This chapter corresponds to two different chapters in Wang Bi's Tao Te Ching. The full text consists of eleven sentences. The first six sentences correspond to Chapter 14 of Wang Biben, and the last five sentences correspond to the middle part of Chapter 21 of Wang Biben. The text of this chapter is based on the A version of the silk script, and has been revised after checking with various versions.
In the last chapter, Lao Tzu defined the relationship between Tao and the universe in twelve words: "The name is great, the world is great, the world is virtue, and virtue is the opposite." The profound connotation of these twelve words is that Tao is the opposite of the universe, and the relationship between Tao and the universe is the unity of opposites of "absolute" and "relative".
The opposition between "absolute" and "relative" is an asymmetric relationship. This relationship is reflected in the fact that Tao can completely cover the universe, so that the universe will never reach Tao; On the other hand, the universe cannot cover the Tao, so the Tao can penetrate the universe indefinitely. The main purpose of this chapter is to show people this asymmetric opposition and unity.
The essence of this asymmetric relationship is the difference between Tao and the universe at the species level. The universe is a "thing" and the Tao is a "super thing". Superthings are not things, but they are higher than things. Things can't perceive metathings, but metathings can be transformed into things and manipulated.
In the first paragraph of this chapter, Lao Tzu emphasized that Tao is imperceptible and has no characteristics of anything, thus drawing the conclusion that Tao is not a thing; In the second paragraph, starting from the relationship between Tao and things, Lao Tzu clarified that although Tao is not a thing, everything and its changes are the embodiment of Tao. It seems that things are Tao, Tao is a thing, and Tao and things are inseparable.
This chapter expounds a core argument of Laozi's philosophy: Tao is a kind of super-existence, which is neither existence nor non-existence in general sense. The existence of general meaning is something that people can perceive in some way, and the lack of general meaning is something that people can't perceive. However, Tao is just something that people can never perceive. Not because it doesn't exist, but because it is not a thing, but a super thing above things.
The existence of Tao was inferred by Laozi according to the principle of "unity of opposites". As long as we admit that "unity of opposites" is an axiom that transcends all existence, Tao will inevitably exist. According to the principle of "unity of opposites", Tao not only exists, but also is a kind of super-existence, which exists everywhere and always exists in the past and future. So this chapter is essentially the "ontology" of Laozi's philosophy.
Tao is immaterial, neither perceptible nor describable.
In the previous chapter, Lao Tzu used "strong worms" to refer to Tao, and also used "grabbing embroidery" to describe the invisibility of Tao. Obviously, these four words are not enough to clearly express the true face of Tao. In this chapter, Laozi further discusses the physical representation of Tao, and clarifies that Tao is not a thing, so it is imperceptible, invisible, inaudible and intangible, so people can't distinguish it from everything.
Lao Tzu said that if we use the three senses of vision, hearing and touch to distinguish the Tao, the result is that we can't see, hear or catch anything. In other words, people can never identify with Tao with their senses, so Tao can only be mixed with everything and cannot be distinguished.
Slightly hidden. "Zuo Zhuan's sixteen years of mourning for the public": "Bai Gong ran to the mountain and stumbled, but it was nothing." Du Pre-note: "Micro, hidden." Look, less reference. Fight and scratch. Yi, the original meaning of the adult carrying a big bow, knowing that it is going to be extinct, here refers to extinction. Meter, the original measurement, here refers to discrimination. Reach, reach.
Let's focus on the word "Yi" here. Yi (y), the pictograph of Yi, shoots birds with arrows tied with ropes. Therefore, the original meaning of "Yi" is "weeding out the roots". Later, it was extended from "extermination" to "pacify", so "Yi" was interpreted as "Ping" with extended meaning. "The Book of Songs Daya Sang Rou": "If chaos is not lost, the country will not die." Both "Yi" and "Min" here mean "perish", which means that the country is in chaos and the people are poor. I use "Yi" here, which means "void" by "extinction", so "Yi" is extended to "void". Zhuangzi's Journey to the North further explains this passage of Laozi ("glory" means light, "qi" means "Tao"): "You can't ask about light, you can't look at its appearance, you can't see it all day, you can't beat it." The word "nothing" refers to "micro" and "easy"; "Mo", the original meaning of the cave, is extended to deep storage, meaning "micro", while "empty" means "easy".
