當今學界以"自然"作為解釋道家哲學主要的核心概念,"無為"受到忽視。但是,"自然"與"無為"作為道家思想的兩個核心概念,在思想史上的地位是此消彼長的。《老子》"道恒無為"與"道法自然"的提出,將"自然""無為"提升到形而上的高度,二者是同等層次的概念。其后至西漢,道家思想家的自評與他者的評判以"無為"為中心,"無為"的地位高于"自然"。嚴遵《老子指歸》與王充《論衡》開始將"自然"與"無為"并列起來,提升了"自然"的重要性。至魏晉玄學與早期道教經典那里,形成以"自然"為主的解釋道家的思想理路,確立了自然主義的時代思潮。因此,以嚴遵、王充為界,道家思想的詮釋主旨亦即"自然""無為"的思想地位在學術史上實現了第一次轉變。

Today’s scholars use "nature"as the most important concept in explaining Taoist philosophy,and ignore"effortlessness. "However,"nature"and"effortlessness"are the two core categories of Taoist thought,and their mutual disposition in the history of this thought is antagonistic. Laozi promotes "nature " and"effortlessness"to the height of metaphysics,and the two are concepts of the same level. Later,in the Western Han Dynasty, the self-evaluation of Taoist thinkers and the judgment of others centered on"effortlessness,"and the status of "effortlessness"was higher than that of "nature. "Yan Zun and Wang Chong began to put "nature"and "effortlessness"together,which enhances the importance of "nature. "The metaphysics of the Wei-Jin period and the early Taoist classics formed the "natural"interpretation of Taoist thought and established the naturalist trend of the times. With Yan Zun and Wang Chong as a boundary line,the essence of Taoist thought,that is,the "natural"and the "effortless,"realized the first transformation in the history of academic thought.