Tao Teh Ching: Inconsistancies

I’ve been taking the lazy man’s approach to researching the 道德經 (Tao Teh Ching) by listening to this lecture found on youtube:

And this is where the dilemma with ancient texts begin…

You see, after years and years of hand-copying a classic like this, some inconsistent variations have come about.

故能蔽不新成 vs 故能蔽而新成


According to the lecturer 李中華, cited a passage as 「故能蔽而新成」(03:13:04).
But CText.org has it as 「故能蔽不新成」.

I did a quick search, and found these entries:
http://xuqing111.blogspot.com/2012/07/blog-post_16.html
http://www.daodejing.org/15.html

Both acknowledged the existence of the other passages, but didn’t exactly say why they think one is the definitive answer over the other. Very of them to do.

不知有之 vs 下知有之


Then there are the other inconsistencies…
「下知有之」=The [common] people at the base know of him [the leader]
「不知有之」=They did not know of him [the leader]

http://www.chineseclassic.com/content/1687
Has it as 「下知有之」. However…
http://blog.xuite.net/erickhera.tw/nomore/209678743-徐培剛向老子請道,(道德經)第十七章心得】「太上,不知有之。其次,親而譽之。其次,畏之。其次,侮之。信不足焉,有不信焉。悠兮其貴言,功成事遂,百姓皆謂我自然。 has it as 「不知有之」, which matches what Mr. 李中華 said in his lecture. However, he also acknowledged in his lecture, of the former example. And, that site with a non-SEO-friendly URL also had a picture of the passage using 下 instead of 不.



故令有所屬:見素抱樸,少私寡欲。

絕學無憂,唯之與阿,相去幾何? CText
or
故令有所屬:見素抱樸,少私寡欲,絕學無憂。

唯之與阿,相去幾何? 李中華

The other problem with the Chinese language, is the lack of punctuation and spacing. Until the 20th century, when language reform took place, there was none of that. Everybody understood the texts “in context”.

Which is why we’re not sure where that phrase 「絕學無憂」is supposed to go. Even those commas, periods, spaces and colons featured above are estimates to help modern scholars take in words better, but can basically be moved around to get another meaning.

我獨怕兮其未兆;如嬰兒之未孩… 沌沌兮,俗人昭昭,我獨昏…衆人皆有以,而我獨頑CText
or
我獨泊兮其未兆;沌沌兮如嬰兒之未孩… ,俗人昭昭,我獨昏…衆人皆有以,而我獨頑李中華

Then, there’s the next line, where every line has one word different:
CText
or
李中華

I guess both can be used as “only”, but 唯 may also be used under certain contexts as an affirmative (which in this line, it doesn’t). 惟 can be used as a contrasting conjunction “but”, or can mean to “think” (as in 思維/思惟).

故道大,天大,地大,亦大 CText
or
故道大,天大,地大,亦大 李中華

Now at this point, this is where I start to question the copy that CText has. Because their passage has 王 (King) being of great importance, while 李中華 has 人 as one of the big elements. The latter would actually seem to be fitting of what everyone knows as 老子 (Lao Tau)‘s classical liberalism. So putting a 王 (King) –the symbol of hierarchy and power– as opposed to the common 人 (people) would go against this ideal.

And in this following passage…
重為輕根,靜為躁君。是以聖人終日行不離輜重。雖有榮觀,燕處超然。奈何萬乘之主,而以身輕天下?輕則失本,躁則失君。
The portion that’s crossed out is interesting. Because the origins of 老子 have been a mystery. No one knows for sure who this guy is or where he was born. However, within the crossed-out passage, there’s a reference to 萬乘 (10,000 chariots). This would have meant that he couldn’t have been an early 春秋 (Spring-Autumn) Period, which was the earlier half of the 東周 (Eastern Zhou) dynasty. To have as many as 萬乘 (10,000 chariots), would mean it couldn’t have been the early stages of that period, where there was a lot of little countries; it had to be the 戰國時代 (Warring States Period), where most of the small countries were defeated, and absorbed into other nations, where fighting was fierce and required that sort of manpower. UNLESS, you believe that the words that were struck out were actually from 韓非 (Han Fei)‘s 喻老 (Lao Tau Annotations) that somehow made it into the original.

