| Summary: | <i>Wu</i> 無is one of the most prominent terms in Ancient Daoist philosophy, and perhaps the only term to appear more than Dao in both the <i>Laozi</i> and the <i>Zhuangzi</i>. However, unlike Dao, <i>wu</i> is generally used as an adjective modifying or describing nouns such as “names„, “desires„, “knowledge„, “action„, and so forth. Whereas Dao serves as the utmost principle in both generation and practice, <i>wu</i> becomes one of the central methods to achieve or emulate this ideal. As a term of negation, <i>wu</i> usually indicates the absence of something, as seen in its relation to the term <i>you</i> 有—“to have„ or “presence„. From the perspective of generative processes, <i>wu</i> functions as an undefined and undifferentiated cosmic situation from which no beginning can begin but everything can emerge. In the political aspect, <i>wu</i> defines, or rather un-defines the actions (non-coercive action, <i>wuwei</i>無為) that the utmost authority exerts to allow the utmost simplicity and “authenticity„ (the <i>zi</i>自constructions) of the people. In this paper, I suggest an understanding of <i>wu</i> as a philosophical framework that places Pre-Qin Daoist thought as a system that both promotes our understanding of the way the world works and offers solutions to particular problems. <i>Wu</i> then is simultaneously metaphysical and concrete, general, and particular. It is what allows the world, the society, and the person to flourish on their own terms.
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