(LI SHIGONG)

Georgie Wang is a man who can accept everything, good and bad, which is thrown his way. His imperturbability impresses me. Yesterday I asked my friend if he was a Taoist or a Confucian scholar.

"What's the difference between Taoism and Confucianism, anyway?" I queried.

He laughed and answered, "Can you tell me the difference between a Baptist and a Methodist?" We chuckled again. I told him that many Western people studied and admired Taoism. Georgie countered that he knew little about Taoism; it was an ancient mystical philosophy.

"Devout members of Christian or Muslim sects want to become one with God; the Taoist wants to become one with nature," he said. "Confucius used the character tao (literally, road or way of action) as a pragmatic, philosophical concept. It signified the correct way to behave and act—moral, social or political. The Taoists, in contrast used the term tao to represent the totality of all things, the basic stuff that things are made of. This esoteric concept views the tao as formless, without desire, and content in and of itself. Basic principles of Taoism revere nature, and see simplicity as good. A Taoist should strive for harmony with the fundamental laws of the universe."

When Georgie stopped talking, I asked him if the Taoists agreed with Confucius' teaching. "I think it is more mystical, just as the Sufis are more esoterically inclined that the other sects of Muslim thought," he replied. "Taoists find all things are relative. Taoist Lao Tzu said that it is only because we recognize beauty as beauty that we can reach the idea of ugliness. And this relativism applies to our daily existence. For example, the Tao says that a fanatic who tries too hard is certain not too succeed."

"Chinese people seem to have a strong sense of internal balance," I replied. I'm sure that most Chinese, still remember this famous quote:

To understand others is to be wise,

but to understand one's self is to be illumined.

One who overcomes others is strong,

but he who overcomes himself is mighty.

Does that mean everyone is a hidden Taoist here?" I asked him.

Georgie laughed again. "I could say the same about your American Puritan ethics toward work—does that mean you all are Christians? I think not. But there is great wisdom in all religious and philosophical thought. I remember my grandfather taught me these verses about talking and knowing from Lao Tzu:

True words are not flowery

and flowery words are not true.

The good man does not argue,

and those who argue are not good.

The wise are not learned,

and the learned are not wise.

For that reason, I do not think I am the person to ask about this question!"

Later I discovered that early Taoists actually berated the Confucian scholars. Part of their reason had to do with the fact that the Confucian school of philosophy was more successful than the Taoist school. Another difference is structural: Confucians are interested in carefully ordered systems of government that benefit the people, while Taoists feel that government should flow and be directed in a completely laissez-faire fashion.

"I don't think Taoist government would work well," Georgie commented. "In China we have so many people, and today so much development going on; I think Confucian structure is needed more than Taoist free form."

I agreed with him, but remarked, "The Taoist emphasis on harmony and on man's oneness with nature has inspired many great artists and works of art. Chinese painting would be nothing without it."

"Confucian politics, Taoist art!" Georgie agreed. "Christianity in the Western world has also had tremendous impact on art, but that was long ago. Today's Western artists look to other things besides religion or philosophy, don't you think?"

Clearly, understanding modern Chinese people and contemporary Chinese culture takes more than a careful reading of the classics and various philosophical texts. True, Confucius and Lao Tzu have contributed incalculably toward the spirit, poise and development of Chinese people and their culture. But today outside influences in the form of technology, information resources and other aspects of globalization are impacting Chinese culture in ways that are still too new to analyze.

"Don't worry about the Chinese people," Georgie said. "We are a lasting race, a people who have lived on this planet for over 5,000 years. Whatever happens in China and around the world, I'm sure that we have the right stuff in our genes and our history so that we will not only endure, but also succeed. Here's a last quote for you:

He who has the greatest possessions

is he that will lose most heavily?

But he that is content is invulnerable.

He who is wise enough to stop, by his

own volition, will endure.

The author is an American living in Beijing