mao is known for his essay "On Contradiction."
On posting to the list on Confucianism, I would find it edifying, myself. I think Henry should write on it. Those uninterested can easily delete the messages. ________
Charles Brown
Detroit