Lao-Tzu- Te-Tao Ching
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125. In both Ma-wang-tui texts, lines 1 and 2 both end with the particle yeh and thus take the form of equative sentences (X, Y yeh = X is Y). In addition, in line 2 where the standard text of Lao-tzu has tu (“thick,” “genuine,” “firm”), Text A has piao (“surface”) and Text B has tu (“to oversee”). Chou Tz’u-chi (Chou, 1984, p. 98) and Hsü K’ang-sheng (Hsü, 1985, pp. 98-99) both read A’s piao as the tu that means “the stitch going down the center of a jacket in the back,” but then they part ways: Hsü K’ang-sheng (and other mainland commentators) reads this as a homophone for the tu we find in the standard edition; Chou Tz’u-chi, on the other hand, feels this refers to tu-mo, the central artery in the body for breath. Cheng Liang-shu (Cheng, part 2, p. 17) agrees with Chou Tz’u-chi’s identification and further notes that this tu and the character piao in Text A resemble each other in form; hence the mistake in Text A. I follow Cheng’s lead in understanding this here to mean “center.”
126. Chan, 1963, p. 128.
127. The Ma-wang-tui texts have ch’eng-kung sui-shih here; the standard text has kung-ch’eng shih-sui. In chapters 2, 34, and 77, with the same phrase (actually just ch’eng-kung), the same distinction is made. This is one of a number of features that are found later only in the “Hsiang-erh” group of Lao-tzu texts. (See Henricks, 1985, pp. 36-37.)
128. Chou, 1984, p. 127.
129. Hsü, 1985, p. 109.
130. Lau, 1982, p. 299.
131. Translated by Wing-tsit Chan (Chan, 1963, p. 143).
132. Lau, 1982, p. 299.
133. Hsü, 1985, p. 110.
134. Chou, 1984, pp. 128-29.
135. For more on this point, see Henricks, 1981b, pp. 61-62.
136. Hsü, 1985, p. 111.
137. Chou, 1984, p. 120.
138. Chan, 1963, p. 139.
139. Watson, 1968, p. 66.
140. Chan, 1963, p. 141.
141. Chan, 1963, p. 141.
142. Chan, 1963, p. 144.
143. Chan, 1963, p. 146.
144. I follow Hsü K’ang-sheng (Hsü, 1985, p. 115) in changing the radical for huan from “jade” to “gate” and adding the “food” radical to kuan. (See also Cheng, part III, pp. 26-27, on these words.) Chou Tz’u-chi (Chou, 1984, pp. 137-38) ends up with the standard reading by noting that the Ma-wang-tui huan means the same as ying (“military barracks”) and then arguing that since huan could be borrowed to stand for ying, it could also be used for the standard text’s jung.
Line 4 in Text B, like the standard text, begins with sui (“even though”) in which case the reading “magnificent scenes” seems more appropriate. But the pattern wei yu X, tse Y—“only when you have X condition do you then have Y result”—must surely be preferred over the awkward sui yu X, tse Y—“even though you have X, then Y.” And, of course, that reading makes such good sense.
Arguing in favor of sui being the correct word at the start of line 4, however, is the fact that sui is written as wei elsewhere in the Ma-wang-tui texts (in chapters 27 and 32 in Text A and 32 in Text B). With sui as the opening word, one might then translate, “Even though he’s inside a fortified hostel at rest, he remains ill at ease” (understanding the ch’ao in Text B [Text A has a lacuna] as a loan for the ch’ao with the heart radical that means “disappointed” or “sad”). This interpretation has had support over the years. See, for example, Cheng, part III, pp. 26-27; and Chang, 1981, pp. 161-62. The point in any event seems to be that the Sage-ruler rarely, if ever, lets his guard down and never takes serious matters lightly.
145. Chan, 1963, p. 146.
146. Chan, 1963, p. 149.
147. For more on this point, see Henricks, 1982, pp. 516-17.
148. Chan, 1963, p. 151.
149. The negatives used in lines 7-10 might imply “imperative” readings—for example, “Achieve your result but do not become arrogant.” But the declarative mode seems to be called for in lines 5-6 “The good one [shan-che] does so and so” and therefore in what follows.
