The Path: What Chinese Philosophers Can Teach Us About The Good Life — Summary and Reflections
The Path is a book of popular philosophy written by Michael Puett and Christine Gross-Loh, published in 2014. It aims to impart the lessons from Chinese philosophy and help readers lead the good life. The book was based a Harvard University course about Chinese philosophy, which was the third-most popular after computer science and introductory economics.
Professor Puett is the Walter C. Klein Professor of Chinese History and Anthropology at Harvard University. He studies the inter-relations between history, anthropology, religion, and philosophy while Ms. Gross-Loh received her PhD in East Asian Studies from Harvard University. She writes on history, education and philosophy. Her work has been published in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Guardian and Vox.
Summary
Chapter 1. The Age of Complacency
Many of us, in the modern age, think we would not want to learn from “traditional societies”, because they were not modern. In fact, there has been a wide range of visions of how humans can lead our lives.
Indeed, there are three myths in our age:
1. Most of us think of ourselves as essentially free, compared to our ancestors. If so, why are the people in the developed world unhappy, narcissistic and anxious?
2. We believe we know how to determine the direction of our lives. We are taught to rely on our rational minds and overcome emotion and bias. However, the way we think we are living our lives or make decisions is not the way we actually do.
3. We are told to “find ourselves” and live our lives “authentically”. However, do we really know our “truth”? Is there such a thing as a single, unchanging self? Are we limiting our potential?
Chapter 2. The Age of Philosophy
Modern peoples were not the first to think they were breaking away from the past and creating a completely new age. After Bronze Age aristocratic societies began to crumble, religious and philosophical movements flourished across Eurasia in a period called the Axial Age. As the societal order broke down, these religions and philosophies believed the world had to change.
The movements that developed in the North China Plain also focused on creating alternate worlds. However, Chinese philosophers’ solution was not to withdraw from society or seek higher realms. Instead, they sought to make changes in the patterns of everyday life. The Chinese philosophers actively contemplated new and exciting ways to live. These ways were extremely practical and concrete.
Chapter 3. On Relationships: Confucius and As-If Rituals
Unlike most philosophy that asks big questions, Confucius asked,
“How are you living your life on a daily basis?”
The Analects is full of minute details about what Confucius did and what he said. These daily moments are important because they help us improve.
Although the world is fragmented, we can create order. Instead of responding emotionally ( 情 ), we can respond with propriety (礼). These better responses can become a part of us. We do this through rituals.
Ritual is not doing things by rote. Instead, ritual breaks us from our normal ways. We discover new practices that do not happen in our normal lives. In a ritual, we live in an “as-if” world, where ideal relationships can be forged and better selves developed. We can then bring these lessons to our daily lives.
A ritual ultimately ends, and we return to the messy real world, so the wisdom gained would be lost. That is why we must return to perform the ritual repeatedly.
From this, we see that Confucian transformation is not grand and dramatic. Instead, it consists of small, repeated “as-if” moments that build up over time. To change the world, we cannot ignore the small. Change happens when people alter their behaviour. We only alter our behaviour when we start with the small.
To be transformed, we need to stop thinking there is a “true self”, which restricts us to a particular identity. If so, we allow it to harden, and, in turn, it will drive our behaviour and decisions. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Instead, we should think of ourselves as malleable. We can actively work to change our pattens. Over time, different sides of ourselves will emerge. We will internalise a more constructive way of acting, and become a better person.
When Confucius’ disciples asked him to define goodness, he gave a different answer each time. Confucian goodness does not have an abstract, universal definition. Instead, it is the sensibility to understand the big picture and respond well to others in a specific situation. Any single theory of goodness strips away the complex, real-world details, and so, are useless and even dangerous. Every situation is unique and changes from moment to moment. The only norm is goodness.
This is why rituals are not rigid. As we conduct rituals, we sense goodness and become flexible. With rituals as a guide, we learn when and how to create or alter rituals in our own lives, so as to express goodness.
Chapter 4. Mencius and the Capricious World
Mencius, like us, faced a disappointing setback that wrecked his carefully-laid plans. Mencius would say the very things we believe to be true when we plan out our lives are also the things that ironically limit us. We should not believe the world is coherent and stable; it is unpredictable and capricious.
If we believe the world is ordered, we will not strive to become better people; we only act in self-interest. We will separate our thinking and emotions. However, good people do not lose touch with their emotions. Emotions help us understand new situations in an unpredictable world.
