 The first may superficially appear to give in to the Confucians and Mohists—allowing them to claim that tiannature’s endorses their respective social ways. However, its Daoist thrust consists in depriving the absolutists of what they really want—the ability to declare that their opponent violates tiannature:sky or lacks its similar approval. The strategy draws on the correct lesson to be learned from Shen Dao’s notion of great dao—that “follow nature” has no normative significance. 