150. Chan, 1963, p. 152.
151. Chan, 1963, p. 152.
152. Lau, 1982, pp. 45-46.
153. Lau, 1982, p. 313.
154. Henricks, 1981c.
155. Chan, 1963, p. 154.
156. Chou, 1984, pp. 153-54.
157. Hsü, 1985, p. 124.
158. Lau, 1982, pp. 314-15.
159. Lau, 1982, p. 49.
160. See Henricks, 1982, pp. 509-10 and 517.
161. Lau, 1982, p. 317.
162. Nonetheless, there are a number of characters in the Ma-wang-tui texts that have an added radical element when compared with the standard text equivalent. And in most of these cases it seems clear that the character without the radical is the intended word: for example, ku (“valley”) is always written as yü (meaning “to wash”), and ch’i (“irregular”) is written as chi (“uncultivated fields”).
Cheng Liang-shu (Cheng, part III, p. 39) feels that the intended word is still “to perish,” pointing out that yao-wang (“to die young”) and shou (“long life”) are opposites.
163. Waley, 1934, p. 184.
164. Chan, 1963, p. 160.
165. Chan, 1963, p. 160.
166. Chou, 1984, p. 160.
167. Translated by Wing-tsit Chan (Chan, 1963, p. 166).
168. See Henricks, 1981b, pp. 60-61.
169. Chan, 1963, p. 166.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
I. Important Studies
Boltz, William. “The Religious and Philosophical Significance of the ‘Hsiang erh’ Lao tzu in the Light of the Ma-wang-tui Silk Manuscripts.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) 45, no. 1 (1982): 95-117.
———. “Textual Criticism and the Ma-wang-tui Lao tzu.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 44, no. 1 (June 1984): 185-224.
———. “The Lao tzu Text That Wang Pi and Ho-shang Kung Never Saw.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) 48, no. 3 (1985): 493-501.
Cheng Liang-shu. “Lun po-shu-pen Lao-tzu.” Shu-mu chi-k’an 13, no. 2 (September 1979): 43-51.
Ch’in Wei-ts’ung. Li Erh Tao-te ching pu-cheng. Cheng-chou: Chung-chou ku-chi, 1987.
Chou Tz’u-chi. Lao-tzu k’ao-shu. Taipei: Fu-wen t’u-shu, 1984.
Henricks, Robert G. “Examining the Ma-wang-tui Silk Texts of the Lao-tzu: With Special Note of their Differences from the Wang Pi Text.” T’oung Pao 65, nos. 4-5 (1979a): 166-99.
———. “The Ma-wang-tui Manuscripts of the Lao-tzu and the Problem of Dating the Text.” Chinese Culture 20, no. 2 (June 1979b): 1-15.
———. “A Note on the Question of Chapter Divisions in the Ma-wang-tui Manuscripts of the Lao-tzu.” Early China 4 (June 1979c): 49-51.
———. “A Complete List of the Character Variants in the Ma-wang-tui Texts of Lao-tzu.” Journal of Chinese Linguistics 10 (June 1981a): 207-75.
———. “The Philosophy of Lao-tzu Based on the Ma-wang-tui Texts: Some Preliminary Observations.” Bulletin of the Society for the Study of Chinese Religions, 9 (October 1981b): 59-78.
———. “Character Variants in the Ma-wang-tui Texts of Lao-tzu.” Tsing Hua Journal of Chinese Studies, New Series 13: nos. 1 and 2 (December 1981c): 221-34.
———. “On the Chapter Divisions in the Lao-tzu.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) 45, no. 3 (1982): 501-24.
———. “Review of D. C. Lau’s Tao Te Ching: Chinese Classics.” Journal of Asian Studies 44, no. 1 (November 1984): 177-80.
———. “The Ma-wang-tui Texts of Lao-tzu and Lines of Textual Transmission.” Chinese Culture 26, no. 2 (June 1985): 29-43.
———. “Ma-wang-tui.” The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986, pp. 410-12.