To cultivate an awareness of the complexity of the world, we can use our potential to become good. As we would rush to save a child who is falling into a well, we have natural goodness within us — it is like a sprout we can cultivate in our daily lives.
Because we can feel goodness, if we pay attention, we can refine our decisions. In doing so, we develop our heart-mind (心), using both thinking and emotion to better understand a complex situation. Over time, we hone this flexible judgement and the sense of the right thing to do.
To succeed in this, we should create optimal conditions, laying the ground for things to grow. Then, we can respond to whatever situation may arise and open ourselves to any opportunity that comes our way. Over time, we can change and grow.
However, sometimes, things don’t turn out well. Mencius says ming (命) always prevails: Things happen outside our control. However, “it should never be anyone’s fate to die in shackles”; in other words, letting our reaction be controlled by things that happen to us. We can learn to work with whatever happens and try to be the best human being in that situation.
Chapter 5. On Influence: Laozi and Generating Worlds
In a fierce storm, a mighty tree will topple to the ground, while a sapling, bending with the wind, remains. Its very weakness helped it flourish and prevail. This is another recipe to influence others — by appreciating the power of “weakness” and seeing the world as integrated. True power comes from understanding the connections between different things, and this comes from understanding dao (道) — the Way.
The Way is not an ideal “out there”. Instead, we can actively generate the Way ourselves. It is the undifferentiated thing that everything comes from, and everything returns to — a mother who gives birth to “the myriad things”.
To re-create the Way, we must recognise that the many distinctions in our lives are false. If we believe in them, we restrict what we can do and who we could become; we go against the Way. Even Confucian tenets like goodness and wisdom go against the Way — because it assumes the existence of the opposite!
We bring about the Way through our daily interactions. For example, instead of responding to disagreement — and confirm the distinction — you can try to understand what is happening among everyone. Then you can establish a connection, and influence the situation. By creating a new situation from the Way, you follow and become the Way.
This is why true power is not domination. It makes us incapable of connecting to those around us. We have divided the world and lost the Way. As Laozi said, “Those who make it theirs, destroy it. Those who grasp it, lose it.” Instead, the most influential is those who practice non-action, or wu-wei (无为). Those who do not act are actually directing everything. By not responding, you create the environment for your goal. You lead by following, by being the Way. You have generated a world around you that seems natural. As Laozi said, “The Way constantly does nothing, yet nothing is not done.”
Chapter 6. On Vitality: “The Inward Training” and Being like a Spirit
Everything we experience comes from energies, called qi (气). Everything, including us, is made of qi. However, negative emotions or events can fill us with “bad qi”, causing us to lose vitality.
To overcome this, we can cultivate our balance and stability so that we will not be vulnerable to inevitable, external happenings. Since our body and mind are composed of qi, refining the body refines the mind, and vice versa, keeping our qi constant. Physical cultivation nurtures emotional stability.
Music and poetry can help us refine our emotions. We can cultivate our qi to feel more responsive and connected with our shared human experience. We can resonate with another’s qi and transform things for the better.
When we become resistant to the ups and downs around us, we have a settled heart. We become a repository for qi. Our qi becomes so refined and concentrated that we become a spirit, with a life of vitality and longevity. This is a different way of being alive — with a sheer clarity of vision and a connection with everything.
When we are so alive and resonant with those around us, our refined qi elicits the best of others and draws out their own spirits. People around us become drawn to us and enriched by us because we energise them. This is not self-cultivation. A charismatic person is not charismatic because of a unique captivating personality. Instead, she is cultivating qi.
Chapter 7. On Spontaneity: Zhuangzi and a World of Transformation
Zhuangzi once dreamt he was a butterfly. He awoke and found he was Zhuangzi. However, then he did not know whether he was Zhuangzi dreaming he was a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming he was Zhuangzi.
Zhuangzi wants us to break away from our usual way of seeing the world. We all have a limited perspective. If we can instead see the world from all perspectives, we can experience life more fully and spontaneously.
For Zhuangzi, dao was about embracing that everything is in constant flux. The Way is a process of constant interactions between yin and yang, which are not opposite but complements. They must revolve constantly to balance each other.
There is one exception: human beings. Because we have minds, we spend our lives battling against flux. In the process, we block the interplay between yin and yang.
