The Study Of Xiang’er Annotation On Laozi From The Perspective Of Hermeneutics

Xiang’er Annotation on Laozi(hereinafter referred to as Xiang’er Annotation)is unearthed in the in the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes in the late Qing Dynasty,which is an interpretation of Laozi from a Taoist perspective,it has always been recognized as a classic by the interior of Taoism.After it was discovered and studied,those problems including the date,author,thoughts and methods of interpreting have been discussed by scholars.On this basis,This paper will study Xiang’er Annotation from the perspective of hermeneutics.Xiang’er Annotation is named of annotation,but it actually illustrates relevant thoughts of Taoism.The generation of Xiang’er Annotation is closely related to the historical background.In terms of the social thoughts,the belief of immortality and becoming immortal prevailed in the Han Dynasty,and Yin-yang disaster is the cognitive structure of Han Dynasty.In the Eastern Han Dynasty,divination theology became an official ideology with the support of the rulers.The mysticism thoughts of Han dynasty gave birth to the soil of thoughts for the appearance of Xiang’er Annotation.In the aspect of Laotse’s doctrines,learning about the Emperor Huang and Lao Tzu in the early Han Dynasty was the means by which the monarch controls his ministers in the political arena,and then the thought turned to the field of philosophy of life and merged with mysticism to focus on immortality and becoming immortal.At the same time,the image of Laozi also changed from "man" to "God".He was no longer a sage with extensive knowledge and the realm of transcendence,but a deity whose life is equal to heaven and earth,and even the creator of the universe.Xiang’er Annotation have two parts,Including the Laozi version and annotations:In the case of the Laozi version,this text has similarities and differences with other versions in terms of text structure and specific words.Except that some of the literal differences are caused by the conscious actions of the author of Xiang’er Annotation.The other characters and chapter structures in similarities and differences reflect the transitional characteristic of Laozi text evolution from ancient to present.From the perspective of annotations,Xiang’er Annotation is not closely related to the text of Laozi.Because its purpose is not to annotate Laozi’s philosophical thoughts objectively,but to educate all groups from the emperor to the common people,especially the most ordinary people.Based on this orientation,the interpretation style is based on clauses rather than chapters.In this way,it can dismember the meaning of the whole chapter by disconnecting the context within the chapter,and better express their opinions.How do Xiang’er Annotation interpret it?In terms of annotation strategy,on the one hand,on the one hand,Xiang’er Annotation introduce secular values and mystical theories.It uses secular values to explain the good and the evil,the virtues of loyalty,filialness,benevolence,righteousness in Laozi.And using mystical theories to explain the problems of politics and life.In this way,it is easy to make the thoughts of Xiang’er Annotation coincide with the mainstream values.So It is easier for the ruling class and the people to perceive,acknowledge and accept-At the same time,it tally with the nature of Xiang’er Annotation,so it is convenient to interpret religious rather than philosophical ideas;On the other hand,Xiang’er Annotation takes the wishes of long lives to connect "life","Tao" and "human".Lao-tzu’s life principles of "imitate Tao" and"imitate nature" is transform into the life goal of "imitate Tao can lead to eternal life".The "Tao" is connected with the human world by "Tao’s precepts",the author deified the immaterial but objective Tao said by Laozi,and issue various rules of behavior to the human world in the form of Tao’s precepts.There are two main types of specific interpretation methods:the creation of difference from the existing content and the creation from nothing.In the first case,the author takes the metaphors,characters and words from the interpreted text as the research object,and makes the interpretation in accordance with his "Vorurteile" and the meaning of philology rather than the original meaning of Laozi.Sometimes the author will reconstruct the subject of the text and use it as a starting point to expand the annotation.In the second case,sometimes the author doesn’t even utilize the text of Laozi,and directly fills the object explained with his own thoughts.Or directly annotate the object explained in a long-winded way,regardless of the textual or logical connection between them.Finally,through the annotation of Laozi,Xiang’er Annotation explains the religious thought with "Believe in Tao" as the core.In terms of objects of Laozi,from the first person perspective of Laozi,Xiang’er Annotation combines Laozi,"I" and"me" with the metaphysical "Tao",thus deifying Laozi as Lord Lao Zi;In terms of political dimension,on the basis of Laozi’s thought of "governing by doing nothing",Xiang’er Annotation takes "Believe in Tao" as the premise to realize Laozi’s political idea.At this point,the ruler is not so much a political head of state as a religious leader;In terms of life,Xiang’er Annotation denied the truth of death,and theoretically demonstrates the rationality and possibility of living,and then put forward the pursuit of immortal life goal.