Hsü Fu-kuan. “Po-shu Lao-tzu so fan-ying-ch’u ti jo-kan wen-t’i.” Ming-pao yüeh-k’an 10, no. 6 (June 1975): 96-99.
Hsü K’ang-sheng. Po-shu Lao-tzu chu-shih yü yen-
chiu. Hangchow: Chekiang Jen-min, 1985.
Kanaya Osamu. “Hakusho Rōshi ni tsuite—sono shiryōshō no shohoteki gimmi.” Chūgoku tetsugakushi no tembō to mosaku. Tokyo: Sōbunsho, 1976, pp. 177-98.
Kao Heng and Ch’ih Hsi-chao. “Shih-t’an Ma-wang-tui Han mu chung-ti po-shu Lao-tzu.” Wen-wu 11 (1974): 1-7.
Kao Ming. “Po-shu Lao-tzu chia-i-pen yü chin-pen Lao-tzu k’an-ch’iao cha-chi.” Wen-wu tzu-liao ts’ung-k’an (1978): 209-21.
Lau, D. C. Chinese Classics: Tao Te Ching. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 1982.
Tu Wei-ming. “The Thought of ‘Huang-Lao’: A Reflection on the Lao Tzu and Huang Ti Texts in the Silk Manuscripts of Ma-wang-tui.” Journal of Asian Studies 39, no. 1 (November 1979): 95-110.
Yen Ling-feng. Ma-wang-tui po-shu Lao-tzu shih-t’an. Taipei: Ho Lo t’u-shu, 1976.
II. Editions of the Ma-wang-tui Texts
Ch’ang-sha Ma-wang-tui san-hao Han mu po-shu. Shanghai: 1974.
“Ma-wang-tui Han mu ch’u-t’u Lao-tzu shih-wen.” Wen-wu 11 (1974): 8-20.
Ma-wang-tui Han mu po-shu. Vol. 1. Peking: Wen-wu, 1974.
Ma-wang-tui Han mu po-shu Lao-tzu. Peking: Wen-wu, 1976.
Ma-wang-tui Han mu po-shu. Vol. 1. Peking: Wen-wu, 1980.
Po-shu Lao-tzu. Taipei: Ho-lo t’u-shu, 1975.
Yen I-p’ing, ed. Po-shu chu-chien. Taipei: I-wen, 1976.
III. Variorum Editions of the Lao-tzu
Chang Sung-ju. Lao-tzu chiao-tu. Chi-lin: Jen-min ch’u-pan-she, 1981.*
Cheng Liang-shu. “Lao-tzu hsin-chiao.” Ta-lu tsa-chih. Part I, vol. 54, no. 4 (April 1977), pp. 23-46. Part II, vol. 57, no. 3 (September 1978), pp. 14-30. Part III, vol. 57, no. 5 (November 1978), pp. 21-41. Part IV, vol. 58, no. 4 (April 1979), pp. 33-43. Part V, vol. 58, no. 6 (June 1979), pp. 42-50. Part VI, vol. 59, no. 1 (July 1979), pp. 35-50. Part VII, vol. 59, no. 2 (August 1979), pp. 41-48. Part VIII, vol. 59, no. 3 (September 1979), pp. 36-42. Part IX, vol. 59, no. 4 (October 1979), pp. 23-39.*
Chiang Hsi-ch’ang. Lao-tzu chiao-ku. Taipei: Ming-lun, 1973.
Chu Ch’ien-chih. Lao-tzu chiao-shih. Peking: Chung-hua shu-chü, 1963.
Ma Hsü-lun. Lao-tzu chiao-ku. Peking: Chung-hua shu-chü, 1974.
Shima Kunio. Rōshi kōsei. Tokyo: Kyūko, 1973.
Wu Fu-hsiang. Po-shu-pen Lao-tzu chiao-shih. Doctoral Dissertation completed at Chung-kuo wen-hua hsüeh-yüan, Chung-kuo wen-hsüeh so, Taipei, 1979.*
IV. Selected Translations of the Lao-tzu and General Studies of Taoism
Chan, Wing-tsit. The Way of Lao Tzu. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1963.
Creel, H. G. What is Taoism? And Other Studies in Chinese Cultural History. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970.
