老子之道:有、无之间周行的路径——中国哲学之“道”的源头审视

Laozi’s Dao:The Back-and-Forth path between Being and Nothing--On the Origin of“Dao”in Chinese philosophy

“道”是中国哲学的最高概念。从“道路”之“道”到万事万物不得不由、不得不依、不得不归的“道”,老子之“道”是一个关键环节。就《老子》第一章来看,老子之“道”处于由“具体”而“抽象”的过渡阶段,它已不是具体的“道路”,但仍未摆脱“路”的意象,其确切所指应是有、无之间周行的路径。这一论断建立在对《老子》第一章的如下新理解之上:第一,“有”与“无”是指示事物不同状态或属性的两个“常名”,是揭示“常道”的概念工具,与“常道”不是同一层次的概念,所以不能把“常道”理解为“有”或“无”;第二,“玄之又玄”的“玄”,不是形容词,也不是动词,而是名词,是“有”“无”二者的统称。第三,“玄之又玄”的含义是“从无到有”或“从有到无”。对老子之道及《老子》第一章的上述新理解,会使《老子》研究中的很多问题迎刃而解。

What does Laozi mean by“Dao”?People have different opinions.Based on the conceptual analysis of the first chapter of Laozi,the author argues that the Dao of Laozi refers to the back-and-forth path between being and nothing.This conclusion is reached on the basis of the following new understandings:first,“being”and“nothing”are two“constant names”,which are the conceptual tools to reveal“the constant Dao”,and are not of the same conceptual level with“the constant Dao”;second,the“xuan”is not an adjective or a verb,but a noun,a term that covers both“being”and“nothing”;third,“xuanzhiyouxuan”means“from nothing to being”or“from being to nothing”.In light of these new understandings,the connotation of Laozi’s“Dao”is more definite,the ideas of the first chapter of Laozi are much clearer and more coherent,and many problems in the study of Laozi can be more easily solved.