Pu (朴) — The Uncarved Block, Original Simplicity

Pu (朴) is the uncarved block — raw, unshaped potential prior to all differentiation and social conditioning. The Dao De Jing (Chapter 28) says: 'When the uncarved block is split, it becomes useful vessels; when the sage uses it, he becomes chief of officials. Truly, the greatest carving is done without cutting.' Pu represents the original simplicity (sù) that precedes names, categories, and the Confucian rites that Laozi saw as symptoms of the Dao's decline. To return to Pu is to recover ziran (naturalness), the state in which De operates without interference from knowledge or ambition.