Chongxuan
Chongxuan (重玄), often translated as Twofold Mystery, was a Daoist interpretive tradition that developed around readings of the Tao Te Ching. Daoist sources trace the school to the fourth-century master Sun Deng; through Gu Huan in the fifth century and others, it reached its height in the Tang dynasty with writers including Cheng Xuanying and Li Rong.[1]
Thought
The name derives from chapter 1 of the Tao Te Ching, where the Dao is described as 玄之又玄, "mystery upon mystery." Chongxuan interpreters held that neither being nor nonbeing alone captures the transcendence of the Dao. Both sides of the distinction must be relinquished in approaching it.[1]
The tradition developed in an environment of sustained interaction between Daoist and Buddhist thought, especially Madhyamaka philosophy. Cheng Xuanying's commentary uses patterns of reasoning associated with Buddhist tetralemma logic while reading the Tao Te Ching through a Daoist religious framework.[2]
Relation to other traditions
Chongxuan follows the earlier philosophical legacy of Wang Bi, while moving beyond his emphasis on nonbeing. Its engagement with Madhyamaka brought Daoist readings of the Tao Te Ching into contact with the Buddhist concept of Śūnyatā (emptiness), which concerns the absence of intrinsic nature rather than nonbeing in the sense of Daoist wu (無).[1][3]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Laozi". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 2026-09-30.
- ↑ Friederike Assandri (2021-11-09). "The Daode jing Commentary of Cheng Xuanying: Daoism, Buddhism, and the Laozi in the Tang Dynasty". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2026-09-30.
- ↑ "Madhyamaka". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 2026-09-30.