Tao Te Ching
Wang Anshi 王安石
1021 – 1086 CE
Poet, economist, statesman, and one of China’s most famous prime ministers during a time of rampant nepotism and an extreme imbalance between the rich and the poor; Wang initiated major reforms to break up monopolies, expand the civil service examination system, increase currency, and begin social welfare programs to “prevent the working classes from being ground into dust by the rich.” Although removed from power and imprisoned by political rivals, his reforms still ripple through Chinese history. He started public orphanages and hospitals, set up price and wage controls, pension funds for the old, poor, and unemployed — all while writing commentaries on Lao Tzu and some of China’s most famous poems.
Lineages
Poets Politicians Taoist
Eras
Chinese
5 Kingdom of Dali 大理国 (937 – 1253 CE)Northern Song (960 – 1127 CE)
Liao dynasty (907 – 1125 CE)
Western Xia 西夏 (1038 – 1227 CE)
Quotes by Wang Anshi (9 quotes)
“Among ten people, three seek life because they hate death, three seek death because they hate life, and three live as if they were dead.”
Chapters:
50. Claws and Swords
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“Directness can be used in governing, but nowhere else. Deception can be used in warfare, but that is all. Only those who practice non-action are fit to rule the world.”
Chapters:
57. Wu Wei
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“There is nothing that is not the Tao. When good people seek it, they are able to find it. When bad people seek it, they are able to avoid punishment.”
Chapters:
62. Basic Goodness
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“Those concerned with taxes cannot avoid making claims on others and thus cannot prevent disputes. This is why they lack virtue.”
Chapters:
79. No Demands
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“Through austerity, we learn to stop. When we know when to stop, we are always content.”
Chapters:
67. Three Treasures
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“through compassion, we learn to be soft. When we are soft, we can overcome the hardest thing in the world.”
Chapters:
67. Three Treasures
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“Yin and yang take turns. The four seasons come and go. The moon waxes and wanes. All things have their time. They don’t have to be summoned to come.”
Chapters:
73. Heaven’s Net
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“Sages create but do not possess what they create. They succeed but do not claim success. Because they do not lose themselves, they do not lose others.”
Chapters:
2. The Wordless Teachings
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“The state should take the entire management of commerce, industry and agriculture into its own hands , with a view to succoring the working classes and preventing them from being ground into dust by the rich.”
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Quotes about Wang Anshi (1 quotes)
“One of China's most famous prime ministers, [Wang Anshi's] attempt to introduce sweeping reforms directed against merchants and landowners galvanized Chinese intellectuals into a debate that continues to this day. He was also one of China's great poets and prose writers.”
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