{"id":3648,"date":"2009-09-21T09:37:48","date_gmt":"2009-09-21T01:37:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/2009\/09\/21\/luan_tan_cong_20090921\/"},"modified":"2009-09-21T09:37:48","modified_gmt":"2009-09-21T01:37:48","slug":"luan_tan_cong_20090921","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/2009\/09\/21\/luan_tan_cong_20090921\/","title":{"rendered":"Luan\u00adtan: From androg\u00ady\u00adny to mod\u00adern witch\u00ades to Lao Tzu\u2019s fem\u00adi\u00adnist views"},"content":{"rendered":"

   
\nThis arti\u00adcle is just ran\u00addom talk, don\u2019t take it too seri\u00adous\u00adly.
\n 
\n   
\nI have been read\u00ading some ran\u00addom things recent\u00adly and unex\u00adpect\u00aded\u00adly found that there is a lot of con\u00adnec\u00adtion between them. It is very inter\u00adest\u00ading, so I wrote it down.
\n   
\nThis con\u00adnec\u00adtion can be said to be a gen\u00adder issue, a rela\u00adtion\u00adship between males and females, or a rela\u00adtion\u00adship between men and women.
\n   
\nI\u2019ve been using the idiom \u201c\u6c7a\u4e00\u5973\u96c4\u201d (a show\u00addown between male and female) since I was a kid. The mean\u00ading is clear: it means a mat\u00adter of decid\u00ading who\u2019s bet\u00adter, a mat\u00adter of win\u00adning or los\u00ading. But one day, I sud\u00adden\u00adly won\u00addered: Who\u2019s bet\u00adter, male or female? Who wins?
\n   
\nThe answer seems clear: female rep\u00adre\u00adsents loss, male rep\u00adre\u00adsents vic\u00adto\u00adry. But is this real\u00adly the case? Who stip\u00adu\u00adlat\u00aded this?
\n   
\nIf the expla\u00adna\u00adtion of the words cor\u00adre\u00adsponds to: a show\u00addown = a show\u00addown, then it is also obvi\u00adous that the female wins and the male los\u00ades.
\n   
\nBut this clear\u00adly does\u00adn\u2019t align with mod\u00adern per\u00adcep\u00adtions. Hear\u00ading the crowd yell \u201cHur\u00adry up!\u201d at a foot\u00adball match is hilar\u00adi\u00adous, even more excit\u00ading than cheer\u00ading. But then again, when I was watch\u00ading a wom\u00aden\u2019s soc\u00adcer match, I actu\u00adal\u00adly heard peo\u00adple yelling \u201cHur\u00adry up!\u201d It was hilar\u00adi\u00adous. But did\u00adn\u2019t the media also write about \u201cChi\u00adnese wom\u00aden\u2019s soc\u00adcer regain\u00ading its glo\u00adry\u201d?
\n 
\n   
\nOcca\u00adsion\u00adal\u00adly I read an arti\u00adcle by Mr. Lei Yi of the Chi\u00adnese Acad\u00ade\u00admy of Social Sci\u00adences.\u201cUncon\u00adscious\u201d sex\u00adism<\/a>\u300b
\n    http:\/\/www.renwen.org\/thread-5106\u20131\u20111.html<\/a>
\n   
\nI\u2019ve dis\u00adcov\u00adered some\u00adone else has the same idea, and it\u2019s much more thought\u00adful than mine. Two years ago, at a book fair, I met Mr. Lei. He reviewed books on the human\u00adi\u00adties and social sci\u00adences, while I reviewed chil\u00addren\u2019s books. Mr. Lei is quite inter\u00adest\u00ading, as you can see from this arti\u00adcle. And it seems the one post\u00aded online is the \u201cunabridged ver\u00adsion,\u201d com\u00adplete with Chi\u00adnese swear words.
\n   
\nIn his arti\u00adcle, Mr. Lei shows one side of our tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal cul\u00adture: the side that inten\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adly or unin\u00adten\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adly dis\u00adcrim\u00adi\u00adnates against or weak\u00adens females.
