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relationship represented by the ren. This must aim at the Way, and the way must - through
translation to the relationship with people his nobility and those who follow it - attract him.
(without abolishing a cosmological vision in (…) Traversing the Way incarnates in him the

which extra-mundane entities have a role in vast spiritual dignity and power that lies in the
Chinese religious beliefs) clearly qualifies Way. Someone who walks the Path instead of
Confucius' thinking as an ethic in which the walking outside it, who does so naturally,
Other not only matters, but matters yielding” instead of forcing, such a person lives
superlatively. a life of personal dignity and fulfillment, of

Seeing things this way, the sacrifice is social harmony together with others, based on
transformed, in the Confucian case, from a mutual respect and allowing everyone such a
symbolic one, into an internalized, real and life.” (Fingarette 1972, 34-35)

perhaps even augmentable and quantifiable However, the universal status of Dao in
one. And, consequently, non-quantifiable at the Chinese thought must be remembered. The Dao
moment when the sacrifice becomes total. is the fundamental concept of Daoism (and the
It is considered that what has been said main article of faith in the Daoist religion). At
up to this point is sufficient to understand the the same time, Dao preserves the same spirit - of

complementary relationship between ren - the “path” to be followed towards spiritual
humanity and li – ritual. Anne Cheng perfection - in Confucian thought. The
concludes that li is “what makes humanity of a differences are visible, however, regarding other

human group and of each human of this group” basic concepts from Confucian thought, but
(Cheng 2001, 55). However, Anne Cheng also apparently uninteresting for Daoist thought.
draws attention (polemically and contrastively This is what Lao zi says: “When the perfect Tao
to the Western cosmological vision) to the fact i s f a r a w a y, “ h u m a n i t y ” [ r e n ] a n d
that, by “descending” the recipient of the “righteousness” [yi] arise. When the skill makes

sacrifice to the terrestrial plane (decimal, social it known, the perfect deception emerges. When
and political), the ritual act is not purged of its there is no understanding in the family, “filial
sacred character. respect” [ xiao孝 ] and “parental love” [ ci 慈 ]

will make themselves known. When the country
is in disarray, “devout rulers” appear (XVIII).”
Dao: One Way, Many Ways (Lao zi 1999, 64)
Herbert Fingarette illustrates Dao as Through a review of Confucian
the “Way”, Dao, in relation to man: “Man is concepts in a polemical context, would entitle

not, in the last instance, an autonomous being anyone not to put the sign of identity between
who possesses an inner and decisive, intrinsic Confucian thought and that of Laozi (so as not to
power, a power to select between alternatives oppose Confucius's vast Daoist work, early and

and thus to build a life for himself. On the late, “philosophical” or “religious”).
contrary, he is born as “raw material” , which
must be civilized through education and thus
become a truly human being. To do this, he

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