The Old Master

<p><b>A unique translation of and commentary on the Laozi, based on the oldest edition of the work.</b></p><p>This unