Three Theses on the Philosophy of Three Theses on the Philosophy of Ruling in Su Che’s Laozi JieRuling in Su Che’s Laozi Jie

This article deals with the internal philosophicalcontext of Su Che’s (蘇轍)
Laozi Jie (老子解). My thesis argues that Taoist thought, and in particular the
thought of Laozi, has its own axial development when treated as an intellectual
community which interacts with other intellectual or religious communities such as
Taoism,Buddhism and Confucianism. Thesefour communities not only compete
with each other in political domain but also in other spheres. This article examines
the position of Laozi Jiein the intellectual history of the Northern Song Dynasty and
discusses the epistemological with ontological understandings found in the text. It
argues that the “revivification of nature” (?性) is central to Su Che’s philosophy.
The article also deals with the issue of hierarchal ranking of political and religious
affairs. When political discourses interacted with or intervened in religious affairs,
new forms of thinking emerged. Laozi Jieconveys the internal essence of political discourses of Taoism, Taoist
religion, Buddhism and Song-Ming Confucianism (宋明儒學). Through textual
analysis, the internal thought of Laoziand several commentaries ofLaozireveal
themselves. Latent connectionsbetween the Mysticism School, Double Negation
School and Song-Ming Confucianism also appear. The content ofthis text lies
hidden and latent, and is not only philosophical but also intellectual and political in
nature. It forms a central part of the process ofstate formation and the rebuilding of
public civilization in the Northern Song Dynasty.