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Excerpt from The Sayings of Lao Tzu: Translated From the Chinese
The mention of this Classic, or Treatise of the Way and of Virtue (as it may be translated for want of better English equivalents), brings us naturally to the vexed question as to whether the text which has come down to us can really be attributed to the'hand of Lao Tzii, or whether it is not rather a garbled and unauthorised com pilation of his sayings, or even the mere forgery of a later age. The Chinese themselves, it may be remarked, are almost unanimous in denying its authenticity. It has been urged that we must make allowance here for Confucian bias but the internal evidence alone should suffice to dispel the notion, to which many eminent sinologues have clung, that the Tao TE Ching in its present form can possibly represent the actual work of Lao Tzii. On the other hand, it is highly probable that much of it is substantially what he said orwrote, though carelessly collected and pieced to gether at random. Ssi'l ma Ch'ien, who published his history in 91 b.c and was consequently removed from Lao Tzii by a much longer period than we are from Shakespeare, tells us that the Sage wrote a book of five thousand and odd words; and, indeed, by that time the Tao Té Ching may possibly have existed in something like its present shape. But anyone who reflects on the turbulent condition of China during the intervening centuries, and the chaotic state of primitive literature before the labours of Con fucius, to say nothing of the Burning of the Books in 213 b.c., will find it hard to convince himself that Ssh-ma Ch'ien ever had before him the actual writings of the philosopher.
Arbitrary and confused though the arrange ment of the Tao T2 Ching appears, it is possible to trace a coherent line of thought throughout the whole. And although no coiner of paradox on such an extensive scale as Lao ti could hope to achieve absolute and invariable consistency, it is easy to see that the Tao T2 Ching is something more than a mere jumble of stray aphorisms that it is, in fact, the well-denned though rudi mentary outline of a great system of tran scendental and ethical philosophy. That this magnificent scheme of thought never reached its full expression in Lao Tzii' us treatment is largely due to the fact that he was perpetually struggling to convey his ideas through the medium of a language still imperfectly developed, and forming an inadequate vehicle for abstruse philosophical conceptions. This, too, combined with an extraordinary conciseness OI diction, Is the cause of the obscurity which hangs over several portions of the text, and which the labours of innumer able commentators have done very little to clear away. To the wide scope thus afforded for the imagination we owe the startling discoveries, in the body of the work, of the Doctrine of the' Trinity, and of the Hebrew word for Jehovah, thinly disguised in its Chinese dress. Sad to say, both of these once famous theories are now totally discredited.
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This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
The mention of this Classic, or Treatise of the Way and of Virtue (as it may be translated for want of better English equivalents), brings us naturally to the vexed question as to whether the text which has come down to us can really be attributed to the'hand of Lao Tzii, or whether it is not rather a garbled and unauthorised com pilation of his sayings, or even the mere forgery of a later age. The Chinese themselves, it may be remarked, are almost unanimous in denying its authenticity. It has been urged that we must make allowance here for Confucian bias but the internal evidence alone should suffice to dispel the notion, to which many eminent sinologues have clung, that the Tao TE Ching in its present form can possibly represent the actual work of Lao Tzii. On the other hand, it is highly probable that much of it is substantially what he said orwrote, though carelessly collected and pieced to gether at random. Ssi'l ma Ch'ien, who published his history in 91 b.c and was consequently removed from Lao Tzii by a much longer period than we are from Shakespeare, tells us that the Sage wrote a book of five thousand and odd words; and, indeed, by that time the Tao Té Ching may possibly have existed in something like its present shape. But anyone who reflects on the turbulent condition of China during the intervening centuries, and the chaotic state of primitive literature before the labours of Con fucius, to say nothing of the Burning of the Books in 213 b.c., will find it hard to convince himself that Ssh-ma Ch'ien ever had before him the actual writings of the philosopher.
Arbitrary and confused though the arrange ment of the Tao T2 Ching appears, it is possible to trace a coherent line of thought throughout the whole. And although no coiner of paradox on such an extensive scale as Lao ti could hope to achieve absolute and invariable consistency, it is easy to see that the Tao T2 Ching is something more than a mere jumble of stray aphorisms that it is, in fact, the well-denned though rudi mentary outline of a great system of tran scendental and ethical philosophy. That this magnificent scheme of thought never reached its full expression in Lao Tzii' us treatment is largely due to the fact that he was perpetually struggling to convey his ideas through the medium of a language still imperfectly developed, and forming an inadequate vehicle for abstruse philosophical conceptions. This, too, combined with an extraordinary conciseness OI diction, Is the cause of the obscurity which hangs over several portions of the text, and which the labours of innumer able commentators have done very little to clear away. To the wide scope thus afforded for the imagination we owe the startling discoveries, in the body of the work, of the Doctrine of the' Trinity, and of the Hebrew word for Jehovah, thinly disguised in its Chinese dress. Sad to say, both of these once famous theories are now totally discredited.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author:
Laozi (also Lao-Tzu or Lao-Tze, Chinese: 老子; pinyin: Lǎozǐ, lit. "Old Master") was an ancient Chinese philosopher and writer. He is known as the reputed author of the Tao Te Ching and the founder of philosophical Taoism, and as a deity in religious Taoism and traditional Chinese religions. Although a legendary figure, he is usually dated to around the 6th century BC and reckoned a contemporary of Confucius, but some historians contend that he actually lived during the Warring States period of the 5th or 4th century BC. A central figure in Chinese culture, Laozi is claimed by both the emperors of the Tang dynasty and modern people of the Li surname as a founder of their lineage. Laozi's work has been embraced by various anti-authoritarian movements as well as Chinese Legalism.
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- PublisherForgotten Books
- Publication date2018
- ISBN 10 1330618688
- ISBN 13 9781330618684
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages57
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Print on Demand. Excerpt from The Sayings of Lao Tzu. About the Publisher, Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. This text has been digitally restored from a historical edition. Some errors may persist, however we consider it worth publishing due to the work's historical value. The digital edition of all books may be viewed on our website before purchase. print-on-demand item. Seller Inventory # 9781330618684_0
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