"Three uncountable" means that Tao cannot be distinguished from other things by three methods, and "number" means to achieve the purpose of distinguishing Tao. The unfinished meaning of this sentence is that with these three methods, it is impossible to identify Tao in all methods. Obviously, Lao Tzu first confirmed the existence of Tao, which exists but cannot be perceived. The conclusion can only be that Tao and everything are mixed together.
It is a conceptual mistake to confuse "one" with "one". In the next chapter, "Tao gives birth to everything", we will read that the relationship between Tao and Yi is the mother-child relationship, so Tao and Yi are never the same concept and must be distinguished. "Integration" emphasizes that Tao can penetrate the universe infinitely, which is an important feature of Tao's existence.
In fact, these two sentences are Lao Zi's comments on the last sentence, which is a further interpretation of the word "micro". The Tao turns a blind eye, and from the front, you can't see your face. The first generation is the face; I can't see my back from the back. Generally speaking, when an object is illuminated, there will be a bright part at the top, and when it is not illuminated, there will be a dark part at the backlight below; But Tao is not. There is no light on the top and no darkness on the bottom, which only shows that Tao is not a thing.
○○ (g○o G○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ The original meaning of the sky is on the wood, and it will be dawn soon. Wu, whose original meaning is black, is darker than metaphor. Gao, handed down from generation to generation (pronounced jiao), has the same meaning. Wu, passed down from generation to generation as an ignorant person, has the same meaning. Doubting me is Lao Tzu's exact words. This is further explained in the "Notes on Rectification in this Chapter".
Laozi said that it is imperceptible, so it can't be described in words, so it is "the rope is unspeakable." Since Tao does not have the proper characteristics of things, we can draw the conclusion that Tao is not things. This "thing" is invisible and intangible, but it exists again. It can be described as trance, indicating that it seems to be there, or it may not be there.
Rope refers to the knot of rope, which is a word replaced by rope; Rope, describing a long list of words. "Return to nothing", that is, the final conclusion is that Tao is not an object. Reply means to come to a conclusion after various attempts. "Invisible without image" refers to the shape of the Tao, and the image without image is the image of the Tao.
He interpreted "rope" as "infinite movement" and took the infinite meaning of "one son, rope (mǐn) Xi" in the Book of Songs. But this interpretation is obviously a bit off topic, which has nothing to do with the "invisibility" that Laozi focuses on here. Because the public opinion on the river is quite popular, I hereby add it.
All versions of Trance were written as Trance, which was changed to Trance in the original version for two reasons: firstly, this passage rhymes with Wu, Wu and Trance; Secondly, the next order is "trance". Therefore, the order of trance is more reasonable.
These two sentences are Laozi's conclusion on the "physical property" of Tao: 1) Tao is not a thing; 2) Tao does exist. But at that time, Lao Tzu seemed to have no more suitable noun to express this "physical property". The concept of "things are not things" put forward in Zhuangzi's Journey to the North is to express this kind of "physical property" with "things are things". The maker of things is the creator who makes things the masters of things, which also means "transcendence". "Transcendental things" are not things, but they are higher than things and contain the meaning of "maker of things", so we use the word "transcendental things" to express the "physical properties" of Tao.
In this regard, Lao Tzu gave a conclusion in the first half of this chapter: regarding Tao as a human being, Tao can neither be perceived nor described, so Tao is not a thing; But this does not mean that Tao does not exist, but people can't distinguish Tao from everything; This intangible and seemingly nonexistent feature of Tao is called "trance", which is not a thing but a physical attribute higher than it, and was later called "super-thing" by Zhuangzi.
Although the Tao is unconscious, it is everywhere, like everything in the twilight.
