Ziran: Naturalness and Being So of Itself
Reading ziran only as mountains, forests, or the environment obscures much of its classical meaning. It commonly describes how something is or comes about. Daoist authors have also offered different accounts of its relationship with the Dao, including identity and priority.
Four layers of meaning
A way of being, a principle of action, a doctrinal term, and the modern natural world cannot all be explained by one English equivalent.
Arising according to its own character and conditions, rather than being made so by an external will.
Without imposed contrivance
Ziran describes something being so of itself, without requiring a separate maker to explain that condition.
Supporting naturalness through wuwei
An agent reduces private interference and coercion so that things can unfold according to their conditions.
The Dao and naturalness
Some explanations describe naturalness as the character of the Dao; others speak of naturalness giving rise to the Dao. These are distinct textual positions.
The natural world
Nature as the physical world or non-artificial environment is a familiar modern meaning, but does not replace the full classical philosophical range.
How uses of ziran changed
Philosophical, religious, and modern everyday uses place different emphases on the same term.
- 01Early teachings associated with Laozi
The Dao and beings without external commands
Naturalness explains the Dao and the world in terms of being so without imposed orders or contrived action.
- 02Early teachings associated with Zhuangzi
Natural transformation and human contrivance
Following things as they transform, rather than imposing fixed judgments, becomes important to thinking about life and government.
- 03Han
Government according to conditions
Huang–Lao and cosmological writings relate naturalness to the tendencies of events, non-forcing government, and preserving the person's integrity.
- 04Wei and Jin
Social norms and naturalness
Xuanxue, or learning of the mysterious, discusses the relationship between mingjiao, established norms and teachings, and ziran. The term concerns both beings arising of themselves and people within institutions.
- 05Six Dynasties to Tang
Different doctrinal explanations
Daoist writings and commentators, including Cheng Xuanying and Emperor Xuanzong, offer differing accounts of the relationship between the Dao and naturalness.
- 06Modern usage
Nature as a field of study and everyday life
Scientific usage and the translation of the Western category Nature helped make the natural world a prominent everyday meaning.
A state, a principle, and a world
Classical ziran often describes how something is; modern nature can name a domain of objects and processes.
Naturalness as being so of itself
- Meaning
- The condition of things not being forced into their character by an external agent.
- Focus
- The character of the Dao and beings, and their transformation.
- Distinction
- This meaning does not by itself posit an independent deity called Nature.
Naturalness and non-forcing
- Meaning
- Conduct that reduces self-serving interference and responds to circumstances.
- Focus
- Personal cultivation and government.
- Distinction
- It does not mean passive inaction or indifference to consequences.
The modern natural world
- Meaning
- The physical world and environment, often contrasted with what is artificial.
- Focus
- Science, the environment, and everyday language.
- Distinction
- This sense cannot simply replace every use of ziran in early Daoist thought.
Where to continue
Laozi, the Dao, and wuwei establish the main conceptual relationships. Daoism provides the wider tradition, while neidan illustrates a later setting for discussions of naturalness.
Names and variants
- Simplified
- 自然
- Traditional
- 自然
- Other names
- Tzu-jan, Zi Ran, Naturalness, Spontaneity, Self-so
- Pinyin
- Zì rán
- English
- Ziran
English overview
English textRead the complete English overview1 section · 161 words
The term is not limited to nature in the modern sense of forests, mountains, or the non-human environment. Zi points to oneself or itself, and ran to being so. The expression therefore describes a way of being rather than necessarily naming a separate object called Nature.
The relationship between Dao and ziran has received different interpretations. Some Daoist explanations give naturalness a foundational role; others understand it as a characteristic of the Dao rather than something above it. Debates among commentators, including Cheng Xuanying and the Tang emperor Xuanzong, show why one formula should not be treated as a complete account of every Daoist position.
Naturalness is closely connected with wuwei, action without unnecessary forcing. The two concepts help explain why contrivance, contention, and excessive desire can obstruct an appropriate response to circumstances. Spontaneity in this context does not simply mean acting on every impulse. It concerns freedom from imposed or self-centred distortion, not the rejection of all learning and discipline.
Citations and notes
zi ran ◎ 謂天然也。〔老子〕人法地，地法天，天法道，道法自然。〔淮南子〕因天地之自然。
Original-language evidence retained from the Chinese entry.
References
- [1]Dictionary of Daoism