Page 698 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

TH E ENCYCLOPE DI A OF TAO ISM A- L

7. "Yang Zhu" m* is named after the hedonistic philosopher and focuses
on the shortness of life and its pleasures-such as music, women, fine
clothes, and good food- which are the only reasons for living but which
one can only enjoy if one is an amoral egoist and a rebel against moral
conventions. Rather than worrying about wealth and social standing,
one must look at life and death with equanimity and enjoy all it has to
offer.
8. "Explaining Correspondences" CShuofu" ~:rrf) is the most heterogeneous
chapter in the book. It is relatively cosmological in outlook, emphasizing
that the cosmic patterns and apparent coincidences of chance govern all
events and lives. Because everything is the result of a random combination
of factors, there is no sense or purpose to be found-yet every situation
contains the power of life and death and therefore can be handled in a
right or wrong way. To live life best, one must grasp the proper moment
and find the right opportunity for oneself.
As a whole, the Liezi shares certain stories and some basic ideas with the
classic Taoist tradition but also presents a radical development of its own. It
has a strong hedonistic strain and distances itself equally from the stout mo-
rality and social self-consciousness of Confucianism and from the reclusive
quietism and antisensualism of the Daode jingo
LiviaKOHN

ID Asano Yiiichi 1988; Barrett 1993; Graham 1960 (trans.); Graham 1961; Mei
1987

Lijia dao

Way of the Li Family

The Way of the Li Family developed at the fringe of the main Taoist move-
ments of the first centuries CB. *Ge Hong, in his *Baopu zi, traces its origin to
a diviner called Li A * ~PJ , originally from Shu il (Sichuan), at the beginning
of the third century (see Ware 1966, 158-60). Li Ks extraordinary longevity
earned him the nickname Babai sui gong ) S ~ -0 (Sir Eight-Hundred-Years).
His biography is in the *Shenxian zhuan (trans. Campany 2002, 212- 15).
Exploitation of Li Ks name was considerable. A century later, he reportedly
reappeared in the region of Wu #R: (Jiangsu and part of Zhejiang) under the
guise of a certain Li Kuan * jl . This new Li Babai * J\.. S (Li Eight-Hundred),