Lao-tzu and the Tao-te-ching

• ISBN13: 9780791435991
• ISBN10: 0791435997
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 1998-03-19
• Publisher: State University of New York Press (SUNY Press)

Summary

Lao-tzu and the Tao-te-ching presents a coherent collection of materials on the ancient Chinese classic and its author, describing traditional and modern Western interpretations. Written and edited by recognized international specialists in the field, this book brings Lao-tzu and the Tao-te-ching together to present current scholarship on their history and interpretation. Contributors include William Baxter, Alan K.L. Chan, A.C. Graham, Julia Hardy, Yoshiko Kamitsuka, Livia Kohn, Michael LaFargue, Julian Pas, Isabelle Robinet, Benjamin Schwartz, and Liu Xiaogan. Divided into four parts, the book provides a wealth of information on the influential Chinese classic. Part One, "Ancient Myths", discusses who Lao-tzu was, how he developed into a god of religious Taoism, and how his divinity was represented in medieval Chinese sculpture. Part Two, "Chinese Interpretations", discusses the role of the text in traditional China, studying the major commentaries by Wang Pi and He-shang-kung, looking at about thirty commentaries and their philological and doctrinal interpretations and examining the ritual uses the text found in medieval Taoism. Part Three, "Modern Readings", contains a critical discussion of the Tao-te-ching's reception in the West, a general analysis of its major doctrines, and a contemporary Chinese vision of its possible relevance for life today. Part Four, "Critical Methods", presents recent findings on the Tao-te-ching's linguistic structure and probable date, a historical, hermeneutic enquiry into its original meaning, and an evaluative guide to seventeen major English translations.

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures	vii
Permissions	ix
Preface	xi
Editors' Introduction	1	(22)
Part I. Ancient Myths
The Origins of the Legend of Lao Tan	23	(18)
A. C. Graham
The Lao-tzu Myth	41	(22)
Livia Kohn
Lao-tzu in Six Dynasties Taoist Sculpture	63	(26)
Yoshiko Kamitsuka
Part II. Chinese Interpretations
A Tale of Two Commentaries: Ho-shang-kung and Wang Pi on the Lao-tzu	89	(30)
Alan K. L. Chan
Later Commentaries: Textual Polysemy and Syncretistic Interpretations	119	(24)
Isabelle Robinet
The Tao-te-ching in Ritual	143	(22)
Livia Kohn
Part III. Modern Readings
Influential Western Interpretations of the Tao-te-ching	165	(24)
Julia M. Hardy
The Thought of the Tao-te-ching	189	(22)
Benjamin Schwartz
Naturalness (Tzu-jan), the Core Value in Taoism: Its Ancient Meaning and Its Significance Today	211	(20)
Liu Xiaogan
Part IV. Critical Methods
Situating the Language of the Lao-tzu: The Probable Date of the Tao-te-ching	231	(24)
William H. Baxter
Recovering the Tao-te-ching's Original Meaning: Some Remarks on Historical Hermeneutics	255	(22)
Michael LaFargue
On Translating the Tao-te-ching	277	(26)
Michael LaFargue
Julian Pas
Appendix: Index to Citations from Tao-te-ching Chapters	303	(2)
Glossary	305	(8)
List of Contributors	313	(2)
Index	315