This is the study about the formation and notion of Mawangtui Lao-Tzu excavated in 1973 in China. The outcome of research of Guodian Lao-Tzu excavated in 1993 was completed, and then it entered upon a new phase for the study of Mawangtui Lao-Tzu. That...
This is the study about the formation and notion of Mawangtui Lao-Tzu excavated in 1973 in China. The outcome of research of Guodian Lao-Tzu excavated in 1993 was completed, and then it entered upon a new phase for the study of Mawangtui Lao-Tzu. That is, it helped us pay attention to the composing process of Mawangtui Lao-Tzu. This can support the new approach to the following matters which has been difficult up to now in the history of studying Lao-Tzu: who the editor of Lao-Tzu was and when the text of Lao-Tzu was edited. That’s how the study of Mawangtui Lao-Tzu has been newly recognized and re-evaluated.
In this thesis, I will infer the time when the notion of Lao-Tzu was formed and the author of Lao-Tzu by making a study of the formation of Mawangtui Lao-Tzu. Studying the notion of Mawangtui Lao-Tzu based on this, I will direct my attention to what the true value of Lao-Tzu is that could be understood in the Chinese philosophical history, absorbed without conflict.
In studying the formation of Mawangtui Lao-Tzu, I’m going to regard the scholars after Chuang-Tzu who wrote the Outer chapters of Chuang-Tzu as the editors who revised and enlarged Mawangtui Lao-Tzu. It is highly likely that the generally known aspects of the author of Lao-Tzu were distorted, which is described in the Outer chapters of Chuang-Tzu. In addition, the phrases of Lao-Tzu from the Outer chapters of Chuang-Tzu are not shown in the author’s expression. In this study, I regard the scholars after Chuang-Tzu as the editors who revised and enlarged Mawangtui Lao-Tzu by inferring the agreement connected with the contents of enlarged edition of Mawangtui Lao-Tzu. It could be supported with the reasonable evidences. In case this inference is appropriate, it means that Lao-Tzu was edited later than the Inner chapters of Chuang-Tzu written by Chuang-Tzu. Therefore, it is necessary to have a new discussion on the existing flow of Taoism succeeded from Lao-Tzu to Chuang-Tzu.
In this study I am going to come to a conclusion through the discussion of the formation of Mawangtui Lao-Tzu and then discuss the system of philosophy of Mawangtui Lao-Tzu based on it. Since it is possible to have more specific inference on the author of Lao-Tzu and the period of its editing, we can discuss the Lao-Tzu’s philosophy that can be understood without conflict in the history of Chinese philosophy on the basis of it. In this study I’m going to prove that Mawangtui Lao-Tzu was the political record connected with the art of government that was designed to help marquises and kings to conquer the whole country by discussing the system of thoughts in the Mawangtui Lao-Tzu. And through this discussion it will be shown that the scholars after Chuang-Tzu intended to be in collusion with marquises and kings, holding in check the opposing schools at that time.
This is what I try to discuss through the study of the formation and notion of Mawangtui Lao-Tzu. This discussion can be possible by the re-evaluating Mawangtui Lao-Tzu. Although Guodian Lao-Tzu brought the chance ofthe discussion, it is possible to have more specific discussion on the existing matters by the study of Mawangtui Lao-Tzu and have more precise discussion on the original thoughts of Lao-Tzu philosophy. Therefore, Mawangtui Lao-Tzu should be re-evaluated in the study of Lao-Tzu.