What is a "super thing"? Superexistence is a kind of superexistence, you can't see it, but it can enter every cell of you and manipulate every gene of you. As long as there is something, there is something beyond it. You can't perceive it, but it can penetrate you infinitely; You can't catch it, but it drives everything; You think that the sun rises and sets, but it is actually pushing the sunrise and sunset; You think you are going uphill and downhill, but you are actually helping you up and down; You think you are bringing home the bacon, but in fact you are nourishing everything. Everything seems to be self-remoulding, but in fact it is Taoism, which is the exact meaning of the following passage.
Lao Tzu said that if Tao is regarded as a kind of crop, there are similarities and differences. Unlike the above, it lacks the attributes of everything. A place like this is where it shows itself through everything, and everything has its shadow and is inextricably linked with everything. The image of a thing seems to be its honor, and what is happening seems to be its performance. If you believe these things and things, you can believe that the Tao is true.
Lao Tzu has defined what is "trance" above, that is, "formless and inanimate image". The so-called "inanimate image" is an image produced in people's minds and an invisible existence, which does not match any specific object image.
This is like mixing flour with water, putting water in it and kneading it into flour. The water is gone, and I am in a trance. Water seems to have turned into noodles, and noodles seem to be water. You want to find water in the reconciled noodles, break the noodles, break them again, and finally break them into a noodle. You still can't see the water, but in fact, the water is in the noodles. At this point, water is the surface, and the surface is the water. Although you can't see the water, you know it must be in it. This is "Tao is a thing, but only an ignorant thing." I am in a daze, but I have an image in it. It's embarrassing. There's something in it. "The images and things people see are not Tao, but they all represent Tao, just as the surface represents water.
But this is not the whole meaning of Tao's existence. Tao is still working. Are you cooking? Are you singing? Are you creating sales results? It seems to be you, but it's not you. This is all about Tao's efforts, its wisdom and its eruption. By extension, all the vicissitudes of life in the world, the reincarnation of fate, glory and dreams, and Dolor y gloria are the real masterpieces of all this. Everything is a seemingly nonexistent and seemingly empty Tao. This is "implicit and affectionate." Its feelings are real and trustworthy. "
This is the complete meaning of the omnipresence of Tao. Its theoretical basis is the principle of "unity of opposites", which is characterized by the unity of opposites between "absolute" and "relative". Its ontological significance lies in proving the existence of Tao with falsifiability who is "the unity of opposites". Its epistemological significance lies in expanding human's cognition of the world from the perceptual world to the imperceptible world, and its challenge to human's existing scientific thinking lies in the breakthrough. At all times, at home and abroad, I feel the greatness of Laozi's thought in a trance, but no one can really tell where the greatness lies. Laozi surpassed the times and everyone's cognition.
"You" is a special concept, pronounced as "seclusion" rather than "remoteness" of "My Fair Lady", but it means "emptiness" rather than "gloom". Zhuangzi Zaiqi: "Good question! Come on, I'm talking about your supreme Tao: the essence of the supreme Tao is subtle; To the extreme, it is faint and silent. " Guo Xiang's note: "I was unconscious, and everything was gone." "Hmmm" does not mean darkness, but emptiness, nothing.
"Miao, sentient beings. Its feelings are very true, including a letter handed down from generation to generation as "subtle and subtle, including essence;" "Its essence is true, and there is faith in it, but the essence in silk books A, B and Han bamboo slips is' please', and the' please' here is under the guise of' affection', not' essence'." Affection means that everything follows a certain law of change and development, just like people have emotions, "emotion" is the driving force and emotion is the appearance. Therefore, "emotion" refers to the law behind the change of things; This method can be proved and called "faith"; Because it can be verified, it is true and is called "truth." Emotion, faithfulness and truthfulness are three concepts used by Laozi and Zhuangzi to describe the relationship between Tao and things, which are more clearly expressed in Zhuangzi's The Theory of Everything.
