Xiang'er Commentary on the Laozi老子想尔注

Also known as

Xiang'er Commentary on the Dao Chapters of the Laozi, Xiang'er Commentary

Author / transmission

Zhang Lu

Period

Late Eastern Han · Traditionally attributed to Zhang Daoling or Zhang Lu; most scholars hold it originated with the Wudoumi Dao at the end of the Eastern Han, around the late 2nd to early 3rd century. The original text was lost for a long time; only the Dunhuang fragment S.6825 (upper scroll, chapters 3–37) survives.

Canon division

Dongshen section, Jade Instructions category (outside the canon)

Collected in

Outside the canon (not included in the Zhengtong Daozang; preserved in the Dunhuang manuscript S.6825, now held in the British Library).

Category

Daoist Philosophy

Fascicles

Originally two scrolls; only part of the first scroll survives

Synopsis

The Xiang'er Commentary on the Laozi is the early Way of the Celestial Masters' (Wudoumi Dao) religious commentary on the Daodejing, and the key document through which Daoism transformed Laozi's philosophy into theology and monastic precepts. The commentary personifies the Dao as the Supreme Venerable Sovereign (Taishang Laojun), stating that 'dispersed in form it becomes qi, gathered in form it becomes the Supreme Venerable Sovereign,' and demands that believers 'observe the precepts of the Dao' and 'bind their essence to form spirit,' seeking longevity and immortality through accumulating good deeds and honoring the Dao's precepts, while opposing vulgar sacrifice and deviant bedchamber techniques; it also makes 'Daoicized' alterations to the wording and readings of the scripture. As for the title 'Xiang'er,' one tradition holds it to be the name of an immortal, another that it refers to 'contemplating (xiang)' the Dao's precepts. Priests were still known to recite it in the early Tang, after which it was lost, only to resurface when a fragmentary manuscript was discovered in the Dunhuang scripture cave in 1900. Rao Zongyi's Laozi Xiang'er zhu jiaozheng is the standard critical edition, and the text is a primary source for the study of early Daoist doctrine, organization and precepts.

Key Ideas

• The Dao is the Supreme Venerable Sovereign, transformed by qi into spirit
• Honoring the Dao's precepts and accumulating merit through good deeds to attain longevity
• Binding one's essence and guarding it oneself; treasuring essence and cherishing qi
• Criticism of false techniques and sacrifice to ghosts and spirits
• A religious interpretation that treats the scripture's text as a set of precepts

Structure

The surviving fragment preserves the Dao Classic from chapter 3, 'Not seeing what may be desired,' through chapter 37, with line-by-line commentary; the commentary and scripture text run together without separation.

Editions

• Dunhuang manuscript S.6825
• Rao Zongyi, Laozi Xiang'er zhu jiaozheng (Shanghai Guji Chubanshe, 1991)
• Zhonghua Daozang, vol. 9

Translations

• Stephen Bokenkamp, English translation in Early Daoist Scriptures (1997)

Full Text & Online Resources

• Wikipedia: Xiang'er Commentary on the Laozi
• CTEXT: search

Related scriptures

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