This chapter corresponds to the last sentence of Chapter 37 and Chapter 45 of Wang Bi's Tao Te Ching. The text of this chapter is written according to Lao Zi, a bamboo slip of Chu, but the sentence "Hou Wang can keep it" is omitted.
This chapter is a companion to the previous one. In the previous chapter, I expounded what is "fairness". In this chapter, I will explain what is "justice". "Fairness" and "unfairness" were expressed by Laozi as "nameless" and "famous" respectively. "Nameless" means that everything is nameless, or collectively referred to as the "servant" of the universe, and the interests are equally divided. "Fame" means that the fair distribution is destroyed, the grace is no longer shared equally, the nouveau riche appears, and the servant's job is robbed.
The theme of this chapter is "Tao inaction", which refers to the actions taken by Tao to safeguard "justice". In this chapter, Lao Tzu mentioned "inaction" for the first time, so it is natural to give a clear definition of "inaction". "Inaction" is a series of measures taken by Tao specifically for "name", which makes "name" become "name" again and makes "injustice" return to "fairness". In short, "inaction" is to safeguard "justice".
What is Laozi's "inaction"?
Isn't it promising to safeguard "justice"? Why does Laozi also call it "inaction"?
People understand this way because of the misjudgment of inaction, which translates "nothing" into "nothing", thus giving "inaction" the connotation of inaction. In fact, I originally wrote "Wu" and lost it. Today, the meaning of "death" is still retained. "To die" means to do what should be done but no one does it. So "death" refers to what must be done, and there is no choice but to do it, which is just the opposite of "no"
"Self-transformation" and "alienation" are also a pair of advantages and disadvantages. If everything is self-transformation, then there must be alienation in self-transformation. Self-adaptation refers to normal evolution, while alienation refers to abnormal change. Just like the mutation of human genes, alienation in self-transformation is inevitable. Seeing only self-transformation but not alienation is a dialectical thinking that does not form the unity of opposites. Since alienation originates from self-transformation, it cannot be corrected by self-transformation. Therefore, there must be external intervention to correct alienation.
Being nameless is self-transformation, being famous is alienation, being famous comes from being nameless, and being nameless can't be self-righting, which is an inherent defect of the universe ecology, just like people can't change their genes.
Tao only did two things in its interaction with the universe: 1) Tao created the universe, and the universe could not generate itself; 2) Tao should control the alienation of the universe, and the universe cannot correct itself. These two things cannot be accomplished by the universe itself and must be accomplished by the Tao, so they are "dead". Apart from these two things, nothing has been done, and nothing has to be done.
This dialectical logic of Laozi was not understood by later generations during the Warring States Period. There was already a chapter in Laozi, a bamboo slip of Chu, in which the word "Wu" was changed to "Wu". Although the word "Wu" in China's silk has replaced the word "Wu", people still read it as "Wu" instead of "Wu".
The disappearance of the word "death" completely misled future generations, making "doing nothing means doing something" logically contradictory, but making "doing nothing means doing nothing" seem logical, so that future generations constantly constructed logical sophistry in "doing something" and turned Laozi's theory into metaphysics.
In fact, "inaction" has nothing to do with "inaction". In order to keep the usage of the word "nothing", we need to add a note to the dictionary: "Nothing needs to be understood again, if inaction refers to what must be done." Otherwise, let's change "inaction" back to "death" and don't be fooled by the stupidity of the descendants of the Warring States.
Laozi's "inaction" is not to let nature take its course. On the contrary, "inaction" means that the Tao will never let "injustice" run rampant and completely control any form of "offside" or "absence". Whose nature can the "inaction" of Tao conform to? Tao is the ultimate master, and no in-laws can be filial; If we want to conform to the nature of all things, self-transformation can't correct alienation, and letting nature take its course will inevitably lead to the spread and terminal illness of alienation. Isn't Tao just a hollow name?
