The World according to Guo Xiang (Livia Kohn)

Unlike the Zhuangzi [the Chuang Tzu], Guo Xiang's [Kuo Hsiang's] commentary does not leave much doubt about his ideas. He has strong convictions about the way the universe works and how people function therein, and presents them in a well-organized, thoroughly thought-out soteriology, which represents an important development of Chinese mystical worldview. For Guo Xiang, everything exists the way it is and because it is. There is no principle or agency at the origin of life. He says in his commentary:

"What existed before there were beings? If I say yin and yang were first, then that means yin and yang are beings, too. What, then, was before them? I may say nature was first. But nature is only the natural way of beings. I may say perfect Tao was first. But perfect Tao is perfect nonbeing. Since it is nonbeing, how can it be before anything else? So, what existed before there were beings? There must always be another being without end. Thus I understand that beings are what they are by nature; they are not caused by anything else."

There is ultimately no cause to make things what they are. "Thus", Guo Xiang says, "the principle of self-transformation becomes clear". The universe exists by itself and of itself; it is existence just as it is. Nothing can be added to or substracted from it; it is entirely sufficient upon itself.

The universe, though spontaneous, is not without structure. It is structured first because it is in continuous motion and changes without interruption. Second, it is structured by principle (li), a cosmic power that makes everything be what it is. "Each individual has principle as much as each and every affair has what is appropiate to it". This principle is inescapable just as the characteristic of change is in everything that is. Principle determines the particular way of being of the entire cosmos as much as of each individual being and affair.

Principle is intimately linked to share or lot (fen). That is to say, it corresponds closely with the fact that any concrete existence is only possible through obtaining some share in the Tao, in the universal flux of existence. This share or part that every being has in the Tao determines his, her, or its position in the cosmos, while principle is responsible for the particular way in which this position is filled.

Organized according to the cosmic laws of principle and share, human society is basically an organic whole. The political structure is a natural body. Since it is an integral part of nature, there can be only one perfect society. This society is hierarchical, closely knit, and well ordered - similar to the ideal of Great Peace, held equally by Confucians and Taoists in the end of the Han [in the early 2nd century]. The ideal ruler in this system is the direct executive of the cosmos. "The ruler's virtue is like heaven's being naturally high", Guo Xiang states categorically. The ruler governs the world through perfect non-action [wu wei]. As Guo Xiang describes it:

"When the king does not make himself useful in the various offices, the various officials will manage their own affairs. Those with clear vision will see; those with sharp ears will listen; the wise will plan; and the strong will provide protection. Why take any action? Only mysterious silence, that is all!"

Non-action is thus defined as action in true harmony and accordance with things. People realize themselves by doing exactly what they are best suited for and nothing else. Despite these rigorous limitations of people's activities, Guo Xiang's system is not deterministic. Rather, society and human life are for him the arena in which people live up to their given abilities and opportunities. The world and the Tao are there for human beings to realize themselves for what they really are.

(From Early Chinese Mysticism, by Livia Kohn, Princeton 1992)