The Old Master: A Syncretic Reading of the Laozi from the Mawangdui Text A Onward (SUNY series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture)
Hongkyung Kim
Language: English
Pages: 318
ISBN: B007D2X9CE
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
A unique translation of and commentary on the Laozi, based on the oldest edition of the work.
This unique, highly contextualized translation of the Laozi is based on the earliest known edition of the work, Text A of the Mawangdui Laozi, written before 202 BCE. No other editions are comparable to this text in its antiquity. Hongkyung Kim also incorporates the recent archaeological discovery of Laozi-related documents disentombed in 1993 in Guodian, seeing these documents as proto-materials for compilation of the Laozi and revealing clues for disentangling the work from complicated exegetical contentions. Kim makes extensive use of Chinese commentaries on the Laozi and also examines the classic Chinese texts closely associated with the formation of the work to illuminate the intellectual and historical context of Laozi’s philosophy.
Kim offers several original and thought-provoking arguments on the Laozi, including that the work was compiled during the Qin, which has traditionally been viewed as typical of Legalist states, and that the Laozi should be recognized as a syncretic text before being labeled a Daoist one.
Hongkyung Kim is Associate Professor of East Asian Thought and Religions at Stony Brook University, State University of New York.
3 is that loss makes people more anxious because “gain” here means to gain property while “loss” means to lose one’s life. This idea of valuing one’s life the most was initiated by Yang Zhu, as stated in Huainanzi, “What was established by Yang Zhu is to maintain one’s life, to preserve one’s nature, and to prevent one from hurting his body with external things” (848: 653d). According to Huainanzi, Yang Zhu proposed this idea to repulse the Mohists’ excessive concern for community, and his idea
in the following: “Nothing is better than diminishing one’s desires in order to cultivate one’s mind” (Mengzi jizhu, 7B: 36; 197: 196a). 47. Without going out the door, one may know all under heaven. Without looking out the window, one may know the Way of heaven. The farther one goes out, the less one knows. For this reason, the sage knows without traveling, names without looking, accomplishes without doing. 1 2 3 4 膻諨蓯賫, 蝋覌詏谨. 膻紉蓯雂, 蝋覌詏纊. 絋諨蒺肺蚫, 絋覌 肺荑. 萙蝋茾蝸膻貇蝢覌, 膻箟蝢聐, 臼蚾蝢茶 (“荑. 萙蝋茾蝸 膻貇蝢覌,
in “Zashuo” (“Multifarious Discussions”) of Xinxu (New Prefaces) by Liu Xiang (696: 214d–5b), who compiled Shuoyuan as well. Interestingly, when Xinxu introduces the story, it mentions another book along with Laozi, which provides an aphorism related to the story. The book’s title is noted as merely Yu 蓳 (Talks): “Yu advises, ‘change losses to merits, and retrieve good luck from a calamity.’ Laozi similarly asserts, ‘repay resentment with virtue.’ Both of these texts seem to refer to this case
The Old Master later editions have “left-hand tally” as in Text B. This discrepancy is significant because it could provide a clue for the origin of Laozi. “Tally” (xieG 篟) here indicates a wooden strip on which contractual arrangements were written in order to later remind the concerned parties of the contents of the contract. Once the arrangements were recorded on the strip, it was broken into two pieces, the right-hand tally and the left-hand tally, and each piece was preserved by one party to
Schools”) by Sima Tan and the other on Syncretism (zajia 蟟竖) in “Yiwenzhi” in Hanshu. Sima Tan wrote, “The tactics of Daoism followed the great order of the Yin-Yang School, adopted good points from Confucianism and Mohism, and embraced the essences of the Logicians and Legalists.”58 Meanwhile, “Yiwenzhi” defines Syncretism as “including Confucianism and Mohism and integrating the Logicians and Legalists” (30: 1742). As seen here, Daoism defined by Sima Tan is almost identical to the Syncretism