\n   
\nPer\u00adhaps because I\u2019m rais\u00ading a daugh\u00adter, I\u2019m par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly sen\u00adsi\u00adtive to this \u201cclas\u00adsi\u00adcal\u201d aspect of tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal Chi\u00adnese texts. For exam\u00adple, there\u2019s a line in the Three Char\u00adac\u00adter Clas\u00adsic: \u201cOnce upon a time, Meng\u2019s moth\u00ader chose her neigh\u00adbors care\u00adful\u00adly; when her son refused to study, she broke the loom.\u201d When I talk to my daugh\u00adter about this, I have to make a spe\u00adcial com\u00adment. Meng\u2019s moth\u00ader, while choos\u00ading her neigh\u00adbors was good, destroyed the loom because her son did\u00adn\u2019t study\u2014that\u2019s ter\u00adri\u00adble. In tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal Chi\u00adnese fam\u00adi\u00adlies, the hon\u00ador of a fam\u00adi\u00adly rests with the man. There\u2019s also the Dou fam\u00adi\u00adly, whose fam\u00adi\u00adly ped\u00addled pride because they raised five tal\u00adent\u00aded sons. But even if they had fif\u00adteen daugh\u00adters, they\u2019d still be con\u00adsid\u00adered excep\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adly suc\u00adcess\u00adful, and the fam\u00adi\u00adly would\u00adn\u2019t even bring them up. In fact, accord\u00ading to tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal rur\u00adal cus\u00adtoms, daugh\u00adters weren\u2019t even con\u00adsid\u00adered fam\u00adi\u00adly mem\u00adbers. So, Meng\u2019s moth\u00ader, con\u00advinced that her son did\u00adn\u2019t like study\u00ading and skipped class one day, felt the fam\u00adi\u00adly was doomed, so she destroyed the loom as well. What was a loom? It was the fam\u00adi\u00adly\u2019s liveli\u00adhood. To remind her son, to warn him, she destroyed the very thing that fed the fam\u00adi\u00adly. The point is, as a man, the true nobil\u00adi\u00adty of sons! \u2014\u2014We must not have this kind of think\u00ading today.
\n   
\nThere\u2019s anoth\u00ader line in the Analects: \u201cOnly women and vil\u00adlains are dif\u00adfi\u00adcult to raise. If you keep them close, they will be dis\u00adre\u00adspect\u00adful; if you keep them at a dis\u00adtance, they will resent you.\u201d Recent\u00adly, some\u00adone tried to find a \u201ccor\u00adrect inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtion\u201d of this say\u00ading, sug\u00adgest\u00ading that Con\u00adfu\u00adcius was par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly sym\u00adpa\u00adthet\u00adic to women (such as sin\u00adgle moth\u00aders) who raise chil\u00addren (vil\u00adlains) on their own. To put it blunt\u00adly, it\u2019s prob\u00ada\u00adbly: rais\u00ading chil\u00addren is not easy for sin\u00adgle moth\u00aders\u2026 I think this \u201ccor\u00adrect inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtion\u201d is quite cre\u00adative, haha, but it\u2019s also real\u00adly too \u201ccre\u00adative,\u201d haha.
\n   
\nOf course, it\u2019s dif\u00adfi\u00adcult to find evi\u00addence that Con\u00adfu\u00adcius was\u00adn\u2019t a \u201cfem\u00adi\u00adnist\u201d advo\u00adcate. But judg\u00ading from his var\u00adi\u00adous state\u00adments and actions (aside from this \u201ccor\u00adrect\u00aded\u201d state\u00adment), there\u2019s real\u00adly no evi\u00addence of this. This isn\u2019t meant to crit\u00adi\u00adcize Con\u00adfu\u00adcius; he lived far removed from matri\u00adar\u00adchal soci\u00adety. As a fol\u00adlow\u00ader and defend\u00ader of Zhou rit\u00adu\u00adal cul\u00adture, he was also a source of lat\u00ader cul\u00adture and did\u00adn\u2019t attempt to reform it.
\n   
\nAfter the patri\u00adar\u00adchal sys\u00adtem was estab\u00adlished, the idea that males are strong and females are weak, males win and females lose, males are supe\u00adri\u00ador and females are infe\u00adri\u00ador\u2026 seemed to become the default val\u00adue of this cul\u00adtur\u00adal sys\u00adtem.
\n 
\n   
\nA few years ago, when I first read The Da Vin\u00adci Code, I was fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00aded by the bizarre sto\u00adries, the secrets behind famous paint\u00adings, the code games, etc. How\u00adev\u00ader, after putting the book down for a long time, I sud\u00adden\u00adly real\u00adized that there was some\u00adthing in the book that was hid\u00adden by the sus\u00adpense\u00adful and thrilling sto\u00adry.
\n   
\nWhat I found most sur\u00adpris\u00ading about this book was its attempt to offer a dif\u00adfer\u00adent inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtion of Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty through the con\u00adcept of the so-called \u201cHoly Grail.\u201d The clue lies in the world-famous paint\u00ading \u201cThe Last Sup\u00adper,\u201d known to every\u00adone, and sur\u00adpris\u00ading\u00adly, this inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtion makes a lot of sense, or at least is worth pon\u00adder\u00ading. Accord\u00ading to the sto\u00adry\u2019s log\u00adic: after Jesus, pow\u00ader in the Chris\u00adt\u00adian church could have passed to a woman, and the pos\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty of this \u201cfact\u201d (of course, I\u2019m refer\u00adring to a fic\u00adtion\u00adal fact in the sto\u00adry) caused great pan\u00adic among the exist\u00ading church!