Zhuangzi's theory of everything: "If there is no me, if there is no me, it is not desirable (to marry). It's close, too. I don't know what it's doing. So if there is a massacre, but it is not allowed, it is also feasible! Believe without seeing its shape, love without seeing its shape. A hundred skeletons, nine strokes and six treasures, live a long life, who is my relative? You all said (Yue)? Is it personal? If so, are there both men and women? Haven't their courtiers been kind enough to each other? Is it handed down from the emperor? Is there a real gentleman? If you ask for it, you will get it? No, it's useless! "
Zhuangzi said that without Tao, there would be no me, and without Tao, there would be no incarnation. This is talking about the creation of everything, and everything is the manifestation of Tao. But understanding this truth is only a general understanding, because I haven't understood how Tao works yet; This means not only knowing why, but also knowing why. Tao is the master of the world, but it has no beginning or end. Does that make sense? Of course it makes sense! Laws are invisible, but can be verified, commonly known as invisible laws. For example, people have various organs and limbs, and people are undoubtedly the owners of these organs and limbs. But do you take special care of or prefer an organ or a piece of flesh and blood? If you had this heart, would you be an official or a knight for the organ or body you love? If you look leaderless after being knighted, will you let these dignitaries take turns to govern again? No, you didn't do anything, so will these organs and flesh on your body think that your master doesn't exist? They will find out the truth and understand that you are their master? If they still don't know whether you are their master or not, will this change the fact that you are their master?
The same is true of the relationship between Tao and everything. Whether you understand or believe that Tao is the master of all things cannot change the fact that Tao is your master. Zhuangzi used three concepts: emotion, faith and truth when expounding this concept, that is, "believing without seeing its shape, feeling without seeing its shape", and "if you ask, you can get its feelings (feelings)? No, it's useless! " "Emotion" is a law hidden behind the appearance of things. Whether people realize it or not, these laws are true (true), but they will appear repeatedly. Although invisible, it can be verified (believed). As long as everything that can be verified is true, it is said to be "implicit and affectionate." Its feelings are real and trustworthy. "
Correction instructions in this chapter
1. Reorganization of relevant chapters in this chapter and its basis
This chapter consists of two different chapters in Wang Bi's Tao Te Ching. The full text consists of eleven sentences. The first six sentences correspond to Chapter 14 of Wang Biben, and the last five sentences correspond to the middle part of Chapter 21 of Wang Biben.
Wang Biben's theme in the first paragraph of chapter 14 is that Tao is imperceptible, but the last sentence suddenly deviates from the theme and talks about "Tao rules", that is, people can push forward from now on according to the unchanging law of Tao over time. According to the logic of reorganizing related topics into related arguments, the last sentence belongs to the same theme as chapter 21 of Wang Ben, which is logically connected from top to bottom, so it is moved to the latter and compiled into a new chapter.
Similarly, chapter 2 1 of Wang Bi-ben is mixed with three different themes. The first two sentences are about the abundance of virtue, the middle paragraph is about the integration with things, and the last paragraph is about the fact that Tao can push the past from the present. In the original version, the first two sentences were classified as "respecting morality and carrying things", the last paragraph as "Daoji" and the middle paragraph as this chapter.
Wang Biben's first chapter 14 and the middle chapter12 logically form the relationship between the definition of key concepts and the statement of important propositions. The first paragraph of Chapter 14 defines what is "trance", and makes it clear that Tao looks like a thing, but it is not a thing, so it is called "trance". Chapter 21 "Interruption" is a further analysis of "trance", clarifying that Tao not only exists with the world, but also is the fundamental driving force of all changes in the world, giving "trance" more specific connotation. These two paragraphs are interrelated, logically closely linked and inseparable, so the original version reorganized these two paragraphs and merged them into a new chapter.
2. Version matching, sentence selection and keyword interpretation
The following is a comparison between the original and eleven mainstream versions.
There are three main differences in the version of this passage: (1) the difference between complex sentences and simple sentences; (2) The definitions of "Wei" and "Yi" and their order in the sentence; (3) The difference between "beating" and "beating" and "beating".
