Feminism and Daodejing

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Poststructuralist Feminism and the Problem of Femininity in the "Daodejing" [Unrepresentable

Symbol]
Author(s): Judith Chuan Xu
Source: Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Spring, 2003), pp. 47-64
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POSTSTRUCTURALISTFEMINISM AND THE
PROBLEM OF FEMININITY
IN THE DAODEJING A W
JudithChuan Xu
This article probes the feminine images in the ancient Chinese Daoist
classic theDaodejing ll (Classicof theway and virtue) and their relation
to
ship contemporary Western poststructuralist feminist theories on sex and
gender.' I intend to show how poststructuralist feminist theories on sex and
gender and the DDJ's views on the feminine can inform each other on the
of
problem femininity. On the one hand, the poststructuralistfeminist decon
structionof traditionalconcepts of sex and gender helps to prevent a patriar
chal appropriationof the feminine imagesand values in theDDJ as the defini
tionof femininity.On the other hand, themutually complementary female and
male cosmologicalprincipleswithin theDao m (Way)present a vision that tran
scends gender dichotomy.Therefore, a poststructuralistfeminist readingof the
Iwould like to acknowledge theJFSR'sreviewersfor the advice theygave on an earlierversion of this

article.
Also named after its alleged author,Laozi t:, theDaodejing is themost significantearly
Daoist textand has exerted a profound influenceonChinese culture. (TheDaodejingwill be referred
to asDDJ hereafter.)There have been numerous debates amongmodem Daoist scholarsregarding
the authorshipof this classic and the time of its composition.Contemporary scholarsdate theDDJ
between roughly400 B.C.E.and 200 B.C.E.,and believe that itwas the product of collectivewisdom
ratherthan thework of a single author.(For thepurpose of thisarticle, Iwill considerLaozi tobe the
authorof theDDJ.) The earliestDDJ manuscriptsdiscovered so fardate to approximately200 B.C.E.
For further informationconcerning the originof theDDJ, seeWilliam H. Baxter,"SituatingtheLan
guage of the Lao-tzu:The ProbableDate of theTao-te-ching," inLao-tzu and theTao-te-ching,ed.
Livia Kohn andMichael LaFargue (Albany:State University of New York Press, 1998), 231-54;
Stephan Peter Bumbacher, "TheEarliestManuscripts of the LaoziDiscovered toDate," Asiatische
Studien/EtudesAsiatiques 52, no. 4 (1998): 1175-84; JohnEmerson, "AStratificationof Lao Tzu,"
Journalof Chinese Religions 23 (fall1995): 1-28; andHarold D. Roth, "TheLaozi in theContext of
EarlyDaoist Mystical Praxis," inReligious and PhilosophicalAspects of theLaozi, ed.Mark Csik
szentmihalyiandPhilip J. Ivanhoe (Albany:StateUniversity of New YorkPress, 1999), 59-96.
The Chinese textsof theDDJ I have consulted areRen Jiyu's ftat Laozi xinyi (-Tr-iT))(Anew
interpretationof Laozi) (Shanghai:ShanghaiGuji Chubanshe, 1985) and the twoMawangdui i.Ei
manuscripts,which are contained inRen's volume.
48 Journalof Feminist Studies inReligion
DDJ can contribute to feminist struggles to overthrow the sex/gender system,

eliminate gender dichotomy, freewomen andmen frompatriarchalideologies
ofWoman and femininity,and hence liberatewomen fromgender discrimina
tion and oppression.
Before undertaking this study, itmay be necessary to consider the riskof
applying contemporaryWestern feminist and gender theories to the ancient
Daoist text.Would such a cross-culturalreadingbe superimposingaWestern
frameworkonto a Chinese text?To prevent this from happening, I shall treat
theDDJ and the poststructuralist feminist and gender theories as equal dia
logicalpartners, and Iwill pay close attention to the culturaland historical con
textsof theDDJ. Further, Iwould like to caution the reader thatwe shouldnot
read theDDJ as a "feminist"text, as itwould be anachronistic to do so.
Also, given that feminist criticism has challenged the traditionalmale/fe
male, man/woman gender dichotomy at itsmetaphysical basis and thus has
shaken the fundamental ground for gender identities, and given that post
structuralistfeminism sees all gender identities as cultural constructions,one
needs to be extremely carefulwhen it comes to the use of gender terminology.
Hence I shall now clarifymy understandingof the gender terminology in this
article.
1. "Female,"'feminine,"and 'femininity":Female refers to the biological

features of the sex thatbears young,whereas feminine andfemininity consist
of a set of culturallydefined gender characteristicsforwomen. As TorilMoi
cautions us, we must not "collapsefeminine into female."2As Iwill show, the
distinctionbetween sex and gender can be blurry at times,because the concept
of sexmay be tainted by culturally constructed gender ideology.Therefore,
what is construed as "female"may actuallybe "feminine."
2. "Woman/woman"and "women": Woman/woman refers to the cultural

constructionofwhat itmeans to be awoman, which entails, for example,being
the "second sex," subordinate tomen, as described by Simone de Beauvoir.3
Women, on the other hand, indicates the socialgroup thathas historicallybeen
oppressed on the basis of presumed female biological identity.
3. "Man,""male,""masculine,"and "masculinity": These concepts are cul

