本文追溯先秦道家思想起源，推至殷周之際的悲痛歷史。周民族自古公亶父即計畫翦商。武王滅紂後，提出有德者得天命的朝代遞嬗原則，確立革命之合法性，並擴大歷史解釋，指三代興衰均取決於天命和德行。周人又強力壓制殷遺民，令其賓服。《周易》「坤」卦內容，即爲訓飭遺民徙遷雒邑以務農、柔順括囊以從王事。殷遺民遂對西周禮樂採取消極反抗，而演爲隱逸之流。孔子以殷人遺裔而提倡周代禮樂，故爲隱士逸民所譏。唯孔子對殷遺民深致禮敬，卒前復夢奠兩楹之間，尤可證其身分認同。道家老莊則以隱逸承傳遺民思想，反禮樂、斥儒術、指湯武爲叛亂；戰國儒家則提出「禪讓說」，爲周人「革命說」增添德性意味更濃的源頭。先秦儒道思想的分立，實即反映殷、周兩朝治統的矛盾。

This paper derives the origin of Daoism from the tragic fate of the survivors of the Yin dynasty. Through several generations' effort, the Zhou nation finally conquers the Yin. Emperor Wu of the Zhou proclaims a principle of dynastic inheritance on the basis of an ethical cosmology: the great Heaven constantly transfers political legitimacy from immoral emperors to virtuous ones. According to this new principle, the Zhou Royalty is entitled to impose dictatorship on the Yin survivors. Daoism derives from the thought of these Yin survivors who are unable to resist the Zhou's rule. They are forced to become plain farmers, now living in low profile on agricultural land issued by the new government. Later they become eremites who distance themselves from the Zhou's ”liyue” (rite and music) institution. Confucius, a descendant of the Yin noble who promotes the liyue teachings of the Zhou, is mocked and condemned by Jie Yu (接輿) and other eremites. The anti-Confucian arguments in Laozi is actually the eremites' collective criticism on the ”liyue” institution of the Zhou House. In conclusion, the division of ancient Confucian and Daoist thoughts reflects the contradiction between the rulings of the Yin and the Zhou.