"Mother" (Mu 母) and the Embodiment of the Dao. Issue 1 (March 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cook, Constance
• Is Part Of: Journal of Chinese philosophy. Volume 42:Issue 1/2(2015)
• Page Start: 242
• Page End: 249
• Publication Date: 2015-03
• Subjects: Philosophy, Chinese -- Periodicals; 181.11
• DOI: 10.1111/1540-6253.12190
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0301-8121

Abstract

Abstract: This article employs newly discovered Warring States texts to reexamine questions regarding the use of the word mother ( mu 母) in the Laozi —did it refer to the feminine role of providing and caring for the descendants of an inherently male cosmic and social order or was it simply a metaphor for an abstract philosophical concept? The author reinforces the latter interpretation suggesting that Mother referred to that existential moment of temporal transition between the cycle of life and death.