\n   
\nActu\u00adal\u00adly, I don\u2019t real\u00adly care about the pos\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty or truth of this \u201cfact\u201d itself. What I find par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly inspir\u00ading is that reli\u00adgion also has gen\u00adder!
\n   
\nHow should I put it \u2014 reli\u00adgions dom\u00adi\u00adnat\u00aded by men will show the char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adis\u00adtics of a patri\u00adar\u00adchal sys\u00adtem, while reli\u00adgions dom\u00adi\u00adnat\u00aded by women will show the char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adis\u00adtics of a matri\u00adar\u00adchal sys\u00adtem \u2014 I guess we can say that.
\n   
\nSo, what is the gen\u00adder of the reli\u00adgions we are most famil\u00adiar with today \u2014 Tao\u00adism, Bud\u00addhism, Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty, and Islam?
\n 
\n   
\nI was once dis\u00adcussing The Da Vin\u00adci Code with a lit\u00ader\u00adary researcher, and he men\u00adtioned that the book\u2019s cre\u00adation had a West\u00adern \u201cNew God\u00addessism\u201d back\u00adground. I found this state\u00adment quite inter\u00adest\u00ading.
\n   
\nUpon clos\u00ader inspec\u00adtion, the book does hint at the exis\u00adtence of anoth\u00ader female reli\u00adgion, one whose rit\u00adu\u00adals mir\u00adror those of the Pri\u00ado\u00adry of Sion, which the hero\u00adine Sophie stum\u00adbled upon at her grand\u00adfa\u00adther\u2019s house as a child. For Sophie, wit\u00adness\u00ading such acts was unbear\u00adable, even unfor\u00adgiv\u00adable. How\u00adev\u00ader, from frag\u00admen\u00adtary ref\u00ader\u00adences with\u00adin the book, this rit\u00adu\u00adal may have orig\u00adi\u00adnat\u00aded in ancient Greece, sim\u00adi\u00adlar to offer\u00adings to the Earth God\u00addess.
\n 
\n   
\nRecent\u00adly, I read anoth\u00ader book called \u201cThe Witch of Por\u00adto\u00adbel\u00adlo\u201d and was so surprised\u2026surprised square\u00adly!
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\n<\/a>http:\/\/landaishu.zhongwenlink.com\/home\/upload20083\/2009920175528467.jpg<\/a>
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\n   
\nI picked up this book to read main\u00adly because it isThe Alchemist<\/a>, but upon read\u00ading it, I found that it has a lot of con\u00adnec\u00adtions with \u201cThe Da Vin\u00adci Code\u201d \u2014 I mean the con\u00adnec\u00adtion that sur\u00adprised me.
\n   
\n\u201cThe Witch\u00ades of Por\u00adto\u00adbel\u00adlo\u201d has a bit of the fla\u00advor of a sus\u00adpense nov\u00adel, but the author\u2019s tem\u00adpera\u00adment as a schol\u00adar and poet makes the book exude a refresh\u00ading tran\u00adquil\u00adi\u00adty.
\n   
\nI spent a long time read\u00ading this book, pro\u00adgress\u00ading step by step, turn\u00ading back when I felt con\u00adfused (but nev\u00ader turn\u00ading back\u00adwards). The book\u2019s nar\u00adra\u00adtive struc\u00adture is bound to be con\u00adfus\u00ading. It recounts the life of this \u201cmod\u00adern witch\u201d through the rec\u00adol\u00adlec\u00adtions of oth\u00aders, with a cer\u00adtain chrono\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal order, but not entire\u00adly. Fur\u00adther\u00admore, each nar\u00adra\u00adtor has a deep rela\u00adtion\u00adship with the pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnist, mak\u00ading it impos\u00adsi\u00adble for them to tru\u00adly objec\u00adtive\u00adly recount the sto\u00adry of this beau\u00adti\u00adful, pas\u00adsion\u00adate, mys\u00adte\u00adri\u00adous woman whom they either love, hate, wor\u00adship, despise, regard as mor\u00adtal, or as a god\u00addess.
\n   
\nI read very slow\u00adly. On the one hand, I was try\u00ading to imag\u00adine the orig\u00adi\u00adnal appear\u00adance of the pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnist from these frag\u00adment\u00aded and unre\u00adli\u00adable frag\u00adments (this is prob\u00ada\u00adbly what Coleot expect\u00aded read\u00aders to do), but on the oth\u00ader hand, I found that almost every detail was extreme\u00adly inspir\u00ading.
