East Asian imagery resonates throughout Martin Heidegger’s writings. In this exploration of the connections between Daoism and his thought, an international team of scholars consider why the Daodejing and Zhuangzi were texts he returned to repeatedly and the extent Heidegger adhered to Daoism’s core doctrines.

They discuss how Daoist thought provided him with a new perspective, equipping him with images, concepts, and meanings that enabled him to continue his questioning of the nature of being. Exploring the environment, language, death, temporality, aesthetics, and race from the groundlessness of non-being, oneness, and the Way, they illustrate how these themes reverberate with ontological, spiritual, and epistemological potential.

A lesson in the art of Daoist and cross-cultural ways of thinking, this collection marks the first sustained analysis of the influence of classical Daoism on a major 20th-century German philosopher.

There were three legendary philosophical meetings with Laozi in history. The first one was the meeting of Confucius with Laozi. The second was that of Buddha with Laozi, while the third one and the latest one should be that of Heidegger with Laozi and Daoism. Papers collected here in this book are devoted to an in-depth discussion of Heidegger's relationship with Laozi and philosophical Daoism. It is another significant step toward a thoughtful dialogue between the two great cultural traditions in the west and east after the publication of Graham Parkes’s book “Heidegger and Asian Thought” more than 30 years ago. Important themes such as “thing,” “language,” “death,” “identity” “art,” “interality,” and “nationhood” etc. are explored and discussed from a comparative perspective. They will stimulate readers to deep and to further their understanding of both Heidegger and Daoism. * Qingjie James Wang, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, University of Macau, Macau *
The time is ripe for Daoist Resonances in Heidegger. The chapters in this book are profound explorations of the explicit and implicit connections between Heidegger’s thought and the two foundational texts of the Daoist tradition—connections that are replete with vital contributions to our still dawning age of cross-cultural philosophy. * Bret W. Davis, Professor and Higgins Chair in Philosophy, Loyola University Maryland, USA *
A pivotal work in the disciplines of Chinese and comparative philosophy ... This detailed analysis enriches our understanding of both philosophies and underscores the importance of cross-cultural philosophical engagement. * Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy *

David Chai is Associate Professor in the Philosophy Department at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.