The Corrective Function of Tao —— "Inaction"
Tao created the universe, and everything will transform itself. If there is no alienation in self-transformation, Tao will lose its meaning of continuing to exist. Tao and the universe are opposites, and opposites no longer interact and exist, which also violates the principle of "unity of opposites".
Therefore, everything is endless and self-transforming. Self-realization will inevitably lead to alienation, and alienation will inevitably return to self-realization, which is determined by the principle of "unity of opposites". From alienation to adaptation, everything is incapable of self-creation, so "inaction" came into being.
"Tao is inaction" is the inversion of "Tao is inaction", aiming at emphasizing Tao. "Root" means "emptiness", which is invisible and inaudible. "Inaction" refers to Tao's correction of alienation. Only with the escort of error correction function can self-development develop healthily. Therefore, doing nothing is the premise of "everything will be created by itself", which is the function of the word "er" in the sentence.
This sentence in Chu Zhushu is written like this, "The Tao is inaction, the princes can keep it, and everything will be self-sufficient." As in the previous chapter, smuggled goods carried by descendants of the Warring States Period reappeared here. In the previous chapter, we pointed out that in terms of values, Laozi completely denied the enfeoffment system in Yin and Zhou Dynasties, and it was impossible for him to offer suggestions and suggestions for maintaining this system. Grammatically, Lao Tzu never used marquis and everything, so the logic is untenable; Conceptually, Laozi's way of being a saint is more about being the master of the world, which corresponds to the emperor rather than the vassal. It doesn't conform to Lao Tzu's whole world view of princes. Therefore, the phrase "if Hou can keep it" should be added by later generations of the Warring States period.
Here, the phrase "Hou Wang can keep it" reveals a new loophole. The word "beast" is often written in Laozi on Chu bamboo slips, such as "to be empty, to be eternal". Among all animals, it is also embarrassing. However, the word "shou" in Chu bamboo slips is written as "shou" instead of "beast", so there is reason to believe that later generations ignored this detail when adding this sentence.
Based on the above points, the original text here will delete "Hou Wang can be retained" from the text.
"Yu (Yu)", Chu bamboo slips as "Zuo Gu You Wei (zhuī Ρ)". The original meaning of "Wei" is a short-tailed bird, and Oracle Bone Inscriptions's writing also resembles a bird, so "Zuo Gu You Wei" is a variant of "Wei". "Swimming" refers to "bird (qú) swimming", commonly known as "myna". Chen Zuo is an allusion to Lao Zi's Chen Yu Lai Chao, which tells the chaotic image of a powerful official from bottom to top. It is a metaphor that the universe ecology is destroyed, and the individual exceeds the standard with his own interests and infringes on the overall interests.
"Goose is also called' Gu 'an'." Biography of the Ram Twenty-five Years of Zhao Gong: "A stork came to the nest. Why do you make a reservation? Remember the difference. Hoyle? Non-China birds are also suitable for caves and nests. "It means bonito was originally a rare bird, but it did not exist in the Central Plains. Now it has come to Shandong, and changed the original hole-making into nesting. These are all illusions, which have never been recorded in the literature. Doctor Lu thinks this is an ominous sign, claiming that there was a nursery rhyme in the pre-king era, saying that as long as this bird appeared, the monarch would go out of the court. It really came true.
At that time, the "Three Rings" of Lu unified state affairs, and the monarchy stood aside. Lu is the sixth grandson. The so-called "three rings" are the three aristocratic forces formed by the children of the other three sons, namely, Shi, Shu and Ji, among which Ji is the most powerful. Ji was the official of Lu at that time, equivalent to today's prime minister. Lu has long been dissatisfied with the three-ring tyranny. He wants to get rid of it, but he lacks political strategy. In the 25th year of Zhao Gong (5 17 BC), Lu took the opportunity to crusade against Ji, only to be driven out of Lu by the Third Ring Road, and became a monarch in exile for eight years, and finally died in another country. During this period, Lu actually did not establish a new monarch, but let Sanhuan divide and rule. It was not until after his death that the powerful people of Lu adopted his younger brother as the new monarch, and he was Lu. "Cold to the nest" refers to this ridiculous legendary history.
