Scrutinizing Harmony and Interference with the Tao in The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Abstract

This article analyses Yin Yang principle of Taoism in the The five people you meet in heaven (2003) precisely; using Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching (400 BC), an English translation by Stephen Mitchell (1988). The researcher seeks the presence of Tao in the novel: an underlying order that flows through the universe and governs everything. The paper discusses the scenarios in the novel where characters and events either manifest the harmonious balance rooted in Yin Yang philosophy that brings about peace, tranquility and overall balanced life, or indicate a noticeable disruption in the natural flow of the universe/ Tao bringing forth destruction and turbulence. The research particularly assigns the qualities of Yin and Yang to different entities or situations in the novel and studies the outcome of its harmonious balance, if aligns with the Tao, or the dire consequences of interference in it. Through the identification of these instances, the research attempts to substantiate how the whole narrative structure of the novel including its character development align perfectly with the Taoist principle of balancing Yin and Yang.