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Respecting the "fundamental" (ben) to achieve and preserve the "branch" (mo) is a way to handle the relationship between them. When explaining Laozi's thoughts, Wang Bi proposed the idea of "honoring the fundamental and promoting the branch" ("chongben jumo"), which contrasts with "honoring the fundamental and suppressing the branch" ("chongben ximo"). Here, "fundamental" refers to the formless and nameless — namely the "Tao" (Dao), while "branch" refers to the tangible forms and names in nature. "Honoring the fundamental and promoting the branch" means fully leveraging the role of the "Tao" or "nothingness" to allow all things to naturally generate and be preserved. In the political realm, "honoring the fundamental" specifically means that rulers govern by non-action ("wuwei") based on the "Tao." Through "honoring the fundamental," rulers enable people to live according to their natural dispositions.