"If you turn it into a work, you are a nobody." The "swim" here refers to the offside of the individual, which destroys the balance of the system, rather than the desire in the general sense. Lao Tzu is not an ascetic, and people's desires cannot be eliminated. However, to a certain extent, this limit is that it will not harm the whole. Once it hurts the whole, it will be considered as "making a mountain out of a molehill", so it is necessary to return it to its original position, that is, "to be a servant without a name." "True" means doing things right. In order to show the purpose and instruct him to return to the standard of "unknown servant"
"Husband" refers to the alienated individual. "Di" means "Di" in Chu Bamboo Book, and "Di" means "Ai", which is the word "Di" in ancient Chinese. "Didi" symbolizes subtlety, and "content with Didi" is like saying that every cell feels it.
Lao Tzu said that once Tao found out who was offside, he would put him back in his place, and the other party would take the words. Tao is omnipotent, which will make the principle of "fairness and justice" of "nameless servant" run through everything's every move and go deep into the bone marrow, so that every cell of them is the embodiment of this principle, so that everything can finally take its place and perform its duties.
Handed down from ancient times, these two sentences are written as "nameless and simple, and the husband will have no desire." If you don't want to be quiet, the world will decide. Obviously, the core of the handed down book is "don't want to be quiet". By educating people to be pure and have no desire or desire, the goal of world peace has been achieved. This kind of values does not mention fairness and rationality, ignores the injustice of hierarchical society and exclusive rule of kingship to the general public, and blindly makes the people accept the reality, thus achieving the purpose of safeguarding kingship and catering to the needs of mainstream ideology for two thousand years, which is quite similar to the Confucian view of destiny.
But Laozi's theory of cosmic ecology is first of all "fairness and justice". All things are equal, and they are all public servants of society and enjoy equal treatment. Whoever destroys this equality will harm the collective interests with personal interests. Therefore, in order to safeguard the interests of the minority in the ruling group and harm the interests of the vast majority, it naturally violates the principle of "fairness and justice" of Laozi.
Therefore, Laozi, a Chu bamboo book, has gradually evolved into the classic Tao Te Ching handed down from generation to generation. This passage is a good example, not only the wrong interpretation of words, but also the choice of values. From the comparison of sentences, there are great differences between Laozi and Chu Bamboo Books handed down from generation to generation, which can't be caused by misreading or misreading. Obviously, it is a systematic rewriting with a plan and purpose. It was later generations who rewrote their own values and peddled their own theory of kingship in the name of Laozi. This is very similar to the style of the Yellow School under the leadership of Xia Ji.
Laozi refers to the maintenance of the universe ecosystem by Taoism through the conditioning of the human body by Chinese medicine. "Dry" refers to dryness and heat, "moderate" refers to cold and dampness, "clear" refers to coolness, and "burning" refers to fire, and they are compatible with each other. "Clear and white" means that the environment is mild and clear, and there is no sudden cooling and heating, no violent turmoil, and peace.
This sentence has been handed down from generation to generation, and it is "urgency wins the cold, quietness wins the heat, and quietness wins the world." There are two words "Jing" in the sentence, especially the second word "Jing", which is obviously deliberately changed. "Quiet" and "don't want to be quiet" complement each other, and also echo the previous change "be empty and be quiet". Facts have once again proved our above judgment.
At this point, this chapter is over, but I still sold a key: Tao is miraculous and can make everything "satisfied", but how is this state achieved? This will be the next chapter "I have three treasures" to further answer the question.
Correction instructions in this chapter
The following four representative versions are compared with the original version to show the differences between the versions.
The differences between these versions are mainly reflected in whether there are two points: whether there is "doing whatever it takes" and whether there is "the princes can keep it". Some versions of the latter regard "prince" as "prince" without changing its literal meaning.
