國立臺灣大學政治科學論叢

Abstract / Chinese PDF Download

This article deals with the early writing of Daoist (Taoist) religion known asLaozi  Xiang’erzhu  (comprehensive  annotations  of  Laozi).We  may  rediscover  theinternal  connection  between  political  discourses  (narrated  by  Daoist  School  andConfucian School in Han dynasty) and Daoist religion by analyzing the content ofthis classical text. The thesis here is that, in general, the religious competes with andcorresponds to the political. We shall analyze the academic position of Xiang’erzhuin  Han  dynasty  and  discuss  the  epistemological  and  ontological  understandingfound  in  this  early  Daoist  religion  text.  Three  issues  that  are  dwelled  upon  inXiang’erzhu will be discussed in this article, i.e., the dialogue and linkage betweensecular  politics  and  religious  authority  ,  the  way  to  achieve  immortality  byfollowing the admonishments of Dao (Tao), and how those ideal Dao-approachingpersonalities  become  the  rulers  or  get  immortal.  Some  preliminary  comparisonsbetween Xiang’erzhu and Tai-Ping Jing that lead to general comprehension of theearly  development  of  Daoist  religion  will  be  submitted  in  the  conclusion.  In  thisarticle, I will also try to answer the following questions: “Why do scholars try to getinvolved  in  the  religious?”,  “Why  do  admonishments  of  Dao  play  the  role  asphilosophical  and  political  disciplines  do?”,  “Is  the  Confucianist  ethics  of  virtueequal  to  the  admonishments  of  Dao?”,  “How  does  the  divine  differ  from  thisworld?”  ,“How  does  the  body  interact  with  the  mind  or  the  spirit?”  ,“How  is  therelationship  between  Confucian  School  and  Daoist  School  during  the  whole  Handynasty which even lasted into Wei-Jin era?”, “Is there any similarity between thehierarchy  of  political  affairs  and  religious  affairs?”,  and  “How  does  the  bodyformation get involved in the state building process?” As a sutra of Daoist religion, Xiang’erzhu absorbs the essence inherent in thepolitical  discourses  of  both  Confucianism  and  Daoist  philosophy.  We  can  easilytrace and catch the important transition in middle-age Chinese political philosophyjust  by  analyzing  what  we  get  in  this  important  text  in  the  early  age  of  Daoistreligion.