《老子》札记三则

Three Reading Notes about Laozi

今本《老子》21章有“自古及今,其名不去,以阅众甫”之语,与他章有抵牾之处,故此处“名”应读为“命”,“众甫”则可以理解为“终始”。王本23章“希言自然”,过去多以“行不言之教”等寡言之意训诂,我们认为“言”此处可以读为“焉”,乃常见虚词。今本45章有“躁胜寒,静胜热,清净为天下正”之语,过去学者多训“躁”为“动”,然“躁动”为《老子》所不取。我们认为本句当读为“燥胜寒,凊胜热”,火可以战胜寒冷,寒冷可以战胜炎热。

The sentence of 21, 23 and 45 chapter of Laozi, including many different meanings, can be reexplained. In the comparative study of several texts, we make three reading notes about it.