\n   
\nI hap\u00adpened to be about to go on a trip, so I took the book with me and con\u00adtin\u00adued to read it slow\u00adly. I reached the final chap\u00adters while at a pass in the Helan Moun\u00adtains. There was no elec\u00adtric\u00adi\u00adty that night, so I fin\u00adished the final sec\u00adtion by dim can\u00addle\u00adlight, which per\u00adfect\u00adly matched the book\u2019s atmos\u00adphere. When I fin\u00adished, I breathed a sigh of relief, unbolt\u00aded the wood\u00aden door, and pre\u00adpared to ven\u00adture out into the moon\u00adlit court\u00adyard. I acci\u00adden\u00adtal\u00adly star\u00adtled a giant black dog lying out\u00adside. It leaped up (luck\u00adi\u00adly, back\u00adward), and I jumped up too (of course, back\u00adward). Then it barked furi\u00adous\u00adly, and all the dogs in the pass joined in the bark\u00ading. I quick\u00adly bolt\u00aded the door, already cov\u00adered in a cold sweat. I checked the time: it was just after midnight\u2014perfectly fit\u00adting for the atmos\u00adphere of fin\u00adish\u00ading the book.
\n   
\nAs a nov\u00adel, I find The Witch\u00ades of Por\u00adto\u00adbel\u00adlo less read\u00adable. It feels like the author lost inter\u00adest in the nov\u00adel as a whole by the end, and the end\u00ading feels a bit abrupt, com\u00adplete\u00adly lack\u00ading the thrill of reach\u00ading the end of The Alchemist. I sus\u00adpect this is pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly due to the imbal\u00adanced nar\u00adra\u00adtive struc\u00adture. The ear\u00adly part is incred\u00adi\u00adbly sus\u00adpense\u00adful and com\u00adplex, while the lat\u00adter part is light\u00adly nar\u00adrat\u00aded, offer\u00ading a some\u00adwhat con\u00adcise (but not nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly unse\u00adri\u00adous) res\u00ado\u00adlu\u00adtion. The plot, broad\u00adly speak\u00ading, tells the life sto\u00adry of a woman embody\u00ading the aura of a \u201cmod\u00adern witch\u201d (if you con\u00adsid\u00ader the final \u201cdeath\u201d as a clo\u00adsure). While the death adds a touch of detec\u00adtive sus\u00adpense to the sto\u00adry, the sub\u00adtle\u00adty and sub\u00adtle\u00adty of the plot also make it feel a bit abrupt. I sus\u00adpect this is the author\u2019s inten\u00adtion: he does\u00adn\u2019t want to dis\u00adtract the read\u00ader, nor does he want to dis\u00adtract the read\u00ader.
\n   
\nAs a unique book, \u201cThe Witch\u00ades of Por\u00adto\u00adbel\u00adlo\u201d is cap\u00adti\u00advat\u00ading. I believe it\u2019s worth read\u00ading for any\u00adone with even a pass\u00ading inter\u00adest in the spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal world and spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal life (and who con\u00adsis\u00adtent\u00adly dis\u00admiss\u00ades them as \u201csuper\u00adsti\u00adtion\u201d). The author firm\u00adly sug\u00adgests that the beau\u00adti\u00adful and mys\u00adte\u00adri\u00adous hero\u00adine, Athena, is tru\u00adly a witch. While we could attempt to inter\u00adpret Athena\u2019s life through mate\u00adri\u00adal\u00adis\u00adtic lense, a more con\u00adve\u00adnient and nat\u00adur\u00adal inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtion is to acknowl\u00adedge her as a witch. Her life\u00adlong strug\u00adgle can be seen as a sto\u00adry of self-dis\u00adcov\u00adery and spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal prac\u00adtice. Her danc\u00ading, cal\u00adlig\u00adra\u00adphy lessons, return to the gyp\u00adsy camp, chance encoun\u00adters with new men\u00adtors, and her men\u00adtor\u00ading of new witch\u00ades can all be seen as forms of spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal prac\u00adtice. Col\u00adiot, with his nov\u00adel\u00adist\u2019s elo\u00adquence, strives to con\u00advince the read\u00ader of this, while simul\u00adta\u00adne\u00adous\u00adly explain\u00ading it with the pro\u00adfound knowl\u00adedge of a schol\u00adar.
\n 
\n   
\nThere\u2019s a sub\u00adtle detail in the book that could be ignored as a nov\u00adel, but I feel it\u2019s prob\u00ada\u00adbly the real rea\u00adson the author wrote it. I remem\u00adber it was only about one page long, and a his\u00adto\u00adri\u00adan who seemed to be an out\u00adsider explained the back\u00adground of the witch\u00ades to us.