tural constructions just as their counterpartswoman, female, feminine, and
femininity are.
According to anthropologistGayle Rubin, the cause forwomen's oppres
sion and social subordination,like all types of oppression of individualscaused
2Toril
Moi, "FeministLiteraryCriticism," inModern Literary Theory:A Comparative Intro
duction, ed. Ann JeffersonandDavid Robey (London:Batsford, 1986), 204-21.
3 Simone de
Beauvoir,The Second Sex (NewYork:Vintage, 1973).
Xu: PoststructuralistFeminism 49
by traditionalconcepts of sex and gender, lies inwhat she calls the "sex/gender
system,"that is, "the systematic social apparatuswhich takesup females as raw
materials and fashionsdomesticatedwomen as products"aswell as "the social
organizationof sexualityand the reproductionof conventions of sex and gen
der."4Thus, an effective way to expose and derail the sex/gender system is to
deconstruct "biological sex"by revealing its constructed nature, so that the
ground for biological determinism that takes the culturallyconstructed female
nature as thatwhich determineswomen's identityor femininitywill no longer
exist.
In the battle against biological determinism, Beauvoirmade a historical
breakthroughby distinguishing gender from sex. Beauvoir declared that the
traditionalconception of Woman is a patriarchal fiction and a distortion of
women. Woman as conceptualized by the patriarchalmind is not born so but,
rather,is created by the patriarchalculture.Hence, "one isnot born, but rather
becomes awoman."5For Beauvoir, sexmay be a biological fact-that is, the in
variant, anatomicallydistinct aspects of the female body-but gender is a so
cial construct, namely, the culturalmeaning that the female body acquires.6
Thus, traditionalconcepts ofWoman and femininity aremyths of patriarchal
culture. Furthermore, as the title of her landmarkbook suggests,Beauvoir ar
gues that such culturallyconstructed binary gender categories situatewomen
as the "second sex," inferior tomen.
Beauvoir's views are carried forwardby poststructuralist feministswho
seek a complete demolition of "themyth of woman"7by deconstructing the no
tion of biological sex and challenging themale/female gender dichotomy.Re
sorting to gender studies in French poststructuralistphilosophy andmodern
science-particularly genetic and cell biology-poststructuralist feminists
argue thatbiological sex itself is a social construct.The deconstruction of bio
logical sex shatters the ground for the patriarchalsex/gender system aswell as
themyth ofWoman and femininity,and severely challenges gender dichotomy.
The DDJ is a groundbreakingwork of ancientChinese philosophy.Using
traditionalfeminine images such as the female,mother, valley, andwater to
symbolize the Dao and advocating humility, yieldingness, and receptivity
feminine characteristics attributed towomen by the patriarchal culture-as
values of theDao, theDDJ ushers a different voice into the traditionalChinese
patriarchalworld. Indeed, theDDJ's insight into theDao has alwaysbeen a re
freshing and challenging voice in traditionalChinese patriarchal society.
4
Gayle Rubin, "TheTraffic inWomen: Notes on the 'PoliticalEconomy' of Sex," inToward
an Anthropology ofWomen, ed. Rayna R. Reiter (New York:Monthly Review Press, 1975), 157,
158, 168.
5
Ibid.,267.
6
Judith Butler, "Sex and Gender in Beauvoir's Second Sex," in Simone de Beauvoir: Witness
to a Century, special issueof YaleFrench Studies 72 (winter1986):35.
7Beauvoir,Second Sex, 199-252.
50 ofFeminist
Journal inReligion
Studies
Nevertheless, a patriarchal readingof theDDJ that identifies femaleness

with themetaphoricusage of the traditionalfeminine images in theDDJ can
reinforce a patriarchalideology thatkeepswomen subordinate.The poststruc
turalistfeminist critique of the notions of sex, gender, and femininity exposes
the fallacyof the patriarchal ideologyofWoman and femininity,and the con
structed nature of female identity.This helps tomake the needed distinction
between women and the traditionalfeminine images as symbols for the Dao,
so as to prevent misappropriationof these feminine images in the interest of
patriarchal ideology.
By recommending feminineways to themale sage as theway to govern the
empire, however, the DDJ both implicitly and explicitly breaks down tradi
tionalnorms and conceptions ofMan andWoman. Moreover, theDDJ's nondi
chotomous cosmology, that is, theDao as the undifferentiated ultimate reality
and the origin of the universe aswell as themutual complementarityof the
cosmic forces yin and yang as theDao in action, offers poststructuralistfemi
nists a new horizon for transcendingthe patriarchalgender dichotomy.With a
nondichotomousworldview, Laozi advocates feminine values formen. This in
dicates that in a nondichotomous universe,what is considered feminine in the
patriarchalculture can be free and available to all individuals.
With the foregoingunderstanding, in this article I shalldiscuss poststruc
turalist feminists' views on sex and gender and shall analyze the problem of
femininity in theDDJ based on these views. The researchand discussionshere
proceed in three steps. First, I present the feminine images and values in the
DDJ. Second, I investigatethe poststructuralistfeminist critiqueof the notions
of sex and gender by feminist theorist JudithButler and feminist biologists. In
this section I also examine theways inwhich these poststructuralistfeminists
deconstruct the notion of biological sex and therefore dismantle themyth of
Woman. Finally, I analyze the feminine images in theDDJ and their implica
tions for femininity in lightof poststructuralistgender theories, and elaborate
on the impact and ramificationsof a poststructuralistfeminist readingof the
DDJ.
Feminine Images in the Daodejing

For the sakeof a proper understandingof the feminine images in theDDJ,
it ishelpful to look first at the concept of the feminine in the broader context
of ancientChinese culture.
The ancientChinese understandingof the feminine is reflected in the con
ception of the dialecticmale and female cosmic forces of the hexagramsqian
t and kun tPas recorded in the Yijing (%,&)(The classic of
change).8Qian and
8The
Yijing is also known asZhouyi ((rl]).According to Fung Yu-lan, the originalcorpusof
the text on the hexagrams dates from probably the beginning of the Zhou ridynasty (1122-249
kun are the primordial cosmic creative forces.Qian is heaven, themasculine.

Kun is earth, the feminine.The Yijing states, "Qianwhich symbolizesHeaven
directs the great beginnings of things;Kun which symbolizes earth gives to
them their completion."9As cocreators, qian and kun aremutually comple
mentary. Nevertheless, qian, the male principle, plays the leading role,
whereas kun, the female principle, follows the influenceof qian obediently and
materializes qian'sdesigns in creating themyriad things (Zhu,55; Legge, 214),
and the position of kun is lower (Zhu,284; Legge, 348). Again,whereas qian is
strong (gangNJ),kun is gentle and docile (roushunSJyi1); its role is to be recep
tive and to follow (Zhu,55, 61; Legge, 214, 418-19).
The Yijing associatesqianwith men and kunwith women: "Theattributes
expressedby qian constitute themale; those expressedby kun constitute the fe
male" (Zhu,285; Legge, 349). Thus, the female role in ancientChinese culture
is to be docile and submissive.This is confirmed by the chapter on themean
ingof thewedding rite in theLiji (find)(Bookof rites),which says that the sub
missiveness of thewife will bring harmony to the familyandwill secure its long
continuance.Therefore,when the futurewife offers a sacrifice to the ancestors
as part of the preparation for themarriage, the sacrificialfishmust be accom
paniedwith waterweeds to symbolize thewife's submissiveness.'0As Min Jiayin
points out, the lowposition of kun inYijing'scosmology and its associationwith
women laterbecame the basis formale superiorityinChinese culture."
During theWarring States Period (480-222 B.C.E.), the concepts of yin H
and yang b- as the dialectic feminine andmasculine cosmic principles became
widely accepted by the different philosophical schools, and they have domi
nated Chinese cosmology ever since.Yang corresponds to qian, themasculine.
Yin corresponds to kun, the feminine.
B.C.E.),whereas the appendixes,or furthercommentarieson the hexagrams,were written and com