(1) Discrimination between complex sentences and simple sentences;
The two versions of this silk book, A and B, have the same sentence pattern as the simplified Chinese version, with one sentence divided into two sentences, such as "I am impressed by it, my name is Xi". However, the sentences handed down from generation to generation are the same, and two sentences are simplified into one sentence, such as "I am not famous for this." There is no difference in sentence meaning between these two sentence patterns.
Laozi's original text is the former sentence pattern. "Zhuangzi Know the North Tour" also quoted Laozi's words: "Don't ask it, don't look at it, don't smell it, don't fight it." The sentence pattern of "seeing but not seeing, listening but not hearing, fighting but not getting" is the same as that of silk script A, B and Han bamboo slips.
The sentence pattern of "named Wei, named Yi" is the same as the sentence pattern of "unknown name, word for Tao". "I don't know its name, but the word' Dao' means that I am naming Dao, and this passage is exactly what I am defining' Wei' and' Yi', with the same usage and the same sentence pattern.
It is reasonable to think that the concise sentence pattern of the handed down version is the simplification of the original text of Laozi by later generations, but the simplification here has not changed the old meaning. The purpose of restoring the original version is to restore the original version of Laozi, so the former sentence pattern is chosen.
(2) The definitions of "Wei" and "Yi" and their order in the sentence:
"Micro", Lao Tzu's original text is still "number". Laozi in Chu bamboo slips: "Easy to understand, easy to understand, fragile and easy to practice." The word "several" in the sentence is "micro" today. Fan Yingyuan kept the word Laozi. Fan Yingyuan said: "Sun Deng and Wang Bi are the same ancient script. Fu: Some of them are quiet and have no image. " It can be inferred that both Wang Bi and Fu Yi wrote "number" in ancient books. Said: "A few, a little." "Ji" and "Wei" have the same meaning, and later generations changed "Ji" to "Wei" according to the meaning. "Micro" is interpreted as concealment here. Shuowen: "Micro, invisible." "Zuo Zhuan's sixteen years of mourning for the public": "Bai Gong ran to the mountain and stumbled, but it was nothing." Du Pre-note: "Micro, hidden."
"Yi", first seen in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, is a pictographic arrow wrapped with a rope, which means to shoot birds with an arrow tied with a rope. Therefore, the original meaning of "Yi" is "weeding out the roots". Later, it was extended from "extermination" to "pacify", so "Yi" was interpreted as "Ping" with extended meaning. The Book of Songs Daya Sang Rou: "There are four kinds of animals, with graceful flags. Chaos must not be lost, and the country must not be lost. When the people are frustrated, they will never recover. (Ukraine) is almost sad and the country is frequent. " Here, "Yi" and "Min" both mean "extinction".
In this chapter, Lao Tzu uses "Yi" and "Extinction" to mean "emptiness", and here "Yi" is interpreted as "emptiness". The word "Yi √ n" is used in Zhuangzi's Journey to the North, which means deep hiding, while "emptiness" means "Yi".
Therefore, according to the definitions of "Wei" and "Wei", "If you don't see it, you call it Wei" and "If you can't beat it, you call it Wei" are the correct combination words. You can't see it because you hide it, but you can't catch it because it doesn't exist. The "name" in the second edition of silk script and Han bamboo slips is called "fate", and it should be used as the word to understand "name"
The first sentence retains Fan Yingyuan's original word "self", but the word "righteousness" in the second sentence is mistaken for "behavior". Version A and version B of the silk book retain the collocation of Laozi's original text, but the word "Ji" is changed to "Wei". The word "(Wei+Er)" in version A of the silk book is a complicated word. The extended meaning of "Wei" has been adopted from generation to generation, and the extended meaning of "Yi" is "Ping", so the order of the two words is reversed, and the meaning is clear, but it is not the original text of Laozi. Ji was written as Wei today, so it was revised as Wei in the original version.
(3) The difference between "beating" and "beating" and "beating":
"Bo" is written as "Ba" in the first edition of silk, and the word "Ba" in front of the second edition of silk is a misreading remnant.