\n   
\nIn the view of that his\u00adto\u00adri\u00adan (I think it was Col\u00adliot him\u00adself), mod\u00adern reli\u00adgion is mas\u00adcu\u00adline, a con\u00adtin\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtion of patri\u00adar\u00adchal reli\u00adgion. While he was pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly refer\u00adring to Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty, he could also apply this to Bud\u00addhism and oth\u00ader reli\u00adgions. The patri\u00adar\u00adchal char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adis\u00adtics of mas\u00adcu\u00adline reli\u00adgion (that\u2019s the name I gave it) are most typ\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly insti\u00adtu\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adized, rely\u00ading on reli\u00adgious insti\u00adtu\u00adtions to main\u00adtain their exis\u00adtence and imbued with a rigid hier\u00adar\u00adchy. This insti\u00adtu\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adiza\u00adtion of reli\u00adgion has grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly dis\u00adtanced it from its orig\u00adi\u00adnal teach\u00adings and from the nat\u00adur\u00adal order. It often relies on order and fear, rather than on the most fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal love. The fem\u00adi\u00adnine in reli\u00adgion is often sup\u00adpressed or even per\u00adse\u00adcut\u00aded by mas\u00adculin\u00adi\u00adty. He believed that the medieval church\u2019s per\u00adse\u00adcu\u00adtion of witch\u00ades was essen\u00adtial\u00adly based on this. How\u00adev\u00ader, the fem\u00adi\u00adnine pow\u00ader of reli\u00adgion did not dis\u00adap\u00adpear; its teach\u00adings and adher\u00adents (both men and women) con\u00adtin\u00adued to be passed down in secre\u00adtive ways. The sto\u00adry of the \u201cWitch of Por\u00adto\u00adbel\u00adlo\u201d is just one part of this sto\u00adry.
\n   
\nCom\u00adbin\u00ading the nov\u00adel\u00adist\u2019s frag\u00admen\u00adtary descrip\u00adtions, the deeply fem\u00adi\u00adnine reli\u00adgion he hints at bears some resem\u00adblance to the monas\u00adtic order in The Da Vin\u00adci Code, both empha\u00adsiz\u00ading the wor\u00adship of nature, with the object of wor\u00adship referred to as \u201cMoth\u00ader\u201d or \u201cMoth\u00ader Earth.\u201d How\u00adev\u00ader, in this witch\u2019s book, the ways of access\u00ading and induc\u00ading the ways of nature are both more mys\u00adte\u00adri\u00adous and more every\u00adday. One can reach a \u201cpeak\u201d in a fren\u00adzied dance, gain enlight\u00aden\u00adment in a primeval for\u00adest, med\u00adi\u00adtate in a dark room, or achieve the high\u00adest realms of cal\u00adlig\u00adra\u00adphy\u2026 In short, the meth\u00adods are numer\u00adous, some\u00adwhat rem\u00adi\u00adnis\u00adcent of Taoist or Zen prac\u00adtice. The book\u2019s dis\u00adcus\u00adsion of the prac\u00adti\u00adtion\u00ader\u2019s con\u00adnec\u00adtion with nature also bears resem\u00adblance to the prin\u00adci\u00adple of \u201char\u00admo\u00adny between man and nature.\u201d
\n   
\nThis is prob\u00ada\u00adbly what sur\u00adprised me the most.
\n 
\n   
\nI\u2019ve also been read\u00ading the Laozi (Tao Te Ching) late\u00adly. It\u2019s a fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading book, and the more I read it, the more I under\u00adstand it. Some\u00adtimes it seems like I under\u00adstand a lot, and some\u00adtimes it seems like I don\u2019t under\u00adstand it at all.
\n   
\nSome time after read\u00ading The Witch\u00ades of Por\u00adto\u00adbel\u00adlo, I sud\u00adden\u00adly seemed to have made a new dis\u00adcov\u00adery about Lao Tzu. That night, I excit\u00aded\u00adly announced to my wife: I have dis\u00adcov\u00adered that Lao Tzu is a true fem\u00adi\u00adnist!
\n   
\nWe can find all the rel\u00ade\u00advant texts in \u201cLaozi\u201d, and there is real\u00adly no dis\u00adtinc\u00adtion between \u201cmale and female\u201d in it (it is said that such a con\u00adcept did not exist when the book was writ\u00adten). Laozi used \u201cfemale, female\u201d to cor\u00adre\u00adspond to \u201cmale, male\u201d, and nev\u00ader put \u201cmoth\u00ader\u201d and \u201cfather\u201d togeth\u00ader (they are often put togeth\u00ader in \u201cThe Analects of Con\u00adfu\u00adcius\u201d). The word \u201cfather\u201d only appears once (\u201cI will regard him as my god\u00adfa\u00adther\u201d), and \u201cmoth\u00ader\u201d is often cor\u00adre\u00adspond\u00aded to \u201cson\u201d.