piled by Confucians during the early years of theHan dynasty (206B.C.E.-220 C.E.).A History of
Chinese Philosophy, trans.Derk Bodde (Princeton:PrincetonUniversity Press, 1983), 1:412.
9 For the textof the
Yijing, I have consultedZhu Xis t. commentaryon theYijing,Zhouyi
Benyi iAd )> (The truemeaning of theZhou yi) (Tianjin,China:TianjinshiGuji Shudian, 1989);
Nan Huaijin iM{f andXu Qinting irs ,Baihua Yijing L<'i:ls,) (An interpretationof the Yijing)
(Changsha,China:Yuelushushe, 1988); and JamesLegges translation,The YiKing (Oxford:Claren
don, 1882).Hereafter, I shall indicate the page numbers inZhu's text and Legge's translation, in
parentheses, formy quotations from the Yijing. I havemodified some of Legge's translation.This
quotation is fromZhu, 286; andLegge, 349.
'0
Shisanjingzhushu ( ITi:itRi),(Notes and commentarieson theThirteen Classics), ed., Ruan
Yuan kJL(Nanchang fu, Jiangxi:xuekai, 1815), reprint (Taibei:Yiwen Yinshuguan, 1976), vol. 5,
1001-2; and JamesLegge, trans.,The SacredBooks of China, vol. 28, pt. 4, The Li Ki, XI-XLVI
(Oxford:Clarendon, 1885), 432. The Liji isaConfucian compilationprobablymade during the early
yearsof theHan dynasty (206B.C.E.-220C.E.).Fung,History of Chinese Philosophy, 1:413.
M Jiayin rsL, ed., Yanggangyu yinrou de bianzou:Liangxing guanxi he shehui noshi
Min
W
<ImrIJaxM( -Il~Wituito-) (The variationsof yanggang and yinrou:Gender relations and social
models) (Beijing:Zhongguo ShehuiKexue Chubanshe, 1995), 21.
The yin/yang theories found full applicationand development inDaoism.

InDaoist cosmology,yin and yang are theDao inmotion. Ultimately, theDao
is the undifferentiatednonbeing (wu,l) that is the originof being (you4) (DDJ
40). Yin and yang are the instrumentsbywhich theDao operates as it gives rise
to themyriad things.The Dao creates and directs the course of the universe
by the change andmovement of yin and yang, and dwells in themyriad things
as yin and yang.
Whereas in the Yijing'scosmology the female principle kun is subordinate
to qian, themale principle, theDDJ emphasizes themutual complementarity
and harmony of yin and yang, the female andmale cosmic principles. Thus,
"themyriad things carryon theirbacks the yin and embrace in their arms the
"2
yang. Moreover, the DDJ gives precedence to the female and the feminine.
The preference for the feminine is obvious in statements such as 'When the
gates of heaven open and shut, / Are you capable of keeping to the role of the
female?" (DDJ 10;Lau, 66) and "Knowthemale, / But keep to the role of the
female" (DDJ 28; Lau, 85). Above all, the DDJ adopts feminine rather than
masculine images in conveying the Dao, which, as themysterious origin and
rulerof the universe, isultimately ineffable.
Therefore,whereas themale principle plays the leadingrole in the Yijing's
cosmology, theDDJ exalts the female and all that is lowlyand feminine as sym
bols of theDao. Hence, in theDDJ, themother, the female animal,and the fe
male reproductiveorgans emerge as the dominant symbolsof theDao as the
origin of the universe. Indeed, in theDDJ, the traditionalnotions of feminin
ity are transformedinto symbolsof theDao.
The feminine images in theDDJ can be divided into two groups.The first
group centers on themother and the female body as symbols for the Dao as
themysterious origin of the universe.The second group consists of images tra
ditionally associatedwith women and femininity asmetaphors forDaoist val
ues.
The notion that theDao is themother of the universe appears inDDJ 1,

25, and 52, and ismost explicit in chapter 25:
Therewas somethingundifferentiated
andyet complete,
Which existed before heaven and earth.
Soundless and formless,
It depends on nothing, and does not change.
It operates everywhere and is free from danger.
12For the
English translationof theDDJ, I have consultedD. C. Lau, trans.,Lao Tzu:TaoTe
Ching (NewYork:Penguin, 1963);Wing-tsit Chan, "TheNaturalWay of Lao Tzu," inA SourceBook
inChinese Philosophy, trans. and comp.Wing-tsit Chan (Princeton:Princeton University Press,
1963), 139-76; andEllen M. Chen, The TaoTeChing:A New Translationwith Commentary (New
York:ParagonHouse, 1989).Hereafter, I shall indicate thepage numbers of these translations(with
modifications) inparentheseswithin the text.This quotation is fromDDJ 42; Lau, 103.
Itmay be considered the mother of the universe.

I do not know its name;
I call itDao. (Chan, 152)
Feminine images suggesting and symbolizing the fertilityof the Dao are
rich and abundant in theDDJ. Besides themother, the valley is another out
standing symbolof theDao's fertility:
The spirit of the valley never dies.
It is called the mysterious female.
The gateway of the mysterious female
Is called the root of heaven and earth. (DDJ 6; Lau, 62)
The imageof the valley as a downward-tendingemptiness throughwhich