Inferred from the inscriptions on bronze inscriptions, the original meaning of "beat" is "jué", which means to grasp with claws, and later it means to beat, such as "beating drums and singing" in Shangshu Ji. "Fight", Lao Tzu here uses the original meaning of "grab", and "fight without fighting" means that you can't catch it. Quoted from Zhuangzi Zhibei Tour: "It is indisputable." Most of the books except silk books A and B are "beats", so it can be inferred that Laozi is originally a "beat". The word "one" in Jinglong Monument is a mistake of "Bo".
"Min" again, Yi Fu. Shuowen: "Hey, touch it. A glimpse. " The original meaning of "Fu" is "An" or "Press", while the original meaning of "Imitation" does not mean "Touch". "Fu" is also connected with "Fu", and the first edition of silk probably misread "Bo" as "Fu" because "Fu" is connected with "Fu".
To sum up, the original version should be "beat" instead of "beat".
The biggest difference between the original version of this paragraph and other versions is that you can't see the first one and the next one from below. The reason for moving forward to this point is that the context of the original sentence is unreasonable, but the context has been opened after the revision of the original version.
There are two differences between the original version of these two sentences and other versions: first, the word "Zhi" comes from the word "Ying" and "Sui" in the versions handed down by Wang Bi and others, and the word "Er" comes from the words "Ying" and "Sui" in the silk A and B editions and the Han bamboo slips, but there is no "Zhi" or "Er" in the Jinglong tablet edition, Cheng edition and Xiang edition. Secondly, in the two versions of Diaosi, the sentence order is reversed, but the meaning remains the same. Literally, "er" means a turning point here, and there is nothing more fluent than you; "ambition" is dispensable; "Er" and "Zhi" are different or imply that these two words were added by later generations, so they were not copied from the original version. However, the two sentences A and B in silk are reversed from the Chinese simplified version, which is contrary to idioms and is not inherited by the original version.
Another version has a significant difference, that is, the word "one" has been added to the articles of silk books A and B and Fu Yi. Literally, all three versions have more than one word, or because the word "one" in the previous sentence was misunderstood and read as "Tao", the word "one" was inserted in the text to complete the subject of the latter sentence. It is a very common conceptual mistake to confuse "One" with "Tao", which is still prevalent today. As mentioned above, the relationship between Tao and One has always been a mother-child relationship, and it is a relationship that transcends things. The "one" here refers to the integration of Tao and things, which is the core idea of this chapter. Therefore, the "one" in these three versions has been misunderstood by later generations. The word "one" in Han bamboo slips is the word "three also", which is even more incorrect.
In addition to the addition, deletion and adjustment mentioned above, there are five other important differences in this paragraph.
(1) The word "this" should be pronounced at the beginning of every sentence handed down from generation to generation, and the word "this" is often omitted in Laozi's writing. The word "San" at the beginning of a sentence in Han bamboo slips is called "San Ye", which was later copied by later generations.
(2) Records of Records are recorded in Han bamboo slips as Records of Records and handed down from generation to generation as Zhiyi. The meanings of "Zhi" and "Zhi" are the same, but the meanings of "Ji" and "Bian" are different. The original meaning measurement of "Ji" is extended to discrimination and clarification. The original meaning of "cross-examination" is cross-examination, which is extended to search, and its meaning is also very clear. But the former is more semantic than the latter, so the original text is copied from the ancient version.
(3), "so mixed as one", silk version A "mixed" as "?" ,"?" It is a variant of "mixing"; The second edition of the silk book is "mixed" with "(Zhu Jun)", which is a mistake.
(4), "It is not black if it is not on it."
"Gao" means "you" in the first edition, "Mu" in the second edition and "Wan" in the handed down edition. The original version is from Han bamboo slips, which is Gao. The meanings of "you" and "absurd" here are difficult to understand, and the meaning of "righteousness" is the same as that of "Gao". However, the word "Wan" may appear later, as evidenced by the ancient work "White Tomb".
