老子：有生于无 Lao Zi: Being is Born of Nothing

道家认为以宇宙的演化是根据本身的法则，而不是由神灵来创造的。反而，宇宙是在‘道’控制下，自然演化的产物。老子在《道德经》中形容道是一种宇宙的力量，这种力量创造与持续宇宙。他在第四十章中说：‘天下万物生于有，有生于无。’无就是‘无名’，指道。

老子认为天与地不是无限存在。道先于天与地。道以下面的方式产生天与地：‘道生一，一生二，二生三，三生万物。’（《道德经》第四十二章）

换句话说，道产生或演变最初的统一体，这统一体分裂为二种力量，相交而产生万物。这两种力量就是老子所说的‘二’，也就是一般所指的天与地。

什么是道？‘有物混成，先天地生。寂兮寥兮，独立而不改，周行而不殆，可以为天地母。吾不知其名，强字之曰：道，强为之名曰：大。’（《道德经》第二十五章）

《道德经》第十一章所说的‘无’是有关道与空间：‘三十辐，共一毂，当其无，有车之用。埏埴以为器，当其无，有器之用。凿户牖以为室，当其无，有室之用。故有之以为利，无之以为用。’

但是老子并没有告诉我们道如何产生统一的世界。对道家而言，宇宙之开始不可知，也没有可识之终结。他们并不尝试去书写不可能书写的宇宙之创造，或‘世界之终结’的意义。道家所关心的是在这个永远变动周期中寻找方向，还有，在我们一生中，如何在没有一套固定法则可应用于所有情况之下做出正确的行动。

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Daoism considers that universal evolution follows its own laws and is not the product of divine creation. Rather, it is the product of spontaneous evolution under the control of the Dao. Lao Zi in Daodejing describes the Dao is as a cosmological force involved in creating and sustaining the universe. He says in Chapter 40, ‘The things of the world are born from being, and being is born of nothing.’ The term ‘wu’ (nothing or nothingness) in Chinese refers to ‘wuming’ (unnameable), which represents Dao.

Laozi considers that Heaven and Earth have not existed indefinitely. Dao preceded the formation of Heaven and Earth. The process of the generation of Heaven and Earth by Dao is resumed in the following formula, ‘Dao generates One, One generates Two, Two generates Three, Three generates the Myriad Beings. (Chapter 42).

In other words, Dao generated or evolved the primeval unified whole, which divided into two opposing forces, whose interpenetration generated all beings. The two forces referred to by Laozi as the 'Two' are commonly considered to be designate Heaven and Earth.

But what is Dao then? ‘There is a thing formed from confusion and born before heaven and earth. It is silent, solitary, independent and unchanging. It revolves everywhere and is never in danger. It can be the mother of all under heaven. I do not know its name, but I style it the Dao. If forced to give it a name, I call it the Great.’ (Chapter 25)

Dao is related to space (nothingness) in chapter 11:

'Thirty spokes share a single hub; grasp the nothingness at its centre to get the use of the wheel. Clay is fashioned to make a vessel; grasp the nothingness at the centre to get the use of the vessel. Bore windows and doors to create a room; grasp the nothingness of the interior to get the use of the room. That which is constitutes what is valuable, but that which is not constitutes what is of use. '

But Loazi does not tell us how Dao generates the unified world. For the Daoist, the beginning of the universe is unknowable and there is no discernable end. There is no attempt to write a record of a creation that cannot be recorded. There is no attempt to log a prediction of what ‘the end of the world’ would be like, or even what ‘the end of the world’ might mean. The Daoist is concerned about finding his bearings in a world of constantly changing cycles and about doing the right thing in a life where no static set of rules applies in every situation.