So I remembered a story I saw a long time ago: when a Chinese doctor was young, he was given the task of revising two ancient prescriptions. He chose one of them-let's call it copying-and in his later medical career, he spent his whole life proofreading this set of prescription sets full of mistakes. When he finally finished sorting out this set of prescription sets in our school at the last moment of his life, people unearthed a set of prescription sets in an ancient tomb, which was almost identical to his proofreading. At this point in the story, I think it should be over. I didn't pay attention to the following paragraphs-it's just some feelings of the storyteller. Oh, the storyteller also made an assumption: what if he chose to modify another book? Judging from this hypothesis, the story sets a sad tone.
After reading this story, I can't remember what I thought at that time. Always sad or something, I should be very wronged for him. If he chooses to modify the other one, it will be lucky that after the original prescription set without errors is unearthed in the ancient tomb, both prescriptions will suit the remedy to the case.
Looking back now, it is full of aftertaste: he proved with his whole life: 1, the formula subset is useful; 2. His own level and ability; 3. Do you still need these three? Maybe there is more-he didn't miss practicing medicine because he revised this prescription. In the process of practicing medicine, he constantly checked the prescriptions in this prescription set and saved many patients with wrong prescription set. . . . . . He is a man worthy of respect. At the last moment of his life, the newly unearthed Fang Zi Ji proved his value. He is very lucky.
The above is just a story, a story about luck and sadness.
At this point, this story should be completely over, and what I want to say has just begun.
Tao Te Ching has been circulated for more than two thousand years. In these two thousand years, there is no book like it, there are thousands of versions, and each version is different. Since the rise of Taoism in the late Han Dynasty, this book and its author Laozi have been pushed to the altar, which is more and more confusing.
What did Lao Tzu say in these five thousand words?
Some people say that Laozi is talking about philosophy; Some people say that Laozi is talking about the way of governing the country; Some people say that Lao Tzu is talking about tactics; Some people say that Lao Tzu is talking about the art of war; Some people say that Laozi is talking about health preservation. . . . . . The people who interpret the Tao Te Ching include civilians, officials and emperors. There are disciples of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. . . . . . Judging from the classics handed down, some people began to interpret them in the pre-Qin period. Everything seems reasonable, but when I think about it, most of them make me more confused.
What do people want from the repeated interpretation of Tao Te Ching? Is it to understand Laozi's thoughts, or to express your thoughts through Laozi's book?
I have read several versions of Tao Te Ching, and I have also read the opinions of some influential people in the army interpreted by my predecessors. More often, I read today's interpretation in bookstores all over the country. I was amazed at the richness and diversity of these interpretations, which made the Tao Te Ching more widely known and added some wrestling-countless people wanted to find something in this short text, and they did find it; More people want to express their views through the interpretation of these five thousand words, and they have done it. No matter who holds any opinions, the number of words in their interpretation articles is far more than 5,000 words, especially in modern people's interpretation articles, which have a thick book-all the interpretation articles are added together, and after 5,000 words, 10,000 words should be enough.
However, do all these interpretations really come from Tao Te Ching? I dare not jump to a conclusion, but from the comparison of several versions of Tao Te Ching (Wang Bi Ben, two silk books of Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha, and bamboo slips of Chu Tomb in Guodian), I can be sure that Tao Te Ching does not talk about health preservation.
As for tactics and the art of war, I think everyone is a little smart in this respect. If there are several words in a book about killing people, is it a book about killing people? Obviously, this logic is untenable. If established, quite a few books and articles will be accused of abettor.
What is philosophy? I'm ashamed that I didn't understand this definition until now. First, I didn't go to so many schools, and the teacher didn't teach me the definition of this term. Secondly, I really can't figure out what these two words mean when put together. Judging from the frequency of people using this word, it is quite high, such as philosophy of life, philosophy of film, philosophy of reading, philosophy of business and philosophy of war. . . . . . It is inferred that the word philosophy has the meaning of truth and its meaning. Then, as Laozi, writing books and articles, revealing some truths and how to reveal something, this is also revealing philosophy. Then there is nothing to make irresponsible remarks about philosophy in Tao Te Ching.
So, is Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching about governing the country? My opinion: yes, but not comprehensive. Mainly about how to manage the world. The world I am talking about is very different from the world we are talking about now. The world I'm talking about is the territory ruled by Zhou Tianzi. There are hundreds of countries in this world. As for the actual number, I'm sorry. I also invite you to read history books.
