Lao Tzu Riding an Ox ∆ (Ming dynasty, 1368-1644)
Zhang Lu (張路)
Hanging scroll, light colour on paper
101.5 x 55.3 cm
Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taiwan
“If you want to be whole,
let yourself become partial.”
— Lao Tzu in Tao Te Ching (translated by Stephen Mitchell, HarperCollins, 1988)¶
∆ It is said that with the fall of the Chou dynasty, Lao Tzu decided to travel west through the Han Valley Pass. The Pass Commissioner, Yin-hsi, noticed a trail of vapor emanating from the east, deducing that a sage must be approaching. Not long after, Lao Tzu riding his ox indeed appeared and, at the request of Yin-hsi, wrote down his famous Tao Te Ching, leaving afterwards.
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“I have gathered a posy of other men’s flowers, and nothing but the thread that binds them is mine own.” — Michel de Montaigne
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