water flows suggests the uterus or the female genital organ.The valley in the
naturalworld is the source of fertility,bringing forth and nourishing life on
earth.Hence, the valley image symbolizes theDao as the everlasting source of
the universe. In fact, the notion of the Dao's inexhaustiblefertilityoccurs re
peatedly in chapters 4 and 5, where theDao is depicted as the emptiness that
is inexhaustibleand pours out evermore. Therefore, theDao as the eternal fe
cundity of the universe that continuously produces themyriad things is sym
bolized in a feminine image, the valley,which suggests the uterus and female
reproduction.13
Feminine images promoting the ways of the Dao-lowliness, softness,
yieldingness, quietude, and inactivity-are prevalent in theDDJ. Among them,
the valley andwater are the exemplary symbolsof theDao.
The imageof the valley is a typicalexample of a feminine imagebased on
feminine characteristicstraditionallyattributed towomen. Its lowposition con
notes the sociallyassigned role of lowliness towomen. The DDJ says,
Know the male
But keep to the role of the female
And be a ravine to the empire.
If you are a ravine to the empire,
Then the constant virtue will not desert you
And you will again return to being a babe
Know honor
But keep to the role of the disgraced
And be a valley to the empire.
If you are a valley to the empire,
Then the constant virtue will be sufficient
13John
Emerson, "TheHighest Virtue IsLike theValley,"TaoistResources 3, no. 2 (1992):54;
Min, Yanggang yu yinrou de bianzou, 19.
And you will return to being the uncarved block. (DDJ 28; Lau,
85)
A ravine is a small-scalevalley, sharing the qualities of lowliness and dis
gracewith the valley. In the preceding text, "the role of the female" and "the
roleof the disgraced"respectivelyparallel the "ravine"and the "valley." Hence,
the ravineand the valley embody the traditionalfemale role-receptivity, hu
mility, submissiveness and yieldingness. These characteristicsconstitute "the
constant virtue," for they represent theways of theDao. Both the "babe"and
"the uncarved block" symbolize the original form of the Dao. Therefore, as
long as the sage can be the ravineor valley to the empire, that is, can put him
self or herself below and behind the people of the empire, then he or she is
abiding by the Dao. Thus, saysLaozi, "the highest virtue is like the valley"
(DDJ 41; Lau, 102).
While the valley symbolizes the highest virtue,water represents the high
est good. Laozi says,
Highest good is likewater.

Water benefits the myriad things without competing with them,
And settles where none would like to be.
Therefore it comes close to the Dao. (DDJ 8; Lau, 64)
Water is a typicalfeminine symbol in traditionalChinese culture. Like the val

ley,water abides in lowplaces. It benefits themyriad thingswithout compet
ingwith them; it is content with low places that others disdain. Therefore,
water exemplifies lowliness and humility,hence is near theDao and the sym
bol of the highest good.
Moreover, water demonstrates the power of softness andweakness-the
ways inwhich theDao works. According to theDDJ, "Weaknessis the func
tioningof Dao" (DDJ40; Chen, 152).Hence, "the soft andweak overcome the
hard and strong" (DDJ 36; Chen, 141), and "to abide by the soft is called
strength" (DDJ 52; Chen, 178).Water can carve and penetrate the hardest
rocks.Thus, it is the best example of how the soft and theweak can overcome
the hard and the strong:
Nothing under heaven

Is softer and weaker thanwater,
Yet nothing can compare with it
In attacking the hard and strong. (DDJ 78; Chen, 225)
Therefore,water is the epitome of the trueway and the truepower of theDao.

Water exemplifies not only unassertiveness and humility but also softness and
weakness. All these traditionalfeminine characteristicssymbolize theways of
theDao.
In summary, the DDJ appropriates traditionalnotions of femininity and
feminine imagesand transformsthem into imagesof theDao. Based on these

images and the values they represent, femininity in theDDJ consists of mater
nity, humility, lowliness, submissivenessand yieldingness that are typicalfemi
nine attributes in a traditionalpatriarchalsociety.Nevertheless, unlike the Eu
ropean hierarchicalmale/female dichotomy, as described by Beauvoir,which
makes the female the second sex, for Laozi the relationshipbetween the fe
male and themale isone of mutual complementarityand harmony,and the ex
altationof the feminine.
However, asKaren Laughlin and EvaWong caution us, theDao isbigger
thanmale or female; it is the ineffablemystery. The Dao is nameless, shape
less, and formless.Ultimately we cannot know or speak of Dao. The feminine
imagesof themother, the valley, andwater are all attempts to characterize the
Dao. Each captures some aspects of theDao but not its totality.14Furthermore,
as the undifferentiated cosmic origin, ultimately theDao iswithout anykind of
dichotomy.As metaphors for the Dao, these particularqualities are therefore
detached from their binary gender connotations. In other words, they tran
scend the concepts of femininity and masculinity, and are simply symbols of
theDao. After lookingat pertinent poststructuralistfeminist views on sex and
gender, Iwill return to thispoint and render a feminist analysisof these femi
nine images and their implicationsfor femininity in theDDJ.
Critical Views on Sex and Gender, and Deconstruction

of Biological Sex in Poststructuralist Feminism
Simone de Beauvoir'sdistinction between sex and gender has been crucial
to feminist efforts to demythologize themyth ofWoman that is based on the
claim that femininity is determined by the female anatomy.Yet sex remained a
biological mystery. Poststructuralist feminists take the deconstruction of the
myth of Woman further by deconstructing the notion of biological sex. Fol
lowingFrench poststructuralistthinkers such as JacquesLacan, JacquesDer
rida,andMichel Foucault,who attackand deconstruct our concept of the sub
ject as having an essential identity and an authentic core that has been
repressedby society,poststructuralistfeminists regard the categoryWoman as
a fiction and aim at deconstructing and de-essentializing the concept of
Woman to its core.15Seeing thatbiological sex is the last stronghold for patri
archal gender myths, particularly the myth of the biologicalWoman, post
structuralistfeminists endeavor to deconstruct the notion of biological sex.
14Karen and Eva Wong, "Feminism and/in Taoism," in Feminism and World Reli
Laughlin
gions, ed. Arvind Sharma and Katherine K. Young State University of New York Press,
(Albany:
1999), 162.
15Linda "Cultural Feminism versus Poststructuralism: The Identity Crisis in Feminist
Alcoff,
Theory," Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 13, no. 3 (1988): 415.
For poststructuralist feminist thinkers, sex itself is gendered. In other

