This term means that public property belongs to the public and private property belongs to individuals. Liezi held that public property, like anything naturally formed between heaven and earth, is an organic whole that cannot be divided and given to individuals at random. A clear separation of the public and private interests is in conformity with the law of nature. This concept grew out of the Daoist philosophy of “non-action governance,” which is a principle that the government should follow in its rule of a country, and also a state of one’s moral cultivation.

All things between heaven and earth cannot be separated from each other. It is wrong for a person to regard things that do not belong to him as his own, or possess them for his own use… It is in conformity with nature and social ethics that public property belongs to the public and private property belongs to individuals. (Liezi)