无为而治

I have to use English because there is no Chinese inputing method installed on the computer I am using.

I have to come back to use MSN space because Google Blogger has been blocked for it is supposed to destroy the harmony of our society. Well, on the other hand, my coming back can be considered as a good deed for the harmony of our country, so I should feel happy.

Back to the topic. When I went to the forbidden city with some foreign guests three years ago, they asked me the meaning of the words on a plate hanged on a hall  near the  玄武门. The words is “无为”. I translated it directly as “DO Nothing”, and didn’t know how to explained it more precisely. “无为” there means “无为而治”. There is a very good explanation here:

https://baike.baidu.com/view/22978.htm

I thought it was not easy to explain the whole thing to a foreigner from west in a minute as the philosophy is so different from theirs. However, this morning, suddenly a thought come to my mind that the famous economist Adam Smith’s theory has just the same spirit of  “无为而治”.  In his book 《国富论》 he suggested that government should let market be the hero instead of  interference in everything like parents. You see, it’s the same!  Now, I can explain “Dao” to a foreigner with the example of market economy.