words, sex isnot a fixedbiological or naturalgiven. There isno such thing as a
purely biological body or sex. "Body"and "sex"are already interpreted.There
fore, likegender, sex is a culturalconstruction.As feminist theoristJudithBut
lerputs it, "Thisconstruct called 'sex'is as culturallyconstructed as gender."16
Theories of sex and gender propounded by Butler and feminist biologists fa
cilitate the deconstruction of the myth of biological sex and hence myths of
Woman and femininity.
JudithButler
In chapter 1 of her bookGender Trouble,JudithButler points out that the
distinction between sex and gender, originally intended to knock down the for
mula "biology-is-destiny,"falls into the trapof cultural determinism.The sex
and-gender distinction implicitlysuggests that sex is intrinsicto the body as an
invariantthatpreexists culture.Hence, gender is to culture as sex is to nature.
As a result,bodies are seen as thematerial onwhich culturalmeanings are in
scribed.17This implies that the body or sex exists independentlyprior to gen
der. Ifwe accept the notion of sex and all the assumptions it entails as a bio
logical given and as natural,we allow the ghost of biological determinism to
haunt us. Consequently, themyth of gender will not be completely shattered
until themyth of sex is thoroughlyscrutinized.Along with Butler,we need to
ask, "Is 'thebody' or 'thesexed body' the firm foundationonwhich gender and
systems of compulsory sexualityoperate?Or is 'thebody' itself shaped by po
liticalforceswith strategic interests in keeping thatbody bounded and consti
tuted by themarkers of sex?"'8
Indeed, as Butler points out, a body does not bear meaning until it is
sexed, or assigned a gender. In other words, no sooner do we associate body
with sex thanwe ascribe gender meanings to the body.Therefore, forButler,
neither body nor sex is separablefromgender.The body itself is a construction.
The body is alreadygendered; and sexhas been gender all along.Hence, But
lerconcludes that sex isno pure anatomicalfacticityprior to culture, for "there
is no recourse to a body that has not always alreadybeen interpretedby cul
tural meanings."19
To furtherprobe sex as a culturalconstruct,Butler analyzesJuliaKristeva's
idea of maternity, and critiquesKristeva by means of Michel Foucault's theo
16
JudithButler,Gender Trouble:Feminism and the Subversionof Identity (Routledge:New
York, 1990), 7. Also see Sherry B. Ortner andHarrietWhitehead, "Introduction:Accounting for
SexualMeanings," in SexualMeanings: TheCulturalConstructionof Sexuality,ed. SherryB. Ortner
andHarrietWhitehead (NewYork:CambridgeUniversity Press, 1981), 1.
17
Butler, Gender Trouble, 8.
18
Ibid., 129.
19
Ibid., 8.
rieson the relationshipbetween sex and culture.To better understandButler's

use of Kristeva, let us consider some of Kristeva'smain ideas.
InRevolution in Poetic Language (1974),Kristeva posits that the produc
tion of meaning involves two types of signifyingprocesses: "the semiotic"and
"the symbolic,"which are the inseparabledialecticwithin language.The semi
otic refers to the presymbolic, nonpaternal,multiple instinctualdriveswithin
the body, and is the underlying foundation ("genotext")for the symbolic,which
is the paternal, societal, cultural and syntactical expression ("phenotext").20
Later, inDesire inLanguage (1977),Kristeva identifies the semioticwith the
maternal drives and instincts that are the primary causality,namely, the un
caused cause, which is prior to being, culture, and language.21 On the one
hand, the purpose of Kristeva's theoryof the primalmaternal body as the semi
oticwas to challenge theLacanianbelief that the paternal law,or the symbolic,
is the universal organizing principle of language and culture. On the other
hand, Kristeva intended to offer a ground for the feminine subversionof the
paternal lawwithin language.Kristeva argues that, although the symbolic re
presses andplaces socialconstraintson the semiotic, the semioticexpresses the
originalmaternal driveswithin the termsof language (poetry)and culture, thus
subverting the paternal laws.
Butler disagreeswith Kristeva in twoways. Butler argues, first, that the ex
istence of the presymbolic semiotic cannot be proved. Because the "presym
bolic" is known only in and through the "symbolic,"the so-calledpresymbolic
semioticmay simply be the "symbolic"itself. If so, thematernal body is the
symbolic, or a cultural construct, rather than a prediscursive semiotic, or the
nonsymbolic, nonpaternal causality.Nonetheless, the idea that the maternal
body bears an originalmeaning that isprior to paternal significationand prior
to culture prevents us from considering the possibility thatmaternity itself is a
culturalvariable.Thus, maternal drives become part of the biological destiny.
Second, accordingto Butler,when Kristevaconceptualizesthe desire of giv
ing birth as the "maternalinstinct"that isontologicallyprior to thepaternallaw,she
not only fails to see that the paternal lawmay in factbe the cause of such a "ma
ternalinstinct,"but also reifiesmaternity.22The truth,Butler says,is this:"Thelaw
that is saidto repressthe semioticmaywell be the governingprincipleof the semi
otic itself,with the result thatwhat passes as 'maternalinstinct'may well be a cul
turallyconstructeddesirewhich is interpretedthrougha naturalisticvocabulary."23
20
Julia Kristeva, Revolution in Poetic Language, trans. Margaret Waller, with an introduction
by Leon
21
S. Roudiez (NewYork:ColumbiaUniversity Press, 1984), 24.
Julia Kristeva, Desire in Language: A Semiotic to Literature and Art, ed. Leon S.
Approach
Roudiez, trans. Thomas Gora, Alice Jardine, and Leon S. Roudiez (New York: Columbia University
Press, 1980), 239.
22
Butler,Gender Trouble,88-91.
23
Ibid., 90.
Indeed, to identifymaternity with the presymbolic (semiotic),nonpater

