Wu-wei

Etymology

The term wu-wei is a two-character composite with the first character (無) meaning “not” (in the sense of non-existence or non-presence) and the second (為) meaning “do” or “act.” Thus, the term is typically translated as “non-action,” though the “non-present” valence of wu (whose antonym (you) most often means “to have”), signifies that it does not best apply to situations where action is impossible. Instead, it is most often used in the context of human life, where acting is a personal choice. For this reason, “while wuwei may be literally translated into English as 'inaction' or 'absence of behavior,' it is usually translated as 'non-action' and used in the sense of 'no human action,' 'absence of violent behavior,' 'unmotivated action' or 'acting naturally.'”

Centrality in Early Chinese Thought

While wu-wei as a philosophical tenet is frequently associated with Taoism, it was, in fact, central to the majority of early Chinese philosophy. Indeed, as Ted Slingerland demonstrates in his magisterial survey of the topic, wu-wei is best understood as a unifying theme underlying many philosophical schools. To this end, he argues that “although the term wu-wei itself does not come into widespread use until relatively late in the Warring States period, the ideal that it describes – acting effortlessly and spontaneously in harmony with a normative standard and thereby acquiring an almost magical efficaciousness in moving through the world and attracting people to onseself - can be identified as a central theme in Chinese religious thought in texts as early as the Book of Odes and the Book of History, and later Chinese commentators adopted wu-wei as a term to describe this ideal.” It is perhaps this ubiquity that has caused “no common definition of wuwei [to be] accepted by Chinese classical philosophers.”

Despite the near-universal usage of the term, it was most systematically developed and considered within the writings of the early Taoist sages. For this reason, we will take their usage as standard.

The Taoist Conception of Wu-wei

For Taoists, wu-wei is a fairly simple concept. It involves acting without desire, where desire is understood as the force which causes people and things to behave unnaturally. The natural is seen as being complementary to the Tao, while the unnatural is contradictory to it. Thus, wu-wei can be defined as “taking no action, loving tranquility, engaging in no activity and having no desires— all of which lead to natural transformation, correctness, prosperity and simplicity.” Two of the most common images for this mode of action are water (which inexorably (and naturally) flows downhill) and reeds (which naturally bend (rather than breaking) when faced with a high wind). It is for this reason that the Tao Te Ching states:

The most submissive thing in the world Can ride roughshod over the hardest in the world (that which is without substance entering that which has no crevices). That is why I know the benefit of resorting to no action. This same stress on wu-wei as a natural mode of action can be seen in the Chuang-tzu (Zhuangzi). That text describes an ideal where “all human actions become spontaneous and mindless as those of the natural world. Man becomes one with Nature, or Heaven ... and merges himself with Tao, or the Way, the underlying unity that embraces man, nature and all that is in the Universe.” This can be seen as the teleological goal of the wu-wei framework.

As implied above, an innovative aspect of this Taoist conception is the association between the mode of action (wu-wei) and the normative, ontological principle (the Tao). Specifically, the Tao Te Ching suggests that, when the Tao itself acts, it acts in accordance with wu-wei: “The Way never acts yet nothing is left undone.” This notion is further explored in conjunction with an account of the creation of the world:

The myriad creatures rise from it [the Tao], yet it claims no authority; It gives them life yet claims no possession; It benefits them yet exacts no gratitude; It accomplishes its task yet lays claim to no merit. It is because it lays claim to no merit that merit never deserts it. In this way, the Tao, the ontological and organizational principle of the universe, is seen to act according to the principle of wu-wei. Given the centrality of the Tao in their cosmology, such an assertion can be seen as the ultimate endorsement for this mode of action. For this reason, sages are often portrayed as following wu-wei in their actions: Whoever does anything to it will ruin it; whoever lays hold of it will lose it. Therefore the sage, because he does nothing, never ruins anything; and, because he does not lay hold of anything, loses nothing.

Given the universality of this conception, it is perhaps not surprising that the idea of wu-wei was also applied to political leadership. This framework implies that an ideal government would be one that was as non-invasive as possible, a fact that gives the tradition a primitivist appeal. The Tao Te Ching argues that:

Should lords and princes hold fast to it [the Tao] The myriad creatures will be transformed of their own accord. After they are transformed, should desire raise its head, I shall press it down with the weight of the nameless uncarved block. The nameless uncarved block is but freedom from desire, and if I cease to desire and remain still, The empire will be at peace of its own accord.

Likewise, it states:

Therefore in governing the people, The sage empties their minds but fills their bellies, Weakens their wills but strengthens their bones. He always keeps them innocent of knowledge and free of desire, And ensures that the clever never dare to act. Do that which consists in taking no action, and order will prevail.”

References

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See Zhongwen.com: Learn Chinese Characters and Culture (www.zhongwen.com). The two characters interact with each other in a “modifer/modified” relationship (to use terminology from Jeannette Faurot’s Gateway to the Chinese Classics (China Books and Periodicals, 1995)).