《道德经》“死而不亡者寿”章句新解

A New Interpretation of the Sentence“He Who Dies Yet(His Power)Remains Has Long Life”in Tao Te Ching

人们通常将"寿"自然地理解为长寿,用以赞赏那些对社会发展做出贡献和道德高尚的人。但在历史的长河中,因做坏事而不被世人所忘的负面典型也大量存在。从传播效果以及道家精神旨趣的追求出发,这种反面的"死而不亡"也可以被解释为一种"寿"。从"知人""胜人""富""久"到"自知""自胜""有志""寿",欲扬先抑,前后承接,体现了老子对内向修养的注重。老子对"智"报以审慎的态度。知人、胜人、富、久,这些都是人世间最普遍的价值追求,而自知、自胜,则代表着对坚守自我的追求,超越了社会期待和评价的限制,表达出老子独特的自我认知观。

People usually consciously understand "longevity" as a positive meaning,in order to appreciate those who have made contributions to social development and moral nobility.But over the course of history,there are also plenty of negative examples of wrongdoing that are not forgotten.Starting from the communication effect and the pursuit of Taoist spiritual purport,this negative state "dying but still having long life" can also be interpreted as a kind of "longevity".From "knowing people","restraining people","being rich" and "being long" to "self-knowledge","self-restrain","ambition" and "longevity",it shows the desire to advance,the acceptance of the front and the back,embodying Lao Zi’s attention to internal cultivation.Lao Zi responds to "wisdom" with prudence."knowing people","restraining people","being rich" and "being long" are the most universal and popular values in the world."Self-knowledge" and "self-restrain" represent the pursuit of self-adherence,which transcends the limits of social expectation and evaluation and expresses Lao Zi’s unique self-cognition view.