The Craft of a Chinese Commentator
Wang Bi on the Laozi
1st Edition
Published on 1. February 2012
372 pages
978-0-7914-9338-0 (ISBN)
Description
A systematic study of Wang Bi's (226-249) commentary on the Laozi, this book provides the first systematic study of a Chinese commentator's scholarly craft and introduces a highly sophisticated Chinese way of reading the Taoist classic, one that differs greatly from Western interpretations.
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Person
Rudolf G. Wagner is Professor of Chinese Studies at the Institute of Chinese Studies, University of Heidelberg, Germany. His previous books include Reenacting the Heavenly Vision: The Role of Religion in the Taiping Rebellion, The Contemporary Chinese Historical Drama: Four Studies, and Inside a Service Trade: Studies in Contemporary Chinese Prose. He received the Leibnitz Award for scholarly excellence from the German Research Foundation in 1993.
Content
Preface
Introduction
1. Wang Bi: A Biographical Sketch
Wang Bi's Life
Wang Bi's Afterlife
2. The System of the Classics
A Sketch of Commentary Strategies during the Han Dynasty
3. Technique and the Philosophy of Structure: Interlocking Parallel Style in Laozi and Wang Bi
Introduction
The Discovery of Parallel Style in Western
The Problem: Molecular Coherence
Open Interlocking Parallel Style in the Laozi
Closed Interlocking Parallel Style in the Laozi
Interlocking Parallel Style in Early Texts
Interlocking Parallel Style in Wang Bi's Time
Conclusion
Scholarship
Outside the Laozi
4. Deconstructing and Constructing Meaning
The Hidden Meaning
The Implied Author and His Authority: Kongzi and Laozi
The Status of the Laozi and the Texts
Ascribed to Confucius
The Implied Reader and His Education
The Countertexts
The Homogeneity Hypothesis
The Potentiality of the Text: Comparing
Different Commentary Constructions of the Laozi
Example 1: Laozi 17.1
Example 2: Laozi 6
Example 3: Laozi 11
Conclusions
5. The Craft of Wang Bi's Commentary
Introduction
Integration of Commentary and Text
Emphatic Rejection of Other Readings
Explaining Metaphors, Similes,
Comparisons, and Symbols
Insertion of Subject
Defining Terms through Equivalence
Translating the Text
Merging Terms and Structures
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography
Subject Index
Introduction
1. Wang Bi: A Biographical Sketch
Wang Bi's Life
Wang Bi's Afterlife
2. The System of the Classics
A Sketch of Commentary Strategies during the Han Dynasty
3. Technique and the Philosophy of Structure: Interlocking Parallel Style in Laozi and Wang Bi
Introduction
The Discovery of Parallel Style in Western
The Problem: Molecular Coherence
Open Interlocking Parallel Style in the Laozi
Closed Interlocking Parallel Style in the Laozi
Interlocking Parallel Style in Early Texts
Interlocking Parallel Style in Wang Bi's Time
Conclusion
Scholarship
Outside the Laozi
4. Deconstructing and Constructing Meaning
The Hidden Meaning
The Implied Author and His Authority: Kongzi and Laozi
The Status of the Laozi and the Texts
Ascribed to Confucius
The Implied Reader and His Education
The Countertexts
The Homogeneity Hypothesis
The Potentiality of the Text: Comparing
Different Commentary Constructions of the Laozi
Example 1: Laozi 17.1
Example 2: Laozi 6
Example 3: Laozi 11
Conclusions
5. The Craft of Wang Bi's Commentary
Introduction
Integration of Commentary and Text
Emphatic Rejection of Other Readings
Explaining Metaphors, Similes,
Comparisons, and Symbols
Insertion of Subject
Defining Terms through Equivalence
Translating the Text
Merging Terms and Structures
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography
Subject Index