nal,metaphysical cause is to reinforce the notion of sex as the natural,biolog
ical invariant.To presume that thematernal body isprior to culture,which is
the paternal structureordered by paternal power, is to say that sex is precul
tural and natural, insteadof a cultural construct.As Butler poignantly points
out, this theory only covers up the cultural constructionof maternity and the
female sex,making them appear "natural."24
Furthermore, Butler turns to Foucault's theory on the notion of sex as a
critique of Kristeva's concept of thematernal body. Foucault alerts us to the
fact that the categoryof sex is fictitious.The notion of "sex"serves as an artifi
cial unifying principle to organize a set of anatomical,biological, and sensual
elements into a fictitious unitywhich then turns into a causal principle: "The
notion of 'sex'made itpossible to group together, in an artificialunity, anatom
ical elements, biological functions, conducts, sensations, and pleasures, and it
enabled one tomake use of this fictitious unity as a causal principle, an om
nipresentmeaning: sexwas thus able to function as a unique signifierand as a
universal signified."25
Butler comments thathere Foucault cautions against the use of sex as the
causalprinciple as such, for it gives us the false impressionthat sex is the cause
of the structureandmeaning of desire, whereas in reality the truth is the op
posite. Also, Butler points out thatFoucault distinguishes body from sex.The
body is not significantlysexed until it takes on the idea of natural or essential
sex,which, according to Foucault, is concocted by culture.26
Thus, Foucault reverses the cause and effect inKristeva'ssystem. If Kris
teva treats sex as the cause and languageas the effect, Foucault proposes that
discourse on sexualitycreates the notion of sex.Hence, culturaldiscourse is the
origin of sex. For Foucault, "bio-power,"that is, socioeconomic and political
power, determines theway we see biology and sex, and constructs sexuality.
Therefore, sex is in fact a product and an expressionof power, rather than the
original and authenticbiological instinctcapable of subvertingpaternalpower.
Thus, Butler concludes, sex and sexualityare "saturatedwith power."To es
sentialize sex as ontologically self-sufficient, free frompower relationsand his
toricity,is to conceal paternal power as the origin of "sex."27
In the light of Foucault's understanding of the relationshipbetween sex
and power, itbecomes obvious that thematernal instinctsand "maternallibid
inaleconomy" inKristeva'ssystem are conceptualizedwithin the paternalmen
24
See also Monique "One Is Not Born aWoman," in The Second Wave: A Reader in
Wittig,
FeministTheory, ed. LindaNicholson (NewYork:Routledge, 1997), 265, 270.
25
Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality, vol. 1, An Introduction, trans. Robert Hurley
(New York: Vintage, 1980), 154.
26
Ibid.,91, 92.
27
Foucault, of Sexuality, 140-41, 143-44; Butler, Gender Trouble, 94-95.
History
tality,which makes motherhood compulsory forwomen. Clearly it is society,

governed by paternal law, that sanctions and demands that the female body
perform its reproductivefunction. It is such paternal law thatmakes maternity
the natural law for the female body. Consequently, instead of subvertingpa
ternal law,Kristeva's theoryof a prediscursive and nonpaternalbiologicalma
ternityconceals theworking of paternal law in the very institutionofmaternity,
making the paternal constructionof maternity appearnatural and inevitable.28
Feminist Biologists
Butler's theory that sex is a social construct is supportedby scientific evi
dence. In The ScienceQuestion in Feminism (1986), SandraHarding throws
lighton the social constructionof perceived sexdifferences, sexuality,and gen
der from the perspective of science. Harding reports that by themid-1980s,
scientific research in biology, history, anthropology,and psychology all con
tributed to demythologizing the presumption that sexualities,gender roles,be
haviors, and desires are determined by sexdifferences necessary for reproduc
tion.The biological elements related to differentmale and female functions in
human reproduction-namely, thatmales inseminate and females incubate
and lactate-cannot explain the gendered and sexual identities, behaviors,
roles, and desires, which are evidently constructed entirely by culture.29Nei
ther is sexualityunder the rigid control of genes or hormones.
The extent towhich patriarchal ideologies of men andwomen shape sci
entific understanding of biological sex is demonstrated in contemporary re
search and studies in genetic and cell biology.Even in the late 1980s, Aristo
tle'sbiological views of the activemale and passive female,which reflected the
socialprinciples of his day,was stilldominating thementality of cell biologists,
who regard femaleness as the absence of maleness or the passive presence of
themale-determining factor,and assume that the inductionof testiculartissue
is an active (gene-directed,dominant) event,whereas the inductionof ovarian
tissue is a passive (automatic)event. In fact, sexdeterminationhas alwaysbeen
conceptualized and conducted in terms of male determination.Nevertheless,
according to feminist geneticists, "the inductionof ovarian tissue is asmuch an
active, genetically directed developmental process as the inductionof testicu
lar tissue."30
2"
Butler, 92-93.
29Sandra
Harding, The Science Question in Feminism (Ithaca:Cornell University Press,
1986), 134.According toHarding,what accounts for this reproductivedifference isdefined in terms
of fivebiologicalcriterialgenes: chromosomes,hormones, gonads, internalreproductiveorgans, and
externalgenitalia (127).
:30
See David C. Page et al., "TheSex-DeterminingRegion of theHuman Y Chromosome En
codes a Finger Protein,"Cell 51 (December 24, 1987): 1091-1104;Anne Faust-Sterling,"Life in the
X Corral," Women's Studies International Forum, Issue on Feminism and Science: In
Special
MenmorjofRuth Bleier, ed. Sue V. Rosser, vol. 12, no. 3 (1989):328-29; Gerald Schatten andHeide
Traditionalviews on the rolesof sperm and egg in fertilizationpresent an

other well-known example demonstrating how patriarchalprejudice against
women has influenced the biological understanding of sex. Until the late
1970s, biological narrativesof fertilizationhad not departed from themale-ac
tive, female-passivemodel. Sperm taleswere variantsof the conquest stories
of Greek mythological heroes, inwhich the sperm puts up a heroic fight, sur
viving against all the odds in its journey through the oviducts until it eventually
wins the rewardof the egg.31Here the sperm is the active agent, and the egg
is completely passive.With the electron microscope, however, scientists ob
served that sperm and egg are in factmutually active partners in the fertiliza
tion process.32
The way inwhich gender associationsare projected onto cells innarratives
of fertilization isobviouslymodeled onmale-female interactionpatterns in the
patriarchalculture.This indicates that the biological understandingof sex and
gender bears the profound impactof patriarchalprejudice against the female
sex.Hence, biology isboth a privileged oppressor ofwomen and a co-victimof
cultural assumptions.33
These biological study cases indicate that sex difference, sexuality,and
gender roles have little to do with natural biology.Hence, the understanding
that sex is a social construct is confirmed by science, for there is no scientific
basis for the culturally constructed notion of biological sex. Consequently,
there isno biological sex as basis for themyth ofWoman.
Indeed, cultural assumptionsaboutmen andwomen, their relative status,
and the conventionalunderstandingof sex identitieshave shaped scientific re
search and theories aswell as presumptions about biological sex. Preconcep
tions about sex and gender informand influenceboth the hypotheses and the
reasoningof biomedical inquiries that seek to establish sex as it is prior to ac
quiring culturalmeanings, resulting in the predicament of differentiating sex
from gender.34
Schatten, "TheEnergetic Egg," Sciences 23, no. 5 (1983):31;Butler,Gender Trouble,107, 108, 109;
Eva Eicher and Linda L. Washburn, "Genetic Control of Primary Sex Determination in Mice,"
Annual Review of Genetics 20 (1986): 328-29.
31See the
Biology andGender StudyGroup, "The Importanceof Feminist Critique forCon
temporaryCell Biology,"inFeminism and Science, ed.Nancy Tuana (Bloomington:IndianaUniver
sityPress, 1989), 175-76. The group citesM. Boylan, "TheGalenic andHippocratic Challenges to
Aristotle'sConception Theory,"Journalof theHistory of Biology 17 (1984): 110;andW. C. Keeton,
Biological Science, 3d ed. (NewYork:Norton, 1976), 394.
:32Schatten and Schatten, "EnergeticEgg," 29,34; Biology andGender StudyGroup, "Impor
tanceof Feminist Critique," 177.
33 andGender StudyGroup, "Importanceof Feminist Critique," 172.
34BiologyGender
Butler, Trouble, 109.
Xu: Poststructuralist Feminism 61
Summary
The poststructuralistfeminist deconstruction of biological sex liberatesus
from the biological determinism that supports the patriarchal ideology of
Woman and her subordination,aswell aswhat Gerda Lerner has called the pa
triarchal"sex/gender system."This indicates thatwomen's subordinationand
the sex/gender system are historical rather than natural and thus can be
changed as history progresses.35 With the deconstruction of biological sex,
there isno longer a biological basis for the culturalconstructionof sex and gen
der.Hence, the cultural constructionof the female sex, and femininity as that
which definesWoman, are left groundless.Consequently, everythingwe know
aboutwomen, every notion of femininity,must be subject to feminist scrutiny
and can no longerbe attributed to biology.Furthermore, the deconstructionof
biological sexmay facilitate revolutionarychanges in the discourse of sex and
gender and thusmay cause the eventual elimination of the binary dichotomy
of sex and gender.
Conclusion: The Problem of Femininity in the Daodejing

