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Summary

This book by professor Alexei Maslov, head of the Department of World History of Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia and leading researcher of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of Russian Academy of Sciences is the first comprehensive Russian-language introduction to the initial stage of the development of Taoism both for scholar and the general reader. In this splendid account in vivid detail, A. Maslov describes the formation of the most famous text of early Taoism “Tao te jing” (The canon of Way and Its Charisma”) and the life o Lao-zi considered as a founder of Taoism.


This work consists of three main parts. The first part is the deep analysis of the life of Lao-zi and “Tao te jing” as well as the historical reconstruction of the original part of this text. The second part includes the complete translation of “Tao te jing” with textological commentaries and interpretation of some archaic notions and terms. The third part includes the partial translation of the text of “Wen-zi” (The Sage of Culture” or “The Sage of characters”) that is ascribed to one of the close disciple or follower of Lao-zi but factually represents the wide compendium of Taoist thought of 3 c.


The existence of Lao-zi as historical person is dubious for a wide range of scholar from middle ages till now. They arguing mainly from two points: one is the inconsistency among the speeches of Lao Zi in the different records, the other concerns the reliability of the source about his life and many contradictions in dates and events. The present work argues that Lao-zi was a real figures that lived at 6-5 cc BC.


Actually "Shiji" by Sima Qian mentions several people that can be identified with Lao-zi, the author of "Tao te jing": Lao Dan (Dan is written in two different ways) and the Grand Historian Dan. In spite of Sima Qian uncertainty about the author of “Tao t jing” he had no doubt about the existence of such person. We think that there were three different persons but because of the same spelling of their names they have been confused as the same person. The author of “Tao te jing” was Lao Dan who lived at the end of Spring and Autumn period and Grand Historian Dan probably was Lao Dan's descendant.


All things considered, this study asserts that Lao-zi was a keeper of the archives in Zhou state and the contemporary of Confucius. The private names of Lao-zi were Dan and Er. In distinct from traditional version Lao in the name of Lao-zi was not a nickname (“Old sage”) but a surname, later changed to Li. The native place of Lao Zi was a Chu state. One day he had moved to Zhou state that at that time was a center of cultural life and ritual activities. In Zhou he had received a position of an archivist (keeper of the archive). It proves that Lao-zi at that time considered as absolutely traditional official closely related to the ritual knowledge and teaching of the ancestors. Therefor Confucius went to Zhou to consult with Lao-zi about rituals. The version about contradiction between Taoists and Conficianists in the field of ritual is the late addition while at 6-5 c. BC it was a common teaching about the natural rituals, so say rituals that come from the heart but not from the scriptures.


It is impossible to make any affirmation about the family and children of Lao Dan. The only person mentioned as his son Zong (or Duangan Zong) was the son of Grand Historian Dan that lived in 4 c. BC. The luck of family of Lao Dan can be explained as the late transformation of the figure of Lao Dan that brings to life a quasi-mythological Lao-zi or Lao-jun (“The governor Lao”).


Lao-zi belonged to the social class generally named shi that was a small group of aristocrats, officials, small broken houses propagated the idealistic doctrines of mystical harmony in the State copied from the harmony of Tao or Heaven. They have a very strong sense of social responsibility and hey gave some hope that they can affect to the way of ruling by there sayings. Shi sometimes have no official position or just temporary one and traveled from state to state like Lao-zi moved from native Chu to Zhou.


Lao-zi aspired to provide a new formation for the crumbling sociopolitical order he saw around him and ruled primarily of the idea of universal charisma or benevolence (te) produced by Tao and received by the ruler or by the sage. For Laoists ruler and the sage become the same person unifies as the earthy image of heavenly Way (Tao).

Generally speaking, “Tao te jing” express the common view of the school called here ‘laoism’ according to the name of its creator. Actually we know almost nothing about the representatives of this school and followers of Lao-zi. Probably some disciples can be named like Ying Xi, Wen-zi, and some Li however it is impossible to prove the direct relation between these peoples and Lao-zi.


It is rather difficult to interpret the doctrinal foundation of Laoism just according of one scripture. Probably laoist first arrived at some metaphysical cosmogonic theories and then used these theories as a basic foundation on which to build the rest of there thought and there approaches to practical problem. At that way every paragraph of the scripture represent the mixed of the metaphysical archaic sayings mainly related to the occult shaman view and the implantation of this view to the state governing and harmonization of the people. From that point of view “Tao te jing” can be considered as a collection of wise advises to the governor based on the ‘wisdom from the old ages’.


