『노자』 ‘嗇’개념과 ‘早服’개념에 관한 주석사적 고찰 (1)

Abstract

In this paper, I examined the way how the concepts of Se[嗇] and Zaofu[早服] in Laozi(at the chapter 59) was defined and developed during the history of interpretations on Laozi. In these days, most researchers, interpreters and exegetists of Laozi, defines the Se[嗇] as saving or cherishing and the Zaofu[早服] as returning to Dao[the Way] or submitting to Dao[the Way]. This seemed to be a sort of proper interpretations because they try to look through almost every meanings in commentaries on Laozi, and to include all of them. For this reason, however, they often ignore the philosophical context of commentaries representing different periods, when they try to give an explanation on these concepts. I found the profound change and development on the meanings of these concepts since Song China, and give my special attention to the context. Prior to Song dynasty, there also are some different meanings under different philosophical contexts. For instance, I reviewed these concepts in excavated manuscripts at the Guodian and at Mawangdui, in explanation of Chapter Jielao, Hanfeizi, and in the commentaries of Wanbi and Heshanggong. As a result, I grasped and categorized their main context of the concepts, as the theory of politics and of self-cultivation. In addition, reviewing the commentaries since Song dynasty, I classified their contexts as Song self-cultivation theory based on Neo-Confucianism, syncretism between three religions, understanding based on modern science.