Chapter 8 Comments on recent methods of researching the age of "Laozi"-2

However, the textual research of "Mou Zi" by Mr. Zhou Shudi ("Mou Zi Cong Can") and myself ("On Feng Zi Shu", Peking Library Journal, Volume 5, No. 4) proves that it is a work in the late Han Dynasty, and there is no doubt about it. .That is to say, in terms of style, I am not as smart as Mr. Liang, and I cannot "know it at a glance"; but after I read this book carefully, I realized that "the writing in this book is very clear, smooth and rigorous, with rhyme from time to time, and it is not vulgar. This book can be regarded as a good text between the Han and Wei dynasties."In the same text, Mr. Liang Qichao and I can come to such completely opposite conclusions. Shouldn’t this fact make us a little cautious about the textual research value?

Mr. Liang's remarks on Mouzi are the most clear indication of the danger that ordinary scholars will easily use style as a standard for textual research.They pre-stored a subjective fallacy, thinking that what kind of "handwriting" the "Han sages" should have, what kind of good essays should be written by the people of the Jin Dynasty, and what kind of style should be written by the people of the Six Dynasties.This is fundamentally wrong.People of our age can have hundreds of grades of "handwriting"; the same writing of ancient Chinese and the same writing of vernacular, there can be a huge difference between being able to write and not being able to write.Every era has the same hundred and ten grades of handwriting.Ban Gu was at the same time as Wang Chong, but "Lunheng" and "Hanshu Yang etc. Different Bu Lunheng" also occasionally have rhyme prose, compared with "Liangdu Fu", how different it is!What is the standard for the so-called "handwriting of Han sages"?To be honest, this criterion is completely subjective.It is completely the standard that Mr. Liang or Hu read a certain writer but thought.This standard is not very reliable.

If I cite these two lines of poetry: Looking at the former sage countries and families, success comes from diligence and thrift, and failure comes from extravagance. Try pigs, what era is this poem from?Most people must focus on the opening poems in historical novels in the late Ming Dynasty.People who don't know this poem will never guess that it is a poem by Li Shangyin.Another example is the vernacular poems of Hanshan and Shide, which have always been said to be the works of the early Tang Dynasty. I did not believe this statement ten years ago, thinking that this style of poetry should have appeared in the late Tang Dynasty.But after I discovered Wang Fanzhi's vernacular poems, and found out that Wang Fanzhi was from the Sui and Tang Dynasties, I dared not insist on moving Hanshan and Shide to the late Tang Dynasty (Pahua Literature Department, pp. 242-249 In recent years, the appearance of ancient manuscripts hidden in the Dunhuang Grottoes has brought about a fundamental change in our concept of style. There are many popular styles that are usually considered to be late, but Dunhuang manuscripts have iron evidence that they were published very early. For example, Dunhuang There is such a sentence in the fragmented "Jibu Song":

Ji Bu was alarmed and asked: Who is the envoy today? Censor, Zhou's reporter, The surname Zhu Mingjie received the emperor's favor. For example, the Dunhuang fragment "Zhaojun Chusai" has this sentence: Zhaojun (Jun) died last night at midnight, The Turks are currently in a hurry. Going around on three sides and passing on wild life, Wan Lifei (Fei) wrote a book to play the King of Han Dynasty. This kind of style, if there is no Dunhuang manuscript to testify, who does not "know at a glance" is definitely not "Tang Xian's handwriting". All in all, authors of the same era are different in ingenuity, refined and vulgar, cautious and bold, and local environments (such as dialects). What should be the style of a certain era.Simultaneously remember the death of Socrates, and how vividly Plato records it, and how simply Xellophon records it!We cannot use Plato to doubt Xenophon, nor can we use Xenophon to doubt Lato.