In this conclusion I shall firstexamine the feminine images in theDDJ and
their implicationsfor femininity in lightof the poststructuralistfeminist views
on sex and gender. I shall then discuss the ways inwhich a poststructuralist
feminist readingof theDDJ challenges and informsour understandingof gen
der and femininity,and can contribute to breakingdown gender dichotomy.
Let us first investigatewhether thematernal imagery in theDDJ runs the
same risk thatKristeva's theory on maternal drives as the primarymotor for
culture runs in reifyingmaternity. Ifwe takematernity as a natural instinctand
regard it as femininity,or thatwhich definesWoman, without realizing that
motherhood as a compulsory act forwomen is in fact the product of paternal
power,we reifyWoman andmaternity.Nevertheless, asButler points out,ma
ternity itself is the product of culture,which assigns reproductionandmother
hood to be themeaning of thewoman's body.Therefore, we need to keep in
mind that, as themysterious origin of the universe, theDao isultimately inef
fable and transcends all imagery,and we must understand thematernal im
agery in the DDJ as a means to convey the fertility of the Dao, instead of sim
plistically acceptingmaternity as femininity.
The poststructuralistfeministview of sex and gender also enables us to call
into question the concept of femininity drawn from feminine images such as
water and valley. If humility, lowliness, and submissivenesswere deemed to
constitute femininityand the norm of behavior forwomen, the resultwould be
the reinforcementof patriarchaldominance over and injustice towardwomen.
35
G(erda Lerner, The Creation of Patriarchy (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986), 6.
After Foucault, Butler, and biologists' deconstruction of biological sex, how

ever, one can no longer assume that traditionalconcepts of femininity are
precultural and natural.We see clearly, though, that humility, lowliness, and
submissivenessare typical feminine attributes in a traditionalpatriarchalsoci
ety.They are simply culturallyconstructed female gender roles and an expres
sion of"bio-power."
Furthermore, in light of the poststructuralistfeminist view that the bio
logicalbody isalready interpretedand assignedgendermeaning by culture,we
need to be aware that traditionalconcepts of femininity and the patriarchal
ideologyofWoman are constructedby thepatriarchalculture; theydo not rep
resent absolute truthandmust not be accepted as the norm to define the seg
ment of humanity calledwomen.
Fortunately theDDJ does not use feminine images to vindicate the tradi
tional notions of femininity.Since Dao is the undifferentiated cosmic origin
and is ultimatelywithout any kind of dichotomy, as symbols for theDao these
imagesare no longerwithin the binarygender system. In otherwords, the fem
inine images such aswater and valley in theDDJ are transformedinto symbols
of the Dao, hence transcend the traditionalconcepts of femininity andmas
culinity. In fact, by recommending feminine ways to the male sage rulers
(shengrengA), who were thereby challenged towork against their traditional
gender conditioning, theDDJ inherentlycontradicts and sabotages fixed gen
der categories.
Of course, Laozi was no "feminist"andwas not concerned about gender
issues.The Daoists seek escape from theworld of strivingand activityand re
treat into a state of passivityand onenesswith the naturalprocess. For the sake
of spiritualcultivationDaoist sageswould relinquishworldly power and posi
tion,which for theDaoists are nothing but illusions thatobstruct spiritualde
velopment. Thus, one may regard the ideals of Daoism as "feminine" in the
sense thatDaoist quietism, non-obtrusiveness and yieldingness coincide with
what is considered feminine in the traditionalChinese culture. Therefore, in
contrastwith the Confucian patriarchal ideals about sagehood,Laozi employs
feminine images to symbolizeDaoist values aswell as theDao Itself.Or per
haps Laozi sees the damage and destruction caused by masculine aggressive
ness, hence recommends the feminineways as an alternativemeans of survival
and as theway to govern theworld for sage rulers in a chaotic time.
However, if today'sfeministswonder about Laozi'sview on gender, based
on theDDJ's statements such as "themyriad thingscarryon theirbacks the yin
and embrace in their arms the yang," and "knowthemale/but keep to the role
of the female," I gather thatLaozi'sgender view is the balance between yin and
yang orwhat is considered "masculine"and "feminine."
The Daoist emphasis on the harmony and balance of yin and yang or the
female andmale cosmic forces is revealed in the classic Symbol of theGreat
Ultimate (taijituXAgi). Deriving from the Dao, the Great Ultimate, namely,
taiji, comprises yin and yang. In the taii symbol, the seed of yin ispresent in
the yang, and vice versa.Thus, themovements of yin and yang give rise to and
follow one another in a cycle. In such circularmovements, neither hierarchy
nor dichotomy can be formed. It is in such a context thatwe ought to under
stand theDDJ's emphasis on themutual complementarityof the dialectic fe
male andmale cosmic principles yin and yangwithin theDao-the nondiffer
entiated ultimate reality that is both the origin and the end of the universe.
Thus, in theDDJ's cosmology there is absolutelyno ground for any formof hi
erarchyor dichotomy.
Therefore, for Laozi, there would never be a hierarchical gender di
chotomy. Instead, there shouldbe gender equality.As amatter of fact, there is
farmore gender equality inDaoist religion than in the Confucian patriarchal
culture.As Laughlin andWong note, throughoutthe historyof Daoism women
have played significant roles as teachersof Daoist arts, foundingmembers of
Daoist sects, heads of Daoist monasteries, and authors of Daoist scriptures.
Above all, like theirmale counterparts,women have attained spiritualperfec
tion or immortality.Therefore, inDaoism there is sexual equality.Or rather,
Daoism transcendsgender roles.36
Interestingly, Laozi's nondichotomous worldview and poststructuralist
feministgender theories seem to supportone another.On the one hand, But
ler and the feministbiologists seem to back up Laozi'snondichotomousworld
view, for they have shown that the gender dichotomy of male and female,mas
culinity and femininity, is culturally determined and arbitrary, lacking
metaphysical ground.On the other hand, theDDJ's nondichotomous cosmol
ogymay provide themetaphysical basis for the feminist endeavor to teardown
the patriarchalcultural constructof gender dichotomy and reconstructa non
sexist and holisticworldview. Thus, while the poststructuralistfeminist decon
structionof traditionalconcepts of sex and gender may prevent a patriarchal
appropriationof the feminine images and values in theDDJ as validations for
the stereotypes of femininity defined by patriarchal culture that confine
women to theirgender roles and subordination,theDDJ offers feminists away
to transcendgender dichotomy.
Indeed, a poststructuralistfeminist readingof theDDJ not only provokes
us into rethinkingconventionalgender categories but also offers us a vision of
freeing humanity from stereotypical gender identities.While the poststruc
turalistfeminists point out how misleading gender dichotomy and traditional
concepts of Man, Woman, masculinity, and femininity are, Laozi presents a
way to transcend these dichotomous gender categories and to reconsiderwhat
itmeans to be trulyhuman, so thatwe are open to the fullmystery of human
36
Laughlin andWong, "Feminismand/inTaoism,"149-53.
ity, insteadof making individualsfit into the preconceived categoriesofMan or

