The exact dating of Laozi and his work has long been a topic of scholarly interest.Since the 1920s,traditional views on Laozi’s dating have been widely questioned in both Chinese and Western academia.In the latter ha...The exact dating of Laozi and his work has long been a topic of scholarly interest.Since the 1920s,traditional views on Laozi’s dating have been widely questioned in both Chinese and Western academia.In the latter half of the 20th century,as the“Trust Antiquity”trend gradually emerged in Chinese academia,the view that“Laozi did not exist”became the most influential mainstream perspective in Western academia.This paper first reviews the process of unification and differentiation of opinions between Chinese and Western academia.Then,by analyzing and comparing representative papers from Chinese and Western scholars,it explores the reasons for the differences in mainstream opinions.Additionally,it briefly discusses the implications of these differences to provide insights for future research.展开更多
Laozi’s concept of desire has rich ideological connotations,not only referring to reducing personal desires.Laozi’s concept of desire is based on“desire”as human nature,acknowledging the legitimacy and necessity o...Laozi’s concept of desire has rich ideological connotations,not only referring to reducing personal desires.Laozi’s concept of desire is based on“desire”as human nature,acknowledging the legitimacy and necessity of desire and demand.The rational criticism of“having desire”formed by“no desire”is the value pursuit of Laozi’s concept of desire.From both personal physical and mental aspects and social order,“no desire”plays an important guiding role.Nature is the essence of Laozi’s concept of desire,and being in harmony with nature is the best state of desire.Laozi’s concept of desire reveals a deep spirit of love,and the“ethics of love”highlights Laozi’s strong sense of care for the“other”and ethical attitude towards responsibility.Laozi’s contemplation of desire contains a strong humanistic spirit,with the aim of promoting the healthy and sustainable development of life and society.展开更多
There has been an increasing interest in the Chinese excavated documents of western scholars.With different version of excavated Laozi,it attracts the attention of researchers.This paper examines the study of unearthe...There has been an increasing interest in the Chinese excavated documents of western scholars.With different version of excavated Laozi,it attracts the attention of researchers.This paper examines the study of unearthed Laozi by western scholars by using Mawangtui and Guodia Laozi,attempts to give readers a basic picture of unearthed Laozi study in western academia.Since there is no way that I can hope to introduce all western studies of unearthed Laozi,this paper will restrict the presentation to just the following topic:Mawangtui Laozi,Guodian Laozi,“Tai Yi Sheng Shui”,“Wu Xing”,and Methodology.展开更多
A caricature exhibition on Chinese philosopher Laozi was held in Cairo on July 8, helping promote Chinese culture in Egypt and boost mutual cultural exchanges. The exhibition displayed more than 30 works by 40 artists...A caricature exhibition on Chinese philosopher Laozi was held in Cairo on July 8, helping promote Chinese culture in Egypt and boost mutual cultural exchanges. The exhibition displayed more than 30 works by 40 artists from 18 countries including China, Egypt, Spain, and Brazil. These paintings reflect the admiration and love of people from arround the world for Laozi’s philosophy.展开更多
The article deduces the concept of self-education that had been advocated by Laozi,the founder of Taoism,in his philosophy on aesthetic education.From the perspective of his philosophical thoughts,this article analyze...The article deduces the concept of self-education that had been advocated by Laozi,the founder of Taoism,in his philosophy on aesthetic education.From the perspective of his philosophical thoughts,this article analyzes the inspiration and inheritance of"aesthetic"in the Chinese traditional culture based on the concept of self-education,discusses the similarities between the concept of self-education and beauty,as well as explores the internal relationship between self-education and aesthetic feeling so that the enlightenment and value of the concept of self-education in aesthetic education can be reflected and learnt.展开更多
In light of the recently published Western Han period bamboo-slip Laozi, now in the collection of Peking University, this paper explores several paradoxes in the textual development of the Laozi. Specifically, it pres...In light of the recently published Western Han period bamboo-slip Laozi, now in the collection of Peking University, this paper explores several paradoxes in the textual development of the Laozi. Specifically, it presents two examples suggesting that since the wording in the Laozi was originally intended to be ambiguous and paradoxical, during the transmission of the text, the compilers or commentators modified some of the paradoxes to make better sense. Eventually those modifications came to replace the original text. In the first part of this article examines certain contrasting differences in Chapter Eight from the Beida Laozi, the Mawangdui Laozi, and the received Laozi. The second part, I examine certain other contrasting differences from these same versions from Chapter Twenty-Four are discussed. This paper argues that these differences among the various versions are not the product of transcribal error; rather, they are the result of compilers or commentators who revised these passages against their earliest versions in order to make the meaning clearer and more explicit.展开更多
Based on Zhu Xi's statement that Laozi's teachings were very cruel,Wang Fuzhi condemned Laozi as a crafty,petty person in his Confucian commentaries.Yet,he had to understand the Laozi or Daodejing sympathetica...Based on Zhu Xi's statement that Laozi's teachings were very cruel,Wang Fuzhi condemned Laozi as a crafty,petty person in his Confucian commentaries.Yet,he had to understand the Laozi or Daodejing sympathetically when he commented on it in Laozi Yan老子衍(Extended Commentary on the Laozi).As a result,he showed inconsistency in his criticism and evaluation of the author.Some scholars have noted this problem but have not shed ink analyzing it.This essay finds that Wang Fuzhi's ambiguous attitude toward Laozi results from his Confucian prejudice against other schools and his failure to grasp the breadth and depth of Laozi's thought.From the perspective of Heaven,Laozi promoted accommodation and non-interference in self-cultivation and governance,summed up by the maxim that"the sage manages affairs without deliberation,and spreads teachings without words."In contrast,Wang Fuzhi stuck to the distinction between Confucianism and Daoism,and tried to use humanity and ritual propriety to supplement that which Heaven does not provide;as such,he criticized Laozi as crafty and irresponsible.Wang Fuzhi's criticism neither hits the mark regarding Laozi's weakness nor maintains a concordance with his earlier sympathetic appraisal in Laozi Yan;the reason for this is that Wang Fuzhi could not fully grasp Laozi's thought from a Confucian and anthropocentric perspective.展开更多
文摘The exact dating of Laozi and his work has long been a topic of scholarly interest.Since the 1920s,traditional views on Laozi’s dating have been widely questioned in both Chinese and Western academia.In the latter half of the 20th century,as the“Trust Antiquity”trend gradually emerged in Chinese academia,the view that“Laozi did not exist”became the most influential mainstream perspective in Western academia.This paper first reviews the process of unification and differentiation of opinions between Chinese and Western academia.Then,by analyzing and comparing representative papers from Chinese and Western scholars,it explores the reasons for the differences in mainstream opinions.Additionally,it briefly discusses the implications of these differences to provide insights for future research.
