Cultivation and habit: Daoist and Confucian perspectives

Karyn Lai (University of New South Wales)

The Confucian and Daoist traditions are often seen as antagonistic.  While Confucianism is sometimes criticised for its inflexible adherence to normative behaviours, Daoism is often lauded for its emphasis on spontaneity and action that is not norm- or goal-driven. Yet both traditions emphasise the centrality of cultivation to a life lived well.  This prompts the question: how can cultivation engender habitual action in one case and spontaneous action in the other?  I discuss a few stories in a Daoist text, the Zhuangzi, to clarify the different aims of cultivation in the two traditions.   I then consider how (a) performance is central in both traditions, and perhaps in Chinese ethics/theory of action more generally, and (b) how the Zhuangziconceives of the connections between cultivation and spontaneous (skilful) action.