Spontaneity isn’t doing whatever we want, whenever we want. If so, it is just an unfettered expression of desires, and that is impossible all the time. True spontaneity requires us to open ourselves up to endless change.
True spontaneity is also trained spontaneity. Over time, as I repeatedly do something, I become more aware. With familiarity and training, I can flow with the Way, sensing universal patterns but creating something new each time. I found spontaneity in the simple activities of my everyday life.
Chapter 8. On Humanity: Xunzi and Putting Pattern on the World
We often hear that self-acceptance is the key to personal growth. Xunzi says we should not complacently accept ourselves as we are. Our worst impulses and desires are also part of what is natural about us.
Indeed, Xunzi reminds us that the world is not “natural”; it was constructed by humans. Therefore, we should not ask how to find our proper place within the world; we should ask if we have structured it well. Thinking the world should be natural prevents us from creating great things (such as morality and innovations). It cancels our responsibility for the world. Instead, we should use our minds to improve ourselves, and the world, to the best that they can be.
It is true we have made mistakes. However, the solution is not to pull back from human intervention. Instead, we should be conscious of what we have created, where the mistakes are, and how could we improve on them. We should build on innovations, solving the problems created by the previous one. There is no way we can return to the past; we need to work with what we have.
Like Confucius, Xunzi believed in ritual, but he extended it to vast “as-if” worlds. Xunzi says rituals transform us precisely because we recognise its artifice (伪). Artificial constructs like rituals can impose patterns on our unruly natures and shape our response to things, making a better world.
Therefore, instead of asking how “natural” or “artificial” something is, we should be asking if we are using the artifice wisely. If not, what improvements can we make? Otherwise, we surrender our human power to transform the world for the better.
Chapter 9. The Age of Possibility
Many of the assumptions we have are wrong and dangerous. If we live according to them, we limit our experience and potential dramatically. Chinese philosophy helps us break out from the confines of our traditional world, and open ourselves up to fresh ideas.
The ideas in Chinese philosophy are immensely pragmatic. They are rooted in our everyday world and lives. While there are different views about what makes for a good life, they all believe that nothing is unchangeable. They ask us to think what our life would be like if our assumptions are wrong.
Our attempts to repair our fractured world are inevitably insufficient. Hence, we need to cultivate them repeatedly. It is hard work, but one of the most rewarding things we human beings do. Building a better world never ends, and we must open ourselves to the possibilities in these philosophical ideas. They could point the way to a good life. It begins with us, in the smallest things in our daily lives. From there, we can change everything.
Learnings and Reflections
Not only could you learn about the many practical lessons Chinese philosophy has to share, it has also revealed important insights into Chinese culture and civilisation.
Firstly, Chinese culture and civilization have much to teach us, the people of the modern world. We must therefore remain curious and be open to these wisdoms. Even if the ideas in Chinese philosophy include concepts we are not familiar with (e.g. rituals and qi), that does not mean they are not useful. We have modern rituals in our own lives, such as having a family meal or greeting someone. Even if we do not see the world as being composed of qi, the concept is useful as a metaphor.
In addition, many stereotypes one may have about Chinese culture may not be true. For example, there are preconceptions that dao is some kind of perfect ideal that is ‘out there’. Another stereotype is that Confucian ritual is rigid. In fact, they are the opposite! Therefore, we must be careful not to simply accept what most people say or believe. We must find out for ourselves and think independently. Simply believing the common opinion is also dangerous because we may not truly understand the wisdom. If so, we lose the chance to properly learn from them. For example, if we believe Confucian ritual is rigid, forcing us into certain roles, then we would not be transformed by them. If we do not realise that we can generate dao within ourselves, we may lose the chance to improve how we interact with the world.
Finally, we should recognise that there is no “one” Chinese philosophy. Not only are different philosophies (Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism), but even in the same philosophy, there are different ideas, just as there are different beliefs about food (e.g. Should we drink soup first or drink soup last?). For example, both Mengzi and Xunzi were Confucians, but they had vastly different ideas about human nature and how rituals work in cultivating goodness. Confucius believed in goodness, but according to Laozi, it goes against the undifferentiated Way — because it assumes the existence of the opposite!
Therefore, if we generalise Chinese philosophy into one statement, it could be right or wrong. Chinese philosophy has so many thinkers and diverse ideas. We should therefore appreciate this large stock of wisdom and learn from them. If so, we have a chance to become better people.