Duyvendak, J.J.L. Tao Te Ching: The Book of the Way and Its Virtue. London: John Murray, 1954.
Kaltenmark, Max. Lao Tzu and Taoism. Translated from the French by Roger Greaves. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1970.
Lau, D. C. Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1963.
————. Chinese Classics: Tao Te Ching. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 1982.
Maspero, Henri. Taoism and Chinese Religion. Translated from the French by Frank A. Kierman, Jr. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1981.
Needham, Joseph. “The Tao Chia (Taoists) and Taoism.” Science and Civilization in China. Vol. 2, pp. 33-164. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1954.
Seidel, Anna. “Taoism.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, Macropaedia. Vol. 17, pp. 1034-44.
Strickmann, Michel. “History of Taoism.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, Macropaedia. Vol. 17, pp. 1044-55.
Waley, Arthur. The Way and Its Power: A Study of the Tao Te Ching and its Place in Chinese Thought. London: George Allen and Unwin, Ltd., 1934.
Welch, Holmes. Taoism: The Parting of the Way. Boston: Beacon Press, 1957.
V. Other Works Cited
Andersen, Poul. The Method of Holding the Three Ones: A Taoist Manual of Meditation of the Fourth Century A.D. London: Curzon Press, 1979.
Ch’en Ch’i-yu. Han-fei-tzu chi-shih. Taipei: World Book Co., 1963.
Ch’en, Ellen. “Is There a Doctrine of Physical Immortality in the Tao Te Ching?” History of Religions 12, no. 3, 1973.
Creel, Herlee G. What Is Taoism? and Other Studies in Chinese Cultural History. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970.
Erkes, Eduard. Ho-shang-kung’s Commentary on Lao-tse. Ascoma (Switzerland): Artibus Asiae, 1950.
Graham, A. C. Chuang Tzu: The Inner Chapters. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1981.
————. Studies in Chinese Philosophy and Philosophical Literature. Singapore: Institute of East Asian Philosophies, 1986.
————. “The Nung-chia ‘School of the Tillers’ and the Origins of Peasant Utopianism in China.” In Studies in Chinese Philosophy and Philosophical Literature. Singapore: Institute of East Asian Philosophies, 1986, pp. 67-110.
————. “The Origins of the Legend of Lao Tan.” In Studies in Chinese Philosophy and Philosophical Literature. Singapore: Institute of East Asian Philosophies, 1986, pp. 111-24.
Henricks, Robert G. “The Tao and the Field: Exploring an Analogy.” St. John’s Papers in Asian Studies, no. 27. Jamaica, New York: The Center of Asian Studies of St. John’s University, 1981d.
————. Philosophy and Argumentation in Third-Century China: The Essays of Hsi K’ang. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983.
Hucker, Charles O. A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1985.
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McLeod, Katrina C. D., and Yates, Robin D. S., “Forms of Ch’in Law: An Annotated Translation of the Feng-chen shih.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 41, no. 1 (1981): 111-63.
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Watson, Burton. Hsün Tzu: Basic Writings. New York: Columbia University Press, 1963.
————. The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu. New York: Columbia University Press, 1968.
Yampolsky, Philip B. The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch. New York: Columbia University Press, 1967.
Yates, Robin D. S. “Some Notes on Ch’in Law: A Review Article of Remnants of Ch’in Law by A.F.P. Hulsewé.” Early China, vols. 11-12 (1985-1987), pp. 243-75.
————. “New Light on Ancient Chinese Military Texts: Their Nature and Evolution, and the Development of Military Specialization in Warring States China.” T’oung Pao, vol. 74 (1988), p. 220.
*Incorporates the Ma-wang-tui variants.
ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR
Robert G. Henricks is Professor of Religion at Dartmouth College where he has taught since 1976. He is a well-known scholar of the Ma-wang-tui texts, with a dozen publications devoted to them in major international journals. In addition to his work on Lao-tzu, Professor Henricks is the author of Philosophy and
Argumentation in Third Century China: The Essays of Hsi K’ang (1983) and The Poetry of Han-shan (Cold Mountain): A Complete Annotated Translation (1989).