Woman. Thus, alongwith Laozi'snondichotomousworldview, poststructuralist
feminist gender theoriesmay change our perception and discourse of sex and
gender, andhence may contribute to the eventual eliminationof the dichotomy
of sex and gender.
Overcoming the binary gender system is the first step in setting the cate
gories "femininity"and "masculinity"free, so that the values formerlygathered
under "femininity"and "masculinity"can become free and equally available to
all individuals.Thus,what have been traditionallyregardedas femininevirtues,
such as gentleness, humility, reverence for nature, peacefulness, caring, and
nurturing, can be embraced as universal virtues to be appreciated and culti
vated by all individuals.Therefore, togetherwith the values that used to be
considered feminine,women will no longerbe trappedwithin the patriarchal
ideologyof femininity thathas been an effective instrumentfor the patriarchal
oppression of women. The dissolution of the gender dichotomymay also de
liver "certainaspects of human personalitywithin individuals"and sexualmi
norities from the oppression of the patriarchal sex/gender system.37Hence, a
woman can be an independent, autonomous, and self-determinate individual,
just as aman is expected to be; whereas aman can be relational,gentle, and
caring, like awoman in the conventional sense. Additionally, therewill be re
spect for different sexualorientations.
The disintegration of gender dichotomy and its implicationscan liberate
us from the tyrannyof culturallyconstructedgender roles and fromgender dis
crimination and oppression, for it overturns the patriarchalgender assump
tions aboutwomen andmen, and removes the rationale for practices of dis
crimination againstwomen and the institutionalsubordinationof women.
Finally,with the dissolution of the traditionalgender categories of Man,
Woman, masculinity, and femininity,theburden of defining or findingoutwho
we are fallsupon each individual.Perhaps, like theDao, an individualcannot
be defined. The Dao is constantly in the process of change and creation; it is
forever creating, transforming,and transcending.Likewise, individualsmust
create their own identities and not limit themselves to culturallyconstructed,
stereotypicalgender roles.
37
Rubin, "Traffic inWomen," 159.

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Poststructuralist Feminism and the Problem of Femininity in the "Daodejing" [Unrepresentable

Iwould like to acknowledge theJFSR'sreviewersfor the advice theygave on an earlierversion of this

DDJ can contribute to feminist struggles to overthrow the sex/gender system,

1. "Female,"'feminine,"and 'femininity":Female refers to the biological

2. "Woman/woman"and "women": Woman/woman refers to the cultural

3. "Man,""male,""masculine,"and "masculinity": These concepts are cul

Nevertheless, a patriarchal readingof theDDJ that identifies femaleness

Feminine Images in the Daodejing

kun are the primordial cosmic creative forces.Qian is heaven, themasculine.

B.C.E.),whereas the appendixes,or furthercommentarieson the hexagrams,were written and com

The yin/yang theories found full applicationand development inDaoism.

The notion that theDao is themother of the universe appears inDDJ 1,

Itmay be considered the mother of the universe.

The imageof the valley as a downward-tendingemptiness throughwhich

Highest good is likewater.

Water is a typicalfeminine symbol in traditionalChinese culture. Like the val

Nothing under heaven

Therefore,water is the epitome of the trueway and the truepower of theDao.

feminine imagesand transformsthem into imagesof theDao. Based on these

Critical Views on Sex and Gender, and Deconstruction

For poststructuralist feminist thinkers, sex itself is gendered. In other

rieson the relationshipbetween sex and culture.To better understandButler's

Indeed, to identifymaternity with the presymbolic (semiotic),nonpater

tality,which makes motherhood compulsory forwomen. Clearly it is society,

Traditionalviews on the rolesof sperm and egg in fertilizationpresent an

Conclusion: The Problem of Femininity in the Daodejing

After Foucault, Butler, and biologists' deconstruction of biological sex, how

ity, insteadof making individualsfit into the preconceived categoriesofMan or

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