\n 
\n   
\nYou can find these:
\n 
\n   
\n\u3010About Moth\u00ader\u3011
\n   
\nThe name\u00adless is the begin\u00adning of heav\u00aden and earth; the named is the moth\u00ader of all things. (Chap\u00adter 1)
\n   
\nI am dif\u00adfer\u00adent from oth\u00aders in that I val\u00adue eat\u00ading my moth\u00ader. (Chap\u00adter 20)
\n   
\nThere is a thing, a thing in the uni\u00adverse, born before the heav\u00adens and the earth. It is silent and lone\u00adly, yet inde\u00adpen\u00addent and unchang\u00ading, and it cir\u00adcu\u00adlates with\u00adout end. It can be the moth\u00ader of the world. (Chap\u00adter 25)
\n   
\nThe world has a begin\u00adning, which is the moth\u00ader of the world. Once you have under\u00adstood the moth\u00ader, you will know the child. Once you know the child, you will pro\u00adtect the moth\u00ader again. You will nev\u00ader be in dan\u00adger. (Chap\u00adter 52)
\n   
\nA nation with a strong foun\u00adda\u00adtion can endure for a long time; this is the way to longevi\u00adty and pros\u00adper\u00adi\u00adty. (Chap\u00adter 59)
\n   
\nThe \u201cmoth\u00ader\u201d here refers to the way of nature, the way of heav\u00aden, which is quite sim\u00adi\u00adlar to the mean\u00ading of \u201cmoth\u00ader\u201d in \u201cThe Witch of Por\u00adto\u00adbel\u00adlo\u201d, but more pri\u00admor\u00addial. The cor\u00adre\u00adspond\u00ading \u201cson\u201d prob\u00ada\u00adbly refers to all things with form and name.
\n 
\n   
\n\u3010About male and female\u3011
\n   
\nThe immor\u00adtal Val\u00adley Spir\u00adit is called the Mys\u00adte\u00adri\u00adous Female. The gate of the Mys\u00adte\u00adri\u00adous Female is called the root of heav\u00aden and earth. (Chap\u00adter 6)
\n   
\nBefore the union of male and female is known, ejac\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion occurs, which is the cul\u00admi\u00adna\u00adtion of essence. (Chap\u00adter 55)
\n   
\nThe female of the world is the com\u00adpan\u00adion of the world. The female always tri\u00adumphs over the male by being qui\u00adet, and by being qui\u00adet she is the low\u00ader one. (Chap\u00adter 61)
\n   
\nChap\u00adter 55 dis\u00adcuss\u00ades the \u201cinfant,\u201d and the \u201cunion of male and female\u201d here like\u00adly refers to the union of man and woman. Chap\u00adter 6 states, \u201cThe sub\u00adtle and pro\u00adfound gate of mater\u00adni\u00adty is the root of heav\u00aden and earth.\u201d This is the high\u00adest praise, as mater\u00adnal nature nur\u00adtures all things, giv\u00ading rise to end\u00adless life.
\n 
\n   
\n\u3010About male and female\u3011
\n   
\nWhen Heav\u00aden\u2019s gates open and close, can they be con\u00adsid\u00adered female? (Chap\u00adter 10)
\n   
\nKnow\u00ading its mas\u00adculin\u00adi\u00adty and guard\u00ading its fem\u00adi\u00adnin\u00adi\u00adty, one becomes the stream of the world. (Chap\u00adter 28)
\n   
\n\u2014\u2014\u201cTo be female\u201d means to \u201ckeep still\u201d (to be able to over\u00adcome the still\u00adness of males) and \u201ckeep soft\u201d, which is also one of the supreme meth\u00adods praised by Lao Tzu.
\n   
\nInter\u00adest\u00ading\u00adly, Chap\u00adter 28 states, \u201cKnow\u00ading the strength of the male, yet guard\u00ading the soft\u00adness of the female.\u201d This state\u00adment seems to imply that, in the sec\u00adu\u00adlar world, the male is still stronger than the female, which leads to the twist of phrase, \u201cI will insist on guard\u00ading the female.\u201d In oth\u00ader words, in Lao Tzu\u2019s time, the \u201cmale pre\u00advails, the female los\u00ades\u201d and \u201cthe male is strong, the female is weak\u201d were already preva\u00adlent in the minds of the \u201ccom\u00admon peo\u00adple.\u201d Lao Tzu\u2019s teach\u00adings can be said to tran\u00adscend this sec\u00adu\u00adlar world.
