For US scholar, China's landscapes turn into a Taoist classroom

TIANJIN — For 46-year-old American philosophy associate professor Misha Tadd, China's mountains and rivers are more than scenery. They are living pages from the Tao Te Ching, the classic text attributed to the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu (Laozi), waiting to be read by those willing to look beyond the surface.

This summer, Tadd became a special tour guide for his sister, who was visiting China for the first time. Their journey took them from the historical landmarks of Tianjin and Beijing to the rural landscapes of Shanxi province in North China.

For Tadd, the trip was about far more than sightseeing. It became a journey through the ideas of Lao Tzu, with each landscape offering a new way to understand the ancient philosophy.

Tadd, who directs the Global Laozegetics Research Center at Nankai University in North China's Tianjin, has devoted years to studying the Tao Te Ching. In his view, tracing the text back to the landscapes where its ideas took shape offers a way to experience its philosophy rather than simply study it.

Philosopher on tour

As they wandered through the Mazu Temple and the historic Five Great Avenues in Tianjin and stood before the Forbidden City and the Great Wall in Beijing, Tadd showed his sister how China breathes new life into its ancient sites. "Letting old buildings tell their stories on the modern stage, this practice itself embodies the wisdom of 'The Way follows nature' (dao fa zi ran in Chinese)," he said.

At Foguang Temple and Nanchan Temple near Mount Wutai in Shanxi, the unassuming, centuries-old structures inspire another Taoist insight — "The Sage wears coarse cloth externally, but embraces jade internally."

"These temples have survived for a millennium precisely because they are hidden in remote mountains and never sought to glorify themselves," Tadd said. "Many once-splendid, lavishly decorated palaces have long been lost to history." He reflected that qualities like modesty and obscurity, often regarded as signs of weakness, can instead help things endure.

In Datong, Shanxi, the landscape offered another lesson. Hillsides covered with solar panels gleamed blue under the sun. Tadd pointed to them as a practical example of wuwei, often translated as "nonaction" or "effortless action".

"Using solar energy aligns well with the principle of wuwei," he explained to his sister. The panels convert sunlight into electricity with little disruption to the environment, he noted, offering a form of energy production that works with nature rather than against it.

"As science and technology advance, we seem to be escaping the constraints of nature," he said. "But solving small problems, like protecting ourselves from the cold or heat, has created bigger ones, like climate change." The Tao Te Ching, he argues, offers a timely reminder: respect nature's rhythms, and learn to live with the universe rather than against it.

"On one hand, we need to reduce our energy consumption," he said. "On the other, we need to produce energy in a way that follows nature's course — in a wuwei way."

Roots of revelation

These insights often bring Tadd back to his first encounter with the Tao Te Ching. At 14, while growing up in a remote village in western Massachusetts, he discovered an English translation of the classic in his local library.

"It was a special edition — each page of English translation was accompanied by a black-and-white photo of China's natural scenery, with the original Chinese text written in brushstrokes over the images."

The beauty captivated the boy, who had always been drawn to forests and mountains. "The book describes the relationship between humans and the universe in a subtle way. It resonated with me deeply," Tadd said.

He began learning Chinese, hoping to draw closer to the ancient philosophy. As a junior in college, he chose to study in Xi'an, the ancient capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province — a decision that set him on a lifelong path of studying Chinese culture.

Tadd believes many of Lao Tzu's ideas stem from observations of China's unique geography that remain relevant today. "Xi'an is in the Yellow River basin. In such an environment, you cannot ignore the power of water, because the river was once so difficult to control."

Lao Tzu's emphasis on water's softness, adaptability and ability to yield may be connected to such regional characteristics, Tadd said. By observing these landscapes, ancient philosophers could transform local experiences into broader ideas about change, balance and unity in the cosmos.

Harmony in action

Though the Tao Te Ching contains only about 5,000 Chinese characters, its concise verses carry profound meaning. The text has found readers around the world and become a source of philosophical exchange across cultures. That global reach inspired Tadd to pioneer the field of "Global Laozegetics".

In 2022, he published The Complete Bibliography of Laozi Translations: A Global Laozegetics Reference, which cataloged 2,052 translations in 97 languages. Today, the special collection at Nankai University's Global Laozegetics Research Center houses more than 340 translations, reflecting a long history of cultural exchange between China and the rest of the world.

Tadd favors experiential learning over purely academic study. He believes the Tao Te Ching is best understood not only through its words but also through the people, places and natural landscapes that give those words meaning.

As more foreign students come to study in China, Tadd offers this advice: "Beyond experiencing the rapid technological development in big cities, they should also go to the countryside, to the mountains, even to the desert, to feel China's millennia-old beauty and the friendliness of its ordinary people."

He hopes international visitors will recognize China's environmental strides over the past two decades. "Environmental degradation knows no borders," he said. "Seeing China's progress, I think, can inspire people elsewhere to embrace sustainability."

For Tadd, the wisdom of the Tao Te Ching has become part of how he sees himself. "In China, I try to be like water, taking the shape of my surroundings, but not as a disguise or a loss of self. It's about adapting while staying true to who I am," he said.