Even at 6 B.C., people were already
exploring the best ways to govern a nation. Lao-Tzu (meaning "old
master" is rumored to write the earlier piece of text that is "Tao Te
Ching". Nothing can be certain about his life, though it's said that he
worked in the court during the Chou Dynasty. His philosophical document uses
parallelism and distinct pronouns in order to explain to his audience that
society is best with little action."
Tzu writes "There is a time for being
ahead, / a time for being behind; / a time for being in motion, / a time for
being at rest; /..." (29). By using repetitive sentence structure, Tzu is
able to communicate the variability of life. He is also able to suggest that
there should be a balance of all these activities. This helps prove that we
need do little things in order to have a life full of bliss.
In addition, Tzu also use distinct
pronouns to prove this. He often differentiates using “she” when talking
about the universe, as suppose to “he” when talking about men and rulers. He
does it to show how women follow life’s course and do not interfere with life’s
path, whereas men often create destruction and mess with the universe’s plan. In
this way, he shows that when it comes to action, less is more.
Tzu main point is to emphasize that “If
you want to be a great leader, / you must learn to follow the Tao. / Stop trying
to control.” (57) His rhetoric, as well as his ideas, were perhaps ahead of his
time. But if we consider the true message of his text, we can try to grasp the
truth in it. Unfortunately, as time elapses, people often get caught up with
the pace of society and forget that at the end of the day, the universe gives
us all we need.
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