From The Analects of Confucius? Wei Linggong: "Do nothing, will it be smooth sailing?"
As a political principle, "inaction" appeared in the late Spring and Autumn Period. It was Laozi who systematized "governing by doing nothing" into a theory. They believe that all the actions of the rulers will destroy the natural order, disturb the world and endanger the people. The rulers are required to govern by doing nothing, imitate nature and let the people develop freely. The theoretical basis of "governing by doing nothing" is "Tao", and the practical basis is to change "chaos" into "governance"; The main contents of "governing by doing nothing" are "doing nothing" and "governing by doing nothing", and the specific measures are "persuading the rulers to interfere less" and "making the people ignorant and have no desire"
In ancient times, Shun De and Yao sent him to rule the world.
At that time, floods were everywhere in the Central Plains. Yao used to send guns to control water, but failed nine years later. Shun sent Yu, the son of Gun, to control water. Yu lived up to expectations. After 13 years, the flood was subsided. Shun, like Yao, is very generous to the people and often uses symbolic punishment. Those who commit the crime of cutting their noses are changed into well-dressed clothes. People who should be beheaded are only allowed to wear clothes without collars.
In order to let people know about music and dance, Shun sent people to spread music everywhere. Some people worry that Wei Xiao can't bear the heavy responsibility. Shun said: "Harmony is the foundation of music. One person who is proficient in melody like Kui is enough. " Osmium really accomplished the task well.
Confucius said, "Governing by doing nothing is in harmony!" ! All he needs to do is sit quietly. "
Another slightly different explanation is:
Governing by doing nothing is the basic idea of Taoism and the basic method of its practice. The thinking method of governing by doing nothing was first put forward by Laozi. Laozi believes that everything in the world is born of Tao, and the movement and change of everything in the world also follow the law of Tao. So what is the law of Tao? Laozi said: "Man should be a teacher in the earth, the earth should be a teacher in the sky, and the sky should be a teacher in the Tao, and the Tao is natural." (Tao Te Ching? Chapter 25 explains that the most fundamental law of Tao is nature, that is, nature and nature. Since Tao is based on nature, we should treat things naturally, do nothing, let things develop freely according to their own inevitability, and make them in a natural state that conforms to Tao. Don't interfere with it, and don't affect the natural process of things by doing something. Only in this way can things exist normally and develop healthily. Therefore, in the Taoist view, treating people with things, cultivating the mind and nourishing the nature should be based on natural inaction and avoid doing anything wrong. Laozi said: "It is based on the practice of sage inaction and teaching without words." (Tao Te Ching? Chapter 2) "Virtue is inaction without thinking; "Germany does something and thinks." (Tao Te Ching? Chapter 38) "The more you learn, the worse your way is, so that you do nothing. If you do nothing, you will do nothing. " (Tao Te Ching? Chapter 48) Yan Junping also said: "Doing one thing is a waste of reactive power; There is no end to doing nothing ... watching the changes of heaven and earth, watching the nature of all things, seeing leaders in troubled times, and governing by doing nothing. " ("What does moral truth mean? In short, according to the Taoist point of view, in the state of natural inaction, things can develop smoothly according to their own laws, and so can people and society. If people interfere with the development process of things and change the natural state of things according to some subjective desire, the result will only be to encourage the signs and bring about their own failure. Therefore, a wise man should govern by doing nothing and keeping in good health. Only in this way can he achieve the expected goal.
Of course, inaction is by no means inaction or inaction. The "inaction" of inaction means not acting rashly, not acting at will, and not doing the opposite. On the contrary, for things that conform to the Tao, we must do something. But what you do should come from the nature of things, and what you don't do should come from nature and follow nature; This is natural, not artificial. Therefore, this kind of behavior will not only destroy the natural process and order of things, but also be detrimental to the natural development and growth of things.