Wu, the first edition of silk and the second edition of Xiang Er are called Hu, the second edition of silk is called Bie, and the last edition of Han bamboo slips is called Mei. Inferring from the original text, "Wu" may be the original word of Laozi. Similar to Chu seal, "Wu" is misinterpreted as "Wu" or "Ai" in silk books and Han bamboo slips, and "Wu" is also called "Hu", and "Ai" is a variant of "Mei".
The original meaning of "Wu" is black, the metaphor is dim, and the meaning is clear as opposed to "Gao". The meaning of "ignorance" is the same as that of "nothing", but it doesn't rhyme with the following "things". According to the above analysis, it is inferred that "Wu" is the original word of Laozi.
(5) "The rope is indescribable." "Rope", the silk version A and B are "seeking", the Chinese version is "standing slightly on the platform", and the handed down versions are all "rope". "Rope" refers to knotting notes, which means "word". "Rope" symbolizes a long string of words, more than a long string of explanations. The meaning of "the rope is nameless" is unclear. However, the meaning of "Xunxun" or "Taipingwei" is unclear, and the meaning of "Xunxun" or "Taipingwei" is unclear, so the word "rope" is used in the original version. Fu Yiben and Fan Yingyuan derived the word "Xi" after the word "rope", which was later added by later generations.
The main difference between the versions of this paragraph is the word "trance". In the original version, the word "trance" was changed to "trance" because it rhymes and corresponds to the following order of "only trance". Other versions should be the deformation of the word "drifting away" and will not be expanded.
In addition, the word "yes" at the beginning of a sentence is written as "yes" in this book, and it is written as "yes" in Xiangerben and Chengben, which are all mistakes.
Finally, the original version moved the sentence "I can't see its head, but I can't see its back" to the previous text for explanation.
The main differences between this paragraph and the original version are still the words "like a dream" and "in a trance", as well as the sentence pattern and the modal particle "Hu" in the last three sentences. The words "dreamlike" and "trance" are no longer explored.
"Tribal Tiger" is written in Silk Books A and B, "Ha" is written in Han bamboo slips, and "Xi" is written in handed down versions. According to the usage of words in Laozi on Chu bamboo slips, the words "ha", "yi" and "xi" in Chu bamboo slips are all used as "tiger" and "Hu", so the original version changed the modal particle to "Hu" according to this rule to conform to the original rhyme.
In the last three sentences, Wang Bi and others changed the word "zhong" to "zhong" and abandoned the modal particles at the end of the sentence, because the modal particles emphasized the similarity between "image" and "thing" here, making the semantics more accurate. I think there are no two sentences in the last three sentences, and the meaning of the text has not changed much, but it is not the original text of Laozi. In addition, the word "Xiang" at the end of this sentence in Xiangerben and Jinglong Monument is used as "Xiang", and the meaning of "Xiang" here is inaccurate and wrong.
Finally, the first sentence of "Tao is a thing" in silk books and Han bamboo slips is "Tao is a thing", omitting the word "Wei".
The difference between this paragraph and other versions mainly involves the words "qi" and "emotion". The difference between modal particles is not detailed here.
"Y (yu)" is interpreted as "empty" here, which has been explained in detail above. The word "Zi" in A-version silk book is either "Cloud+You+Zi", "Cloud+You+Zi" or "You". The second edition of Zi, a silk book, is called "You", "You" or "Lao Zi", which means "Zi". Bamboo slips in Han Dynasty are "secluded", and "secluded" is connected with "secluded".
The silk version of "Qing" and the Han bamboo version are called "Please", and the handed down version is called "Jing". Both "please" and "essence" are the mistakes of "emotion", which have been explained in detail above, so I won't repeat them here.
In addition, the word "qi" in the sentence is connected with "qi"; "yē" is a modal particle, which was added by later generations. I think that the two sentences of "Yi Xi Ming Xi, in which there is essence" were combined into one sentence in the three books of Er Ben and others, which were rewritten by later generations and based on the same idea as the previous sentence.
Appendix 1: Chapter 14 of Wang Bi's Tao Te Ching:
Appendix II: Chapter 2 1 of Wang Bi's Tao Te Ching;