无为

無為

wúwéi

noun

Meanings

1 wu wei / non-action (Daoist concept)
2 to let things take their course
3 laissez-faire

Characters

Examples

老子主张无为而治。

Lǎozǐ zhǔzhāng wúwéi ér zhì.

Laozi advocated governing through non-action.

道家的核心思想之一就是无为。

Dàojiā de héxīn sīxiǎng zhī yī jiùshì wúwéi.

One of the core ideas of Daoism is wu wei.

有时候无为反而是一种智慧。

Yǒu shíhou wúwéi fǎn'ér shì yì zhǒng zhìhuì.

Sometimes non-action is actually a form of wisdom.

Tips

history

Central Daoist concept from 《道德经》. Not literally 'doing nothing' — more like 'non-forcing', acting in accord with the natural flow (道). 无为而治 'rule through non-action' was an early Han state philosophy.

Stroke Order

无 wú

为 wèi