This is just a personal opinion, but many of the above words are beside the point. Now let's get back to the point.
How to interpret Tao Te Ching?
First, attitude. This is a very important premise and indispensable. Individuals have two attitudes: one is to find out what the Tao Te Ching wants to tell us; Secondly, I use Tao Te Ching to express some of my views. And the first attitude is correct.
Second, the meaning of words. When reading a book, there are words you don't know and words you don't understand, which is normal, especially when the Tao Te Ching was written more than 2,000 years ago. During these two thousand years, Chinese characters have been continuously developed and enriched, and the meanings of most numbers have increased with the increase of time. It is inevitable that the same word has different meanings in different times. The selected edition of this dictionary, Shuo Wen Jie Zi, is essential, and the others, such as Ancient Chinese Dictionary, Modern Chinese Dictionary and Cihai, are available. So, what should the words in Tao Te Ching mean? Personally, I think that the original meaning of a word should be considered first, and the extended meaning should not be considered until it can be explained. The extended meaning should not appear later than the time when Laozi lived-this is a very difficult thing, and some words can't be explained in any sense. Then, consider whether these words are foreign words-this is a very difficult thing, it is impossible to make a judgment without a considerable level, and it is impossible to make a correct judgment without a considerable level-frankly speaking, I can only choose whether these words are foreign words and what their original words should be according to the judgment of experts. Chu bamboo slips, in particular, are directed at me.
Third, sentence reading. As we all know, punctuation was introduced from abroad, not many years ago. In ancient China, people wrote articles without punctuation marks. Some articles will use some symbols to express meaning, but they are not as clear as modern punctuation marks. Therefore, the choice of pause depends on the individual. According to personal understanding, different sentences will have different meanings, which is one of the reasons why Tao Te Ching has caused so much controversy. Everyone who reads Tao Te Ching ignores punctuation and punctuates sentences according to his own understanding. Of course, not all of them have to be punctuated again, but a few of them are ambiguous because of punctuation (personal opinion). And there are still some broken sentences that cannot be determined. This is very interesting.
Fourth, the version. There is an old saying that "there are many truths in recent times." Although it is not absolutely correct, it is the direction that can be guided and the most likely correct direction. Judging from other documents besides Tao Te Ching, the earlier it is, the closer it is to the real face until it is primitive. So-called radical, is that what you mean?
Fifth, look for answers inside the Tao Te Ching, not outside. Indirect evidence is always indirect evidence, not direct evidence.
Sixth, try to put aside the influence of others' interpretation. Especially the opinions of celebrities. What I'm talking about here is not the understanding and debate about the meaning of words, but my views on sentence paragraphs and even the whole text.
Seventh, we can also find out what this version of Tao Te Ching only said to one version. The above six points also apply to the interpretation of a certain version.
Eighth, the so-called review and recovery are all nonsense. I don't even know what it is like, so how can I determine what its standard is? How can we know if the "restored" thing is the "original"? Before the full version of Tao Te Ching was unearthed earlier, everything was futile and irresponsible.
Having said that, it is "one in eight" that can be related to the beginning of the story.
The success of the revised prescription set by Chinese medicine in the story is inseparable from his efforts. More importantly, he has a standard that is feasible-whether the prescription can cure diseases is as simple as that.
What about Tao Te Ching? Totally different. I don't know what standards and guidelines are used to proofread and repair ancient documents. It is estimated that it is based on the age of unearthed documents. Approaching earlier documents should be the guiding direction. Up to now, the earliest available document of Tao Te Ching is the bamboo slips unearthed from the Chu tomb in Guodian. There are less than 3,000 words in total, and the organizers are divided into three parts: A, B and C. The contents of these bamboo slips overlap. The documents on bamboo slips correspond to the notes of later silk books A, B and Wang Bi, but they are different in text interpretation, that is to say, they need to be re-recognized. So, if you want to proofread and restore them, what should you do? This headache is something that professionals should worry about and has nothing to do with us.
Which version is the base? Jane ben. Sakamoto Wang Ben? River official book? . . . . . . These are some earlier versions, and I dare not say that earlier versions will not be unearthed in the future. Maybe someone hid a Tao Te Ching under his box. . . . . .
Everyone will have some feelings and opinions when reading a book or an article, which is inevitable and cannot be a reason for criticism and attack. On the contrary, this exchange of feelings and opinions helps others. However, if you set some standards yourself, and these so-called standards are not clear, you should do some proofreading and restoration, which is to create a new version. This is called adding chaos, which is outrageous.