Most of the first sentences handed down from generation to generation are "Tao always does nothing and does everything", while Chu Zhushu, Silk A, B and Han bamboo slips of Peking University do not have the word "doing nothing and doing everything". Judging from the analysis of righteousness, Lao Tzu defines "inaction" here, and there is no need to mention "inaction", so the four extra words handed down from ancient books should be regarded as Yan Wen.
The words "Ye" and "Er" are only found in Chu Zhushu, but not in other versions. The reason for returning to the original version from Chu Zhushu is that the word "two characters" further highlights the comparative relationship between the preceding and following sentences, which can better reflect the intention of this chapter of Laozi than anything else.
"Hua", Chu bamboo slips as "upper for lower", should it be "upper for lower?" Mistakes; Chu shorthand "?" Close to the "heart". Another usage in Chu bamboo slips is "from top to bottom", which is more appropriate to read "pseudo". "Top or bottom?" It means intercourse and reproduction of yin and yang, "?" Representing two identical animals, Yin and Yang mate, while "Wei" represents the interaction of Yin and Yang.
In addition, the sentence "Hou Wang can keep it" in Chu Bamboo Book was deleted in the original version, and the reason has been explained in detail above, so I won't repeat it here.
The main difference between this sentence is the difference between "bird" and "desire", and the difference between "servant" and "element" has been explained in detail above, so I won't repeat it here.
Another main difference is the difference between "truth", "tan" and "truth" "Truth" is interpreted as "truth", which means correction, and its connotation is the same as that of Laozi in this chapter. The words "truth" and "truth" are derivatives of "truth", which seems to be a misunderstanding of "truth". So the original version comes from the word "true" in Chu bamboo slips.
In addition, "I" was suspected to be Yan Wen. Later generations often read "I" as "Hou Wang" and "obscure and plain" as "Tao", but they point to ordinary people. "I" was probably added by later generations to distinguish the relationship between "Tao" and "Hou Wang" in the sentence. But in Laozi's original text, there are only examples of "Tao" and "everything", and even if there is no subject, the relationship between them will not be confused. Therefore, the original version retains the writing of Chu bamboo slips.
There are quite different versions of this passage in words, but to sum up, the core is nothing more than the dispute between "fairness and justice" and "abstinence". Laozi's main purpose is to clarify the realization mechanism of the principle of "fairness and justice" and infiltrate the code of conduct of "nameless simplicity" into every detail and bone marrow, so that the world can enjoy it. The books handed down from generation to generation simply ignore "fairness and justice" and "don't want to be quiet". "Quiet" is the goal, and "quiet" means peace in the world; "Unwilling" is the premise, accepting the reality and not competing with the world, even if the system is unequal and the distribution is unreasonable, it is handled indifferently.
Laozi's "knowledge" refers to the standard of returning to "unknown servant". Changing "knowledge" into "unwilling" in handed down books is not a misunderstanding, but an obvious tampering. Changing "everything" to "world" is not a misunderstanding, but a deliberate change of "Tao and everything" to "king and the world".
In this passage, there is no difference between the original version and Chu bamboo slips. "Di" means "Hua", and "Hua" is a variant of "Di". "Being content" means that the principle of "fairness and justice" will run through everything and play a role through the most basic existing form of things. The original version adopts the theory of cosmic ecology based on the principle of fairness and justice, and abandons the theory of abstinence which ignores the principle of fairness and justice.
The other versions of this sentence belong to the chapter "Great achievements are short", and the whole chapter aims to discuss Taoism. At the beginning of this chapter, there are two sentences: "Great achievements, if lacking, are just as well. If Italy runs, it will be inexhaustible. " They all say that they are omnipotent and inexhaustible. However, later generations mistakenly interpreted Laozi's Taoist theory as praising saints, so they added "if it is straightforward, if it is argumentative" to show completeness. Chu Zhushu is slightly different in expression, but it is also talking about people, saying, "big and clumsy, big and arrogant, big and unyielding." Therefore, misreading has appeared in Chu bamboo slips. In the original version, the sentence "If you are clumsy, if you are enthusiastic, if you are straight" was deleted. The first two sentences of the original chapter were merged into the third chapter of the original version, and the last sentence was merged into this chapter.