知其白,守其 CText
or
知其白,守其 李中華

黑 辱 Even though one literally means “black” and the other literally means “to insult/disgrace”, in this case, the latter word carries connotations towards the color black, so the meaning is the same according to 李中華.

將欲取天下而為之,吾見其不得已。天下神器,不可為也,為者敗之,執者失之。物或行或隨;或歔或吹;或強或羸;或挫或隳。是以聖人去甚,去奢,去泰。 CText
or
將欲取天下而為之,吾見其不得已。天下神器,不可為也,[不可執也。]為者敗之,執者失之。[是以聖人無為,故無敗;無執,無失。 物或行或隨;或歔或吹;或強或羸;或挫或隳。是以聖人去甚,去奢,去泰。 李中華



Now, we have the same passage, but back to the punctuation issue again…
大道兮,其可左右 CText
or
大道兮,其可左右 李中華

And here’s another one-word difference:
道常無名。樸雖小,天下莫能臣也。
萬物恃之而生而不辭,功成不名有。
衣養萬物而不為主,常無欲,可名於小 CText
or
道常無名。樸。雖小,天下莫能臣也。
萬物恃之而生而不辭,功成不名有。
衣養萬物而不為主,可名於小 李中華
李中華 actually places brackets around 常無欲,, because he believes it shouldn’t be in there, but people still include it. He believes this was added later on.

And here’s another one-word difference:
昔之得一者:天得一以清;地得一以寧;
神得一以靈;谷得一以盈;
萬物得一以生;侯王得一以為天下 CText
or
昔之得一者:天得一以清;地得一以寧;
神得一以靈;谷得一以盈;
萬物得一以生;侯王得一以為天下 李中華

李中華 says the last word is 正 (Proper), but in this context, would mean to “set proper” or 安定(to settle things down). CText has it as 貞, which the original meaning was to 卜問 (request a divination), which is done in “purity” rituals, so it carries the connotation of “pure”. So it would be “to make pure”.

and it goes on with
地無以寧,將恐發 (If the earth isn’t calm, it will explode/go to waste)
Written as 發 “faat” (explode, shoot out), but most people believe that it was the precursor word to 廢 (cripple) as in 荒廢 (lay waste).

It then follows on with
侯王無以高將恐蹶。 CText
or
侯王無以高將恐蹶。 李中華
Within the same section, 李中華 maintains that it is 正, while CText has it as 貴 (high value).

Then these two passages are in different orders…
上德若谷;太白若辱;廣德若不足;
建德若偷;質真若渝;大方無隅;
大器晚成;大音希聲;大象無形;
道隱無名。夫唯道,善貸且成。 CText
and
上德若谷;廣德若不足;建德若偷;
質真若渝;太白若辱;大方無隅;
大器晚成;大音希聲;大象無形;
道隱無名。夫唯道,善貸且成。 李中華
One passage goes out of place, and it throws the whole thing off.

Then, in the line that starts off on harmony, it goes on with the following phrase:
人之所惡,唯孤、寡、不穀,而王公以為稱。故物或損之而益,或益之而損。人之所教,我亦教之。強梁者不得其死,吾將以為教父。
However, it doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of that passage, and seems to fit more the passage before. So some people wonder if it was originally text from elsewhere, or false words inserted. Can’t be sure.