Don't gossip, let's return to "Laozi".Mr. Feng Youlan said that the style of "Laozi" is a "concise classic style", so it should be a work of the Warring States period (said to see the Master but Mr. Gu Zhagang said "The book "Laozi" was written in Fu style; but Fu style is definitely A new literary style at the end of the Warring States Period!" (School Annual Report, Issue 4, page 24, see Zai 19) In the same book, Mr. Feng focused on those aphoristic and concise sentences, saying that he is a "classical style" "; Mr. Gu focuses on those rhyming descriptions and descriptions, so it can be said that he is "written in Fu style". Just looking at these two different views, we can understand the danger of this style standard.

Let's take a look at what Gu Guangsheng said about "fu body".He cited Gou Qing's "Fu Pian" ("Gou Zi" twenty-sixth) as an example. There are five existing "Fu Pian" titled Li, Zhi, Yun, Silkworm, and Zhen.Looking at these five chapters together, we can understand that the so-called "fu" at that time was just a rhyming description, its style is slightly similar to the poetry of later generations, and its inferior is slightly like the stupid riddles of later generations.Mr. Gu cited Gou Qing's "Fu on Clouds" as an example, and the sentences he cited are as follows:

Suddenly, it is extremely far away; stubbornly, it chases and turns against each other; Yinyin is the prestige of the world.Virtuous but not donated, five collections and preparations are written.Tired after dealings with God.The access is very extreme, and I don't know its 11.In the world, what is lost will perish, and what is gained will survive. This is Gouzi's "endowing body".Mr Gu said: These words are actually of the same type as "Laozi". He cited the fifteenth and twenty chapters of Laozi as examples: Yuyan (Heshanggong’s work and Xi) Ruodongshe) 11, Judah as if fearing the neighbors, Yixi’s beauty (Heshanggong’s guest), Huanxi as ice, Dunxi as simple, open It is like a valley, and it is muddy like turbidity. ("Laozi" fifteen)

I cry alone for no sign, like a baby's unnucleated; slowly, as if there is nowhere to go. ... The law is like a sea, and the gambling is like endless. ...with Laozi" 20) This is the "fu style" of "Laozi". Mr. Gu also said that the style of the two chapters of Chuzi is very similar to the two chapters "Tu Rong" and "Xia Xian" in "Lu Shi Chunqiu", and we also excerpt part of those two chapters: Therefore, the appearance of a gentleman... Chunchun is cautious and afraid of change and unwilling to be self-sufficient, and he is unwilling to choose and reject. C is very simple. ("Shi Rong")

A person who has attained the Tao is difficult and flat, sincerity is self-sufficient, he feels that he has no doubts, he is sure that he will not change, he follows it and transforms Yin and Yang, he is kind, his heart is firm, and he is empty. It's not a coincidence,...it's so deep and unpredictable. ... ("Xia Xian") This is the "fu style" of "Lu Shi Chunqiu". Mr Gu said: These four paragraphs not only have different meanings, but also have the same style of writing, as well as the adjectives and their descriptive gestures. The only difference is that the auxiliary word "Xi" is used in "Lao Tzu", and "Hu" is used in "Lu Shu".Probably this is the dialect relationship.

We have read Mr. Gu's comments, and we can say that the similarity in his so-called "style" or "style" probably consists of the following points: 1. The same is the description of the text. 2. Adjectives with the ending of the word "xi" or "hu" are used together. 3. "The adjectives and the gestures they describe are also very similar." In my opinion, none of these criteria can determine the age of a text.The use of this kind of adjectives with the word "xi" or "hu" to describe characters, whether in rhyme or prose, originated very early. The earliest such as the early "Chunqiu" poem "Dufeng·Gentlemen grow old together", "Wei The poems "Feng·Shuo Ren" and "Qi Feng·Jian Ye" are all well-developed descriptions with rhymes. In the poem, we can also see this kind of prose describing descriptions:

The Master said, "It is great that Yao is the king!"Towering and majestic, only the sky is the greatest, and only Yao is the greatest.Dangdang is almost incompetent to the people.Weiwei is almost successful.Huan almost has articles. "Youyu") The Master said, so towering, Shun and Yu have the world, but they don't want to share it.Take the Analects as \) We use this sentence to compare the "Fu Pian" of "Gou Zi" and "The Sage under the Wind and Wind" of "Lu Shi Chun Qiu", and we can also come to the conclusion that "adjectives and their describing gestures are also very similar". .look: () It is so majestic that only the sky is the greatest, and only Yao is the only one. Dangdang is almost incompetent to the people. Weiwei is almost successful. Huan almost has articles. ("Laozi") Huanxi Ruobing will be released. Feeling helpless. It's bland and tasteless. (Chapter thirty-five. This sentence is quoted in "Wenzi Daode" as "Danxi".) ("Gou Zi") Suddenly, it is extremely far away. (Ding Ling Tianxia Weiyan also. ("Lu Lan") Chun Chun is cautious and afraid of change and unwilling to be self-sufficient. It's just a matter of choosing or not being happy. C is very simple. I feel that there is no doubt about it. Miscellaneous, it will never change. The kindness is the firmness of his heart. It is not a coincidence that it is empty. It's so deep that it's unpredictable. How identical are these adjectives and the gestures they describe!How similar!Among them, the word "hu" is used together with "Lu Lan", which is more similar. If these standards can be used to determine the time when Laozi was written, then we can also say that it should have been written in Mu Buwei’s time or later! The unreliability of stylistic standards is, in large part, the case.This kind of illustration should make us feel a little more apprehensive about this kind of example. As for picking up one or two nouns or terminology as the standard for textual research, that method has more loopholes and more dangers.Both Mr. Gu Jaigang and Mr. Liang Qichao have used this method.As Mr. Gu said: In terms of the nouns and slang terms used, the word "gong" is only used as a noun for systems in ancient books (such as Gonghou, Gongtian, etc.), and is not used as a noun for morality (such as public loyalty, righteousness, etc.) ). "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" has "Guiyou Pian", and there are sentences such as "cleanness and justice", which shows that this is a newly established moral term during the Warring States Period. "Gou Zi" is of the same age as Lu Shu, so there are many words "gong" in the old book.It can be seen that this kind of morality is the most important when a dog is born. "Laozi" says "the capacity is the public, and the public is the king" (Chapter 16), which is exactly the same. ("Historical Annual Report" four negative two five) However, Li did use the word "gong" as a moral term: If you are lenient, you will win the people; if you are trustworthy, the people will be responsible; if you are sensitive, you will make merit; (twenty) If there is the word "gong" in "Laozi", the life expectancy should be reduced by 300 years. "The Analects of Confucius has the word "Gong", and it should also reduce the life span by 300 years, and be relegated to the era of Gou Qing and Mu Buwei. Ren Gong once pointed out that the combination of "benevolence and righteousness" seems to be Mencius' monopoly.However, he forgot that "Zuo Zhuan" used benevolence and righteousness more than once (such as the 22nd year of Zhuang, and the 14th year of Ruzhuan).Ren Gong also said that Lao Tzu should not use terms such as "Hou Wang", "Wang Gong", "Wang Hou", "Take the World", "Lord of Ten Thousand Vehicles" and so on in Ge Qiu.However, the Gu hexagram of "Melancholy" already has "Bushi Wanghou", and the Kan hexagram Jiaci and Li hexagram Xiangci have "princes".The words "Tianxia" are often used, such as "Guan Zhong Yi Kuang Tianxia", such as "Yuji bows to the crops and the world is established", such as "Tabo three gave the world".In fact, how can there be a world in Ji?How can there be "world" for Tabor? There is "taking the world" in "Laozi", but it is just such a general term. Why is it strange? "Tianxia" and "Wang" can be used, why can't "Lord of Ten Thousand Vehicles" be used alone?It can be generally said that "the country of a thousand vehicles", why can't "Laozi" be said to be "the lord of ten thousand vehicles"? (He Shanggong's note: "The Lord of Ten Thousand Vehicles is called the King.") Those who hold this kind of argument often have a "consciousness of the times" prejudice in their hearts.This kind of prejudice is the most harmful thing.The age of Confucius was the time when the feudal lords were making great efforts, so how can we talk about "inaction"?However, Confucius praised "government by doing nothing" and advocated the politics of "respect and simplicity".Where is the sense of the times?