\n 
\n   
\nWhen I excit\u00aded\u00adly announced my dis\u00adcov\u00adery to my wife that day, I real\u00adly thought it was a new dis\u00adcov\u00adery. Unfor\u00adtu\u00adnate\u00adly, less than two days lat\u00ader, I acci\u00adden\u00adtal\u00adly flipped through the pref\u00adace to the Laozi anno\u00adtat\u00aded by Xu Xiaot\u00adian. Oh! It turns out that he had already explained it as ear\u00adly as the 18th year of the Repub\u00adlic of Chi\u00adna (1929), and even ear\u00adli\u00ader in the \u201cJingzi Jietie\u201d! \u2014 It\u2019s real\u00adly depress\u00ading :(
\n   
\nHow\u00adev\u00ader, through my ran\u00addom read\u00ading and ran\u00addom encoun\u00adters, I\u2019ve found some sim\u00adi\u00adlar\u00adi\u00adties in insights with the great mas\u00adters of the past, which is quite sat\u00adis\u00adfy\u00ading. How\u00adev\u00ader, judg\u00ading by the cita\u00adtions, the \u201cExpla\u00adna\u00adtion of the Clas\u00adsics\u201d push\u00ades Lao Tzu\u2019s time fur\u00adther and fur\u00adther back, almost to the pre-Shang Dynasty, based on his \u201cpraise of wom\u00aden\u2019s rights.\u201d I think that\u2019s a bit exces\u00adsive. While Lao Tzu\u2019s life is very unclear, it\u2019s gen\u00ader\u00adal\u00adly accept\u00aded that he served as an offi\u00adcial in the Zhou Dynasty library.
\n   
\nFrom the text of the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu him\u00adself stat\u00aded that his thoughts orig\u00adi\u00adnat\u00aded from ancient times: \u201cHold\u00ading on to the ancient Tao, we can con\u00adtrol the present. Know\u00ading the ancient begin\u00adnings is called the Dao Ji\u201d (Chap\u00adter 14). He also said, \u201cFrom the present to the ancient times, its name has not fad\u00aded, and it has been used to review the var\u00adi\u00adous begin\u00adnings. How do I know the state of the var\u00adi\u00adous begin\u00adnings? By this\u201d (Chap\u00adter 21).
\n 
\n   
\nIn \u201cThe Da Vin\u00adci Code\u201d, the muse\u00adum direc\u00adtor also serves as the mas\u00adter of the monastery;
\n   
\nIn The Witch of Por\u00adto\u00adbel\u00adlo, the mys\u00adte\u00adri\u00adous men\u00adtor\u2019s pub\u00adlic iden\u00adti\u00adty is also a famous reli\u00adgious his\u00adto\u00adri\u00adan;
\n   
\nDamn, there\u2019s noth\u00ading wrong with pub\u00adlicly iden\u00adti\u00adfy\u00ading myself as the direc\u00adtor of the Nation\u00adal Library!
\n 
\n   
\nIf, in the long riv\u00ader of human cul\u00adtur\u00adal his\u00adto\u00adry, there tru\u00adly exists a very ancient source, a spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal cul\u00adtur\u00adal under\u00adcur\u00adrent or trib\u00adu\u00adtary that wor\u00adships nature and dei\u00adfies the moth\u00ader (or even com\u00adplete\u00adly meta\u00adphys\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adizes it), which can be called reli\u00adgion or not, then the strong\u00adly fem\u00adi\u00adnine side it man\u00adi\u00adfests, the side Lao Tzu described as fem\u00adi\u00adnine, gen\u00adtle, qui\u00adet, ever-last\u00ading, and the high\u00adest good like water, is like\u00adly to con\u00adstant\u00adly oppose, chal\u00adlenge, com\u00adpro\u00admise, and merge with the strong\u00adly mas\u00adcu\u00adline side Lao Tzu described as male, strong, and impetu\u00adous\u2026
\n 
\n   
\nI hap\u00adpen to have a copy of \u201cIntro\u00adduc\u00adtion to Reli\u00adgious Ethics\u201d on hand, which men\u00adtions the \u201cDec\u00adla\u00adra\u00adtion of World Reli\u00adgions Toward a Glob\u00adal Eth\u00adic,\u201d adopt\u00aded by the Sec\u00adond World Par\u00adlia\u00adment of Reli\u00adgions in 1993. It con\u00adtains four \u201cbot\u00adtom-line ethics,\u201d or \u201cfour irrev\u00ado\u00adca\u00adble rules.\u201d The fourth rule is: \u201cUphold a cul\u00adture of equal rights and part\u00adner\u00adship between men and women.\u201d The dec\u00adla\u00adra\u00adtion also states that we must rec\u00adog\u00adnize that with\u00adout a \u201cpart\u00adner-like life togeth\u00ader, there is no true human\u00adi\u00adty!\u201d
\n 
\n   
\nThere is also a par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly inter\u00adest\u00ading pop\u00adu\u00adlar sci\u00adence book: \u201cGenome: The Auto\u00adbi\u00adog\u00adra\u00adphy of the Human Race Chap\u00adter 23\u201d, which was giv\u00aden to me by my trans\u00adla\u00adtor, Wawa Ma, a few years ago. The book men\u00adtions that the sto\u00adry on chro\u00admo\u00adsome 15 is close\u00adly relat\u00aded to gen\u00adder.