The work by professor A. Maslov provides a reconstruction of the original version of “Tao te jing" named here the nucleonic part of the text or agrafa (collection of sayings of various schools). This work provides good evidence to support the traditional opinion concerning the date of the “Tao te jing” which comes also from Sima Qian over two thousand years ago and this study holds that Lao Dan did write a “Tao te jing” a the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, i.e., in the sixth to fifth century BC.


The composition of “Tao te jing” is very complicated and can be understood only if we take into consideration that text includes different part by time and probably by place. The analysis of the origins of some saying shows us some very important points for understanding the early stage of the raising of Taoism. The nucleonic part of the text is completely based on the shamanistic views and rituals of the Chu state and in this way represents the most archaic part of the scripture.


The place of origin of the nucleonic part of the text is the state of Chu that was famous by it shamanictic tradition and occult rituals. It is impossible to completely verify the initiate part of the text. But following the analyze of the structure ant the rhythm patterns of the text it is possible to say that the central part of the text (folk and ritual saying) belongs to Chu tradition and stay close to “Chu ci” (“The poems of Chu”). In some sayings the book has used Chu dialects and demonstrates acquaintance with the customs of Chu. The later part represented by laosists’ commentaries and interpretation was created in Zhou state.


Generally speaking the “Tao te jing” is an anthology of once independent chapter collages. However “Tao te jing” is the scripture from one person's hand rather than many. But it would be incorrect to argue that Lao-zi was the author of “Tao te jing” but just a compiler of the text from folk saying, ritual prayers, incarnations and some parts of the text that were already lost. At the same time Lao-zi was a commentator of some mystical parts of the text trying bring the text closer to aristocracy. This scripture had also later additions in the process of transmission.


At the first stage the text was transmitted only as an oral tradition that didn’t belong to any separate school or person. Probably some sayings circulated among shi as precepts of old sages. The nucleonic sayings were proverb like aphorisms and were not always connected to some mystical schools while the majority of them were mere folk proverbs or seasonal agricultural cult’s formulas. Some sayings look like a common proverbs against overextending oneself, to admire only impressive appearances, etc. These saying were not classified and were written down in the bamboo sleeps without any special order just like a collection of old wisdom and apophothegms. This collection (agrafa) was a basis for the central part of “Tao te jing”. The early sayings of this agrafa were connected to such notions as “One” (later underhanded as synonym of Tao”), “sacral female”, “mother of the world”, “new-born child”, etc.


The second stage is characterized by the theme of apophatic meditation, so say the meditation on the “emptiness”. This part includes sayings about “self-closing” (“Close your eyes, shoot your doors”), “understanding the world without any step outside” and the group of saying related to self-cultivation that is probably is the most original part of the text. Finally, the last stage of the rising of “Tao te jing” is represented by the commentaries of Lao-zi and his followers. This commentaries were integrated inside the main nucleonic text and for the later generations assimilated as a unified book.


The original “ Tao te jing” is different from the classical version which we possess today. The analysis of the present work and the recent discovery of the Bamboo Slips of “Tao te jing” in two thousand characters does prove that the text did exist in the middle of the Warning States Period. Before the late discovery of the “Tao te jing” version in bamboo slips in 1994 from Jingmen, the earliest edition we possessed today was the Mawangdui silk texts which date from 2 c. BC. Most likely two version of Mawandui texts, e.g. book A and Book B are originated from two different traditions. The initial version that lays on the basis of the present day “Tao te jing” consisted approximately of just two thousand characters and was in general similar to the version of the Mawangdui text but mush shorter. At the same time late discoveries cannot completely solve the problem of dating the “Tao te jing”. Obviously Mawangdui silk texts and the classical versions of “Tao te jing” were developed from the version on bamboo slips, however it is difficult to say whether they were all developed from the same initial version of Bamboo Slips. An analysis of the vocabulary of the “Tao te jing”, style, rhythm patterns and interpretation of some key notions prove that the text stemming from the end of Spring and Autumn Period, i.e.. in the 6th c. BC and the systematization of “Tao te jing” indicates a single author.


There are a lot of contemporary references to the Lao-zi and it shows the active polemic between philosophical school of that time. It is impossible to prove whether the scripture already existed at 6-5 cc. BC as a complete book or just as a non-classified collection of sayings but it obvious that all these sayings were already connected with the person of Lao-zi and weren’t just anonymous proverbs. According to the citation in 5-4 cc. BC of “Tao te jing” at that time this text was at completed for one half at least.