On The Commentaries Of Tong Xuan Zhen Jing By Scholars Of Tang And Song Dynasties

The book Wen Zi was written during the last years of the "Warring States Period" of ancient China.It is a magnum opus of Taoist thinking represented by Yellow Emperor and Lao Zi.The book's rich ideas and concepts,spread from the governing of one's physical body to the governing of a state, had attracted three well known scholars from three separate dynasties making in depth commentaries. The three scholars were Xu Ling Fu of Tang Dynasty,Zhu Bian of Song Dynasty and Du Dao Jian of Yuan Dynasty.Traditionally,researches on Wen Zi were largely focused on the original text;this article is otherwise putting its attention on the well known "commentaries".The article consists of five chapters and it gives out detailed analysis on the "commentaries" of Wen Zi."Chapter One" reviews the researches and research directions of Wen Zi in history,and depicts the evolving process of Wen Zi into a new classic called Tong Xuan Zhen Jing.One central subject of the chapter is to authenticate the lineage of the book Wen Zi in history;it concluded that the versions of the book passed down within Taoism Schools and Religion were original;and the versions passed down in the general public were false.During earlier dynasties such as Tang,Song and Yuan, commentaries of Wen Zi were mainly written by Tanist scholars;while in later time such as Ming and Qing.dynasties commentaries were largely written by scholars of Confucianism schools.The origination of name Tong Xuan Zhen Jing is the key in the transition of discussion from Wen Zi to Tong Xuan Zhen Jing.Through analyzing the relationship between the term "Tong Xuan" and Lao-Zhuang(Taoist School),it identified the meanings of the term "Tong Xuan" and explained the positive effects of Wen Zi by taking on a new name as Tong Xuan Zhen Jing.The discussion of "Chapter Two" is focused on the Tong Xuan Zhen Jing:Commentary by Xu Ling Fu.By examining the location where Xu Ling Fu had made his commentary,it established a direct linkage of Xu's knowledge with the Taoist school called "Shang-Qing Nan-Yue Tian-Tai Branch".It pointed out the important roles Xu had played in the continuation of Twist knowledge during the transition period of Daoism into a formal religion.Xu had inherited the traditional Taoist views on a balanced valuation of "Form and Spirit',and he agreed that the nourishment one's spirit and purification of the mind should take a central stage during a Taoist's self perfection.Xu had believed the head of a state is the core when coming to the governance of a state;he had wished a wise Emperor who would love his people,and would lead them to a peaceful yet prosperous society as during the peak of Tang Dynasty.Commentary on Tong Xuan Zhen Jing by Zhu Bian is the central subject of "Chapter Three". Based on careful studies on the entire life of Zhu Bian,it analyzed the real reasons for Zhu Bian to make this commentary,since he was a Confucian instead of Taoist.Zhu's commentary was carefully examined and annotated before coming to the conclusion that it was written after Zhu had returned from an official trip to the State of Jin as an ambassador.Volume 4 & 7 of the commentary were directly borrowed from the commentary made by Xu Ling Fu,but with careful revision.Although Zhu Bian's commentary was not "complete" in a sense,it did provide rich ideas on how to manage a state (special in volume 5);such as the concept of "social reviving,management of chaos" and "timely change".The subject of "Chapter Four" is Tong Xuan Zhen Jing Explained written by Du Dao Jian.Du Dao Jian was a Taoist but he believed in the concept of "Unification of the Three Religions".Du believed a Taoist should retreat from the society when it is on the right track(You Dao)and come out of seclusion to service the society when it is in chaos.Du Dao Jian had promoted the ideals of "Imperatorial Way and Integrity"(Huang-dao Di-de),yet he emphasized on the concept of "Grand Unity";he believed the head of the state is the key to manage a nation and explained his view of "helping the ruler to benefit the people" from several different angles.On subjects of self cultivation, Du inherited the view of"Mind Purification" from "Mao Shan School" with the addition of concepts from Confucian such as "Perfection of the self,perfection of the family,perfection of the state" and etc;it was an unique combination of Taoist and Confucius theories.The commentaries from the three ancient writers were compared in "Chapter Five".This is the most difficult chapter of the entire article since the views of these writers must be put back in the ideological background of the time when they were created.The three commentaries shared many ideas which reflected an inheritance of knowledge among their authors;yet differences can be traced to the influences of the time and authors' individual knowledge background.Views are mainly examined and compared along three dimensions;they are "Management of the State","Self Perfection" and "Philosophical Views".On the subject of "Management of the State" the writers stroked the most agreements:they all believed that the head of the state plays the most important role of all;and believed the principle of "Dao De" should be taken as the central guideline for managing a state.They shared the agreement that using capable officials in government posts is essential,and a healthy rapport between the ruler and his people is of vital importance.Authors also elaborated on the relationships between the performance of the head of the state and the stability and prosperity of the society.One distinctive characteristic of the three commentaries was the extensive use of the knowledge system of Zhou Yi,it reflected the merging process between the Taoist knowledge system with that of the Confucian among the era of Tang and Song Dynasties.The span of time from Tang through Song to Yuan Dynasty was the period when dominating social ideology shifted from "Xuan Xue" to "Li Xue",and Taoist Self Perfection Practice shifted from making "External Elixirs" of longevity to making of "Internal Elixirs" of longevity.These changes were reflected in the commentaries that the discussions of the "Qualifies of the Mind"(Xin Xing)took important parts of the writers' attention.In general,each commentary rightly reflected the time imprint of its own,and together they presented to readers the merging of three religions from trend of ideas to a social reality.