\n   
\nGenet\u00adic sci\u00aden\u00adtists have dis\u00adcov\u00adered through exper\u00adi\u00adments that a fer\u00adtil\u00adized egg with only two fathers but no moth\u00ader, or only two moth\u00aders but no father, can become an embryo but can\u00adnot devel\u00adop nor\u00admal\u00adly. Under nor\u00admal cir\u00adcum\u00adstances, genes inher\u00adit\u00aded from the father are respon\u00adsi\u00adble for pro\u00adduc\u00ading the pla\u00adcen\u00adta, while genes inher\u00adit\u00aded from the moth\u00ader are respon\u00adsi\u00adble for most of the embry\u00ado\u2019s devel\u00adop\u00adment, espe\u00adcial\u00adly the head and brain.
\n   
\nIt is also a well-known fact that a child is born by the moth\u00ader, but the child\u2019s gen\u00adder is deter\u00admined by the father\u2019s sex chro\u00admo\u00adsomes.
\n 
\n   
\nThis chap\u00adter men\u00adtions a famous and fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading sto\u00adry: In the 1960s, a Cana\u00addi\u00adan baby boy was forced to under\u00adgo spe\u00adcial\u00adized surgery and hor\u00admones to become a girl after a rou\u00adtine pro\u00adce\u00addure failed. In 1973, a Freudi\u00adan psy\u00adchol\u00ado\u00adgist declared that he had ful\u00adly adapt\u00aded to female char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adis\u00adtics, thus con\u00advinc\u00ading\u00adly stat\u00ading that gen\u00adder roles are social\u00adly con\u00adstruct\u00aded. How\u00adev\u00ader, in 1997, when researchers inves\u00adti\u00adgat\u00aded and ver\u00adi\u00adfied this famous case, they dis\u00adcov\u00adered that the boy had revert\u00aded to being a man, mar\u00adried, adopt\u00aded a child, and lived hap\u00adpi\u00adly with his fam\u00adi\u00adly. The rea\u00adson was that the child, raised as a girl, had a per\u00adsis\u00adtent desire to be a boy, which deeply trou\u00adbled him. So, when he was 14, his fam\u00adi\u00adly revealed the truth. Final\u00adly, he felt relieved, stopped hor\u00admone treat\u00adment, and under\u00adwent a mas\u00adtec\u00adto\u00admy, becom\u00ading a man again.
\n   
\nThis sto\u00adry tells us\u2026 I can\u2019t quite remem\u00adber what it is\u2026 Any\u00adway, it must tell us some\u00adthing!
\n 
\n   
\nHow\u00adev\u00ader, the meta\u00adphys\u00adi\u00adcal con\u00adcepts of male and female, mas\u00adcu\u00adline and fem\u00adi\u00adnine, and male and female should not be reduced to the bio\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal lev\u00adel. Oth\u00ader\u00adwise, Laozi would be incom\u00adpre\u00adhen\u00adsi\u00adble.
\n 
\n   
\nI also have a \u201cnew\u201d dis\u00adcov\u00adery: I also have a chil\u00addren wor\u00adship com\u00adplex!
\n 
\n    We\u2019ll talk about it next time.
\n 
\nSep\u00adtem\u00adber 20, 2009, Bei\u00adjing<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u672c\u6587\u7eaf\u5c5e\u4e71\u5f39\uff0c\u4e0d\u5fc5\u592a\u5f53\u771f\u3002 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u8fd1\u6765\u4e71\u8bfb\u4e86\u4e9b\u4e1c\u897f\uff0c\u7adf\u7136\u65e0\u610f\u95f4\u53d1\u73b0\u5176\u4e2d\u9887\u6709\u5173\u8054\uff0c\u975e\u5e38\u6709\u8da3\uff0c\u6545\u968f\u624b […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[438,69,435,433,436,73,434,437,432],"class_list":["post-3648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-timemachine","tag-438","tag-69","tag-435","tag-433","tag-436","tag-73","tag-434","tag-437","tag-432"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3648\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}