马王堆汉墓帛书《老子》“《德》在《道》先”小议

A Simple Discussion of “the De Scripture Preceding the Dao Scripture” in the Silk Manuscript Lao Zi from the Han Tombs at Mawangdui

本文以马王堆汉墓帛书《黄帝四经》为媒介,分析黄老学说中'德'与'道'的关系,意图以此解释马王堆汉墓帛书《老子》何以把《德经》置于《道经》之前,最终得出结论:'德—道'的思想进路是当时流行的主导思想。'道'是一种统摄与纲领,'德'才是马王堆三号汉墓主人及其同路人所要把握的抓手与着力点。这才是马王堆汉墓帛书《老子》采用了《德经》置于《道经》之前这种新的编排顺序的理论因素与现实原因。也可以说,马王堆汉墓帛书《老子》'《德》在《道》先'的篇序说明了,在战国后期至西汉初期,传《老》者对其思想主题的理解发生了重大变化。

This paper uses the silk manuscript The Four Canons of the Yellow Emperor from the Han tombs at Mawangdui as the medium to analyze the relationship between De(virtue)and dao(the way)in the Huang-Lao doctrine in an attempt to explain why the De Scripture is placed before the Dao Scripture in the Mawangdui silk manuscript Lao Zi.The conclusion is:the ideological sequence of'De—Dao'was the dominant thought of the time.'Dao'is the commanding system and guiding principle while'de'is the panacea and acting point for the occupant of Han Tomb 3 at Mawangdui and other people with the same pursuit.Such is the theoretical factor and real reason for this new sequential order of placing the De Scripture before the Dao Scripture in the Mawangdui silk manuscript Lao Zi.In other words,this sequence indicates that from the late Warring States Period to the early Han Dynasty there was a major change in the understanding of the thoughts and themes of Lao Zi for those who promulgated the work.