Abstract—Rarely have been research objects more
complicated and huge than “body.” Modern individuals tend
to view the “body” from the perspective of Western medical
science in which the “body” is constantly treated in a technical
or even a mechanical way. Lao Zi pointed out a traditional
Chinese view on “body” which connected the human body to
the universe thereby formed a universe in human body.
Through analyzing the text of Lao Zi, this article explores the
relationship between human, Dao, nature, heaven and earth in
detail, and aims to grasp Lao Zi’s body connotation from
various dimensions. Meanwhile, through the interpretation of
Lao Zi, it reveals a view of “body” under Chinese traditional
ideology and culture, in order to provide a different view of the
body perceived by people from the context of the Western
culture.
Index Terms—Lao Zi, body, Dao (Way), nature, heaven,
earth, universe.
Zeng Weijie and An Saiping are with Hong Kong Polytechnic
University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. She is now with the
Department of Chinese Culture, Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
(e-mail: zeng.wj.zeng@connect.polyu.hk, sp.an@connect.polyu.hk).
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Cite: Zeng Weijie and An Saiping, "The Concept of “Body” in Lao Zi," International Journal of Social Science and Humanity vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 13-16, 2019.