文摘Laozi’s concept of desire has rich ideological connotations,not only referring to reducing personal desires.Laozi’s concept of desire is based on“desire”as human nature,acknowledging the legitimacy and necessity of desire and demand.The rational criticism of“having desire”formed by“no desire”is the value pursuit of Laozi’s concept of desire.From both personal physical and mental aspects and social order,“no desire”plays an important guiding role.Nature is the essence of Laozi’s concept of desire,and being in harmony with nature is the best state of desire.Laozi’s concept of desire reveals a deep spirit of love,and the“ethics of love”highlights Laozi’s strong sense of care for the“other”and ethical attitude towards responsibility.Laozi’s contemplation of desire contains a strong humanistic spirit,with the aim of promoting the healthy and sustainable development of life and society.
基金“The Fundamental Research Funds of Shandong University”(Grant number 2019HW017).I would also like to take this opportunity in memory of Miss Fan Wai Shan,San.A respected best friend and a lovely lady who always supports my research and encourages me to learn French and German but unfortunately passed away on March 26,2019.I trust she will be happy to read this article because it uses French and German materials.
文摘There has been an increasing interest in the Chinese excavated documents of western scholars.With different version of excavated Laozi,it attracts the attention of researchers.This paper examines the study of unearthed Laozi by western scholars by using Mawangtui and Guodia Laozi,attempts to give readers a basic picture of unearthed Laozi study in western academia.Since there is no way that I can hope to introduce all western studies of unearthed Laozi,this paper will restrict the presentation to just the following topic:Mawangtui Laozi,Guodian Laozi,“Tai Yi Sheng Shui”,“Wu Xing”,and Methodology.
文摘A caricature exhibition on Chinese philosopher Laozi was held in Cairo on July 8, helping promote Chinese culture in Egypt and boost mutual cultural exchanges. The exhibition displayed more than 30 works by 40 artists from 18 countries including China, Egypt, Spain, and Brazil. These paintings reflect the admiration and love of people from arround the world for Laozi’s philosophy.
文摘The article deduces the concept of self-education that had been advocated by Laozi,the founder of Taoism,in his philosophy on aesthetic education.From the perspective of his philosophical thoughts,this article analyzes the inspiration and inheritance of"aesthetic"in the Chinese traditional culture based on the concept of self-education,discusses the similarities between the concept of self-education and beauty,as well as explores the internal relationship between self-education and aesthetic feeling so that the enlightenment and value of the concept of self-education in aesthetic education can be reflected and learnt.
文摘In light of the recently published Western Han period bamboo-slip Laozi, now in the collection of Peking University, this paper explores several paradoxes in the textual development of the Laozi. Specifically, it presents two examples suggesting that since the wording in the Laozi was originally intended to be ambiguous and paradoxical, during the transmission of the text, the compilers or commentators modified some of the paradoxes to make better sense. Eventually those modifications came to replace the original text. In the first part of this article examines certain contrasting differences in Chapter Eight from the Beida Laozi, the Mawangdui Laozi, and the received Laozi. The second part, I examine certain other contrasting differences from these same versions from Chapter Twenty-Four are discussed. This paper argues that these differences among the various versions are not the product of transcribal error; rather, they are the result of compilers or commentators who revised these passages against their earliest versions in order to make the meaning clearer and more explicit.
文摘Based on Zhu Xi's statement that Laozi's teachings were very cruel,Wang Fuzhi condemned Laozi as a crafty,petty person in his Confucian commentaries.Yet,he had to understand the Laozi or Daodejing sympathetically when he commented on it in Laozi Yan老子衍(Extended Commentary on the Laozi).As a result,he showed inconsistency in his criticism and evaluation of the author.Some scholars have noted this problem but have not shed ink analyzing it.This essay finds that Wang Fuzhi's ambiguous attitude toward Laozi results from his Confucian prejudice against other schools and his failure to grasp the breadth and depth of Laozi's thought.From the perspective of Heaven,Laozi promoted accommodation and non-interference in self-cultivation and governance,summed up by the maxim that"the sage manages affairs without deliberation,and spreads teachings without words."In contrast,Wang Fuzhi stuck to the distinction between Confucianism and Daoism,and tried to use humanity and ritual propriety to supplement that which Heaven does not provide;as such,he criticized Laozi as crafty and irresponsible.Wang Fuzhi's criticism neither hits the mark regarding Laozi's weakness nor maintains a concordance with his earlier sympathetic appraisal in Laozi Yan;the reason for this is that Wang Fuzhi could not fully grasp Laozi's thought from a Confucian and anthropocentric perspective.
