Tao
The Tao, or the Way, is the foundational philosophical principle of the novel, drawn from the ancient Chinese oracle the I Ching. It is not a personal god or a set of moral commandments but the impersonal, underlying order of the universe—the dynamic interplay of yin and yang that governs all change, balance, and renewal. Characters who align themselves with the Tao find moments of clarity and peace, while those who resist it or act from ego and fear experience confusion, defeat, and spiritual exhaustion. The novel presents the Tao as a living reality that can be consulted, sensed, and embodied, offering a framework for understanding history, morality, and personal fate in a world dominated by Nazi and Japanese tyranny.
The Tao as Cosmic Order and Renewal
The Tao is described as that which "first lets the light, then the dark" and "occasions the interplay of the two primal forces so that there is always renewal." It is the force that prevents the universe from wearing down: "just when the darkness seems to have smothered all, to be truly transcendent, the new seeds of light are reborn in the very depths." This cyclical process is likened to a seed falling into the earth, where it "comes to life" out of sight. Robert Childan, contemplating this during a dinner at the Kasouras' apartment, realizes that the Tao is the source of the harmony he senses in the Japanese aesthetic of wabi—the "proportion" and "balance" that radiate from their home. He understands that the Tao is not merely an abstract concept but something that can be "sensed" through others, and that he has glimpsed it himself through the Kasouras.
Consulting the Tao: The I Ching as a Living Guide
The primary means of accessing the Tao in the novel is through the I Ching, or Book of Changes, which is treated not as a superstitious relic but as a living, five-thousand-year-old repository of wisdom. Frank Frink, Nobusuke Tagomi, and Juliana Frink all consult the oracle at critical junctures, and their readings shape their decisions and reveal hidden truths about their situations. When Frank Frink asks how to approach his former employer Wyndam-Matson, he receives Hexagram Fifteen, Ch'ien (Modesty), which advises that "the low will be raised up, the high brought down." He recognizes this as a favorable omen but also feels a "disappointment" at its "goody-goody" quality, sensing that the oracle is telling him to adopt a posture of patient faith rather than aggressive action. Later, when he asks about starting a jewelry business with Ed McCarthy, he receives Hexagram Eleven, T'ai (Peace), with the judgment "The small departs. The great approaches. Good fortune. Success." However, the moving line at the top—"The wall falls back into the moat. Use no army now. Make your commands known within your own town. Perseverance brings humiliation"—terrifies him. He interprets this as a warning of a future catastrophe, perhaps a Third World War, that will sweep away all human endeavor, but he decides to proceed with his work anyway, living "as best I can, as actively as possible, until the wall falls back into the moat for all of us." This acceptance of fate while continuing to act is a direct expression of Taoist wisdom.
The Tao and the Aesthetic of Wu
The concept of the Tao is also central to the novel's aesthetic philosophy, particularly through the idea of wu, a Chinese term that Paul Kasoura uses to describe the Edfrank jewelry. Paul explains that the silver pin Robert Childan has given him "partakes of Tao" because it is "balanced" and "at rest," having "made its peace with the universe." He distinguishes this from wabi, the Japanese aesthetic of finding beauty in simplicity, and instead identifies the pin's value as wu—a quality that is neither art nor religion but something new. Paul says that the hands of the artificer "had wu, and allowed that wu to flow into this piece," and that by contemplating it, one can "gain more wu ourselves." This is a direct application of Taoist principles: the artisan has not imposed a rigid form on the metal but has allowed its inherent nature to emerge, creating an object that is "alive in the now" rather than merely a historical relic. The pin's lack of historicity and its "miserable, small, worthless-looking blob" appearance are precisely what give it wu, echoing the Taoist aphorism that "stones rejected by the builder" often contain the deepest truth.
The Tao as a Moral Compass in a Broken World
The Tao also serves as a moral and existential guide for characters facing impossible choices. After Mr. Tagomi shoots and kills two SD agents in his office, he is plunged into a crisis of conscience, unable to reconcile his act of violence with his Buddhist-influenced belief that all life is holy. He turns to the I Ching for guidance, but the oracle seems enigmatic, and he feels that "the sages [are] leaving." He wonders if humanity has entered a "Moment when we are alone" and cannot get assistance as before. Yet he continues to seek the Way, even in his despair. Later, when he contemplates the Edfrank silver triangle in Portsmouth Square, he undergoes a profound meditative experience. He sees the object as a microcosm: "Body of yin, soul of yang. Metal and fire unified." He interprets its shimmering light as a manifestation of the Bardo Thodol, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and prepares himself to face the "clear white light" without terror. This moment of satori—a flash of enlightenment—is interrupted by a policeman, but it has already transformed Mr. Tagomi's perception. He realizes that the Tao is not something that can be compelled or understood through force; it must be received with patience and humility. His subsequent act of releasing Frank Frink from the German extradition request is a direct consequence of this insight: he refuses to be an instrument of evil, even at the cost of his own career and health.
The Tao and the Rejection of False Certainty
The novel contrasts the Tao with the rigid, fanatical ideologies of the Nazis and the Japanese imperialists. The Nazis, with their plans for Operation Dandelion and their belief in racial purity, represent a willful violation of the Tao's natural balance. Rudolf Wegener reflects that the Nazi leaders are driven by a "psychotic streak" that identifies with "God's power" and seeks to "aid Natur" in its destructive, entropic processes. They are overcome by an archetype that confuses the worshiper with the worshiped, leading to a "confusion between him who worships and that which is worshiped." This is the opposite of the Taoist ideal of humility and alignment with the natural order. Similarly, the Japanese obsession with "historicity"—the belief that objects possess an almost mystical aura from their past—is shown to be a delusion that the Tao can dissolve. Wyndam-Matson cynically demonstrates that historicity is a "mass delusion" by showing that a Zippo lighter supposedly owned by Franklin D. Roosevelt is indistinguishable from an ordinary one. The Edfrank jewelry, by contrast, has no historicity but possesses wu, a living quality that is present in the now. This suggests that the Tao offers a path beyond the sterile categories of authentic and fake, past and present, victor and vanquished.
The Tao as the Ultimate Truth of the Novel
The novel's climax hinges on a direct revelation of the Tao. When Juliana Frink visits Hawthorne Abendsen and asks why he wrote The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, she consults the I Ching and receives Hexagram Sixty-one, Chung Fu (Inner Truth). She interprets this to mean that Abendsen's book is true—that in the reality the oracle reveals, Germany and Japan did lose the war. Abendsen is shaken by this, but he cannot fully accept it. Juliana, however, has already internalized the lesson. She tells him, "You've done a lot for me; now I can see there's nothing to be afraid of, nothing to want or hate or avoid, here, or run from. Or pursue." This is a state of Taoist equanimity: a release from desire, fear, and the illusion of control. She has come to understand that the world of the novel—the world of Nazi and Japanese domination—is itself a kind of illusion, a nightmare from which the oracle offers a way out. The Tao, in this final revelation, is not just a philosophical concept but the very structure of reality, which the oracle can access and reveal. The novel ends not with a political solution but with a spiritual one: the recognition that the deepest truth is not about who won the war but about the nature of existence itself, and that the Tao is the only reliable guide through the darkness.