So this sentence also reflects the different definitions of subject in understanding. The subject of the original Chu bamboo slips is "Tao", and the subject of other versions is "Wang". As far as people are concerned, temperament is different from "madness" and "quietness", and also from "cold" and "hot". Being calm for Wang is not impetuous, and the world is peaceful. This is the logic passed down from generation to generation. There are still some differences in the words passed down from generation to generation. For example, Fu Yiben used "quietness" to communicate with "quietness", and changed "quietness is the right way in the world" into "knowledge" without changing the literal meaning.
There are many residual words in silk B, so I took silk A here. The word "Jing" means "mania", "jigǒng" means "heat" and "static" means "quiet", with the same pronunciation. However, "please" and "Qing" are not acceptable, and they should be pseudowords. Therefore, the metaphorical meaning of silk books is basically the same as that of handed down books.
But the metaphorical meaning of Chu bamboo slips is quite different. "Qi, qi, green, burning. This is clear to the world. " After the above, Lao Tzu is further explaining what "everything will decide" and how this "decision" is embodied. Laozi's "determination" refers to the harmonious operation of the universe ecology and self-improvement after constantly correcting various alienation. This is just like Chinese medicine's constant conditioning of the human body, eliminating dampness and blood stasis, reducing fire and tonifying deficiency, expelling toxin and refreshing. Laozi often borrows the theories and terms of traditional Chinese medicine when expounding the cosmic ecosystem, which is reflected in the following chapters.
Borrowing the terminology of traditional Chinese medicine, qi should be pronounced as dryness rather than rashness, and Qing should be pronounced as classics rather than essence. In particular, "Qing is the world's decision" is clearly written on the bamboo slips of Chu, followed by a hyphen and the word "left water and right green". Therefore, I have never used the word "static" throughout here, but later generations have a special liking for this word and try their best to relate it to the original text of Laozi. Not only did they pronounce "green burning" as "static wins heat", but they also changed "Qing for the world" into "static for the world", which is just a living thing.
In the fourth chapter of the original edition of Tao Te Ching, we can see that "to be empty, to be quiet and to believe" is the view of later generations on Laozi. The deliberate distortion of "loyalty and loyalty" and the so-called saying that Laozi advocates "emptiness and quietness" are totally false. Here, we once again witnessed the same technique, replacing Laozi's exposition on the ecological balance of the universe with his statement that "quietness" can rule the world, and promoting his own skill of being the king's south in the name of Laozi.
Finally, talk about the difference between "victory" and "gram". In Chu bamboo slips, it is said that "anger without hair, anger without hair" is read as "impatience overcomes cold, quietness overcomes heat", and the word "ke" in Chu bamboo slips is read as "victory" by later generations.
In fact, the writing of "victory" and "gram" in Chu bamboo slips is different. The abbreviation of "ke" in Chu is the upper, middle and lower structure, from top to big, from middle to little, from bottom to strong:
The word "big" is on it, and two strokes on each arm should symbolize wearing armor. There are several squares in the middle, and the "force" below symbolizes the surrender of the defeated party. There are several between "big" and "force", so they represent two different subjects. This should be the word "gram" of the Chu people.
As for the word "victory", * * * appeared four times in the Smell of Success in Chu Bamboo Slips, the first three times meant "competence" and the last time meant "defeat". The word "victory" is written from top to bottom:
There is no "several" in the middle of this word, so "big" and "strong" both refer to the same subject, indicating that they are winning because of strength and are not interested in whether the other party gives in. This should be the word "victory" of the Chu people.
Attachment 1: Chapter 37 of Wang Bi's Tao Te Ching:
Appendix II: Chapter 45 of Wang Bi's Tao Te Ching: