Revisiting the Concepts of Lao Zi's "Inaction" and "Non-contention":A Study of the Relationship between Related Concepts in Lao Zi

and Non-contention are two major concepts in the book of Lao Zi.This paper argues that in order to explore the meanings of these two concepts readers should combine them with other related concepts in the book thereby understanding their true meaning from the relations between those concepts.Lao Zi's conception of Inaction relates not only to ethics and political ideas,but also to his own ontology and epistemology.The concept of can be approached from two perspectives:(1)keeping one's nature and conduct consistent with the laws of nature,and(2)assimilation into Tao.Likewise,the concept of Non-contention can also be analyzed in two ways:(1)taking a lower position,putting oneself behind others,etc.,and(2)discarding selfishness,denying desires,feeling contented,etc.The two concepts are differentiated and connected at the same time,with being a higher concept than Non-contention in Lao Zi's theory.