John Muir and the Soft Power of Taoism

Two days ago, during the evening walk with my friend, Tony, we discussed the effect of Taoism on our society. Tony came from mainland China. He became a Christian while he was a graduate student studying in the American Midwest. He is a great admirer if American culture and Western civilization. Like many Chinese Christians in this country, he also has great disdain for China and Chinese culture.

First, some background. Traditionally, China has two major schools of thought — Confucianism and Taoism. Confucianism is yang — it is active, explicit and dominant. Taoism, on the other hand, is yin — it is passive, implicit and submissive. Tony likes Taoism more than Confucianism. But he considers Taoism’s impact on society as insignificant because, historically speaking, China’s ruling elite were Confucians and they had the ear of the emperor. The Taoists tend to be the artists, poets and hermits. They were the “Hippies” of old China. They have never had real power to influence government policy.

But I disagree with Tony’s view. The power of Taoism is subtle. But it is definitely there. Today, we may consider Taoist power as “soft power.” Just yesterday, I looked up the history of America’s national parks, as I was celebrating John Muir’s birthday. Muir is often known as the father of our national parks. As it turned out, Muir was heavily influenced by the…