Then, a couple lines down, there’s this…
躁勝寒靜勝熱 CText
and
靜勝躁,寒勝熱 李中華
From “constant action overcoming cold, and quietness overcoming heat” to “quietness overcomes constant action, while the calm cold wins over the heat”

不見而 (Without seeing, one can name the item) CText
and
不見而 (Without seeing, one can understand it) 李中華

無遺身殃;是為CText
and
無遺身殃;是為李中華

大道甚夷,而好徑 CText
and
大道甚夷,而好徑 李中華
According to 李中華, whenever 老子 referred to common folk, he used the term 民 (folk, citizens). When he was referring to rulers, he used 人 (person/people). 好徑=love to take shortcuts. He also makes a comment on this phrase in the same section:
服文綵,帶利劍,厭飲食,財貨有餘;是謂盜. (The magistrates wear ornamented robes, carry sharp swords, pamper themselves in eating and drinking, and have a superabundance of property and wealth; – such people may be called giant robbers)
Where some believe it’s not 夸 (great, big, exaggerated), but 竽 (a flute) can also fit the bill, because a flute is a musical device used to lead soldiers into battle, as such, you would be “leading people to become robbers” in the case of the above sentence.

Next line…
善建不拔,善抱者不脫,子孫以祭祀不輟 CText
and
善建不拔,善抱者不脫,子孫以祭祀不輟 李中華

Then as it goes on…
修之於,其德乃豐 … 故以身觀身,以家觀家,以鄉觀鄉,以 CText
and
修之於,其德乃豐 … 故以身觀身,以家觀家,以鄉觀鄉,以 李中華



者下流,天下之交,天下之牝 CText
and
者下流,天下之牝,天下之交 李中華
邦 & 國 can be interchangeable in this context, but the other two phrases are switched. The rest of the section has the same differences in words.

知不知上;不知知病
夫唯病病,是以不病。
聖人不病,以其病病,是以不病。 CText
and
知不知,上;不知知,病
聖人不病,以其病病,
夫唯病病,是以不病。 李中華

In the very first line of the section, it’s the same, but the punctuation and emphasis changes the meaning. After that, there’s one portion that gets repeated twice above, and is put in a different order than what’s below.

和大怨,必有餘怨; {After reconciling animosity, some will still remain}
安可以為善? (What’s the best course of action?)
是以聖人執左契*,而不責於人。 (The sage keeps the left copy of an engagement contract, and doesn’t require the speedy repayment of the other party.)
有德司契,無德司徹**。(If he has virtue, he would use a debt contract. If he has no virtue, he exacts taxes and rent.)
天道無親,常與善人。 (The heavenly way is not close/prejudice, it is always kind to everyone.) CText
and
和大怨,必有餘怨;
抱怨以德,安可以為善? (Repaying animosity with virtue, how could that be the best course of action?)
是以聖人執左契*,而不責於人。
有德司契,無德司徹**
天道無親,常與善人。 李中華

Professor 李中華 believes that 以德報怨 (which is in 第六十三章[Section 63]) should actually be in this section (第七十九章/Section 79), as per 陳鼓應’s version. Mr. 李中華 says it’s likely that it was later generations that misplaced that phrase in Section 63. He also says that “是以聖人執左契*,而不責於人。” (issuing engagement contracts, and not asking for immediate repayment) is the way to avoid any hatred/animosity. I personally don’t think it will prevent animosity necessarily, but do think it’s a way to prevent further animosity from getting beyond anyone’s control.
*契=A contract. Originally with the terms and conditions carved in wood or bamboo, and cut in half. The right copy would remain with the issuer (expromissor), and the left copy is given to the creditor/borrower. The debt issued, will be paid at a later date, settled upon by both parties.
**徹=Is another taxation system the nobility has placed on farmers, with specific dates and deadlines that MUST be met, and are nowhere near as flexible as 契.
————-
契 & 徹: Collecting money with 契 is not as strict as taking payments under 徹. Although there is usually a payment date set with 契,
老子 is saying it doesn’t have to be strictly enforced. 徹 on the other hand, requires means the nobility will strictly come after you for rent, and for using the owner’s land to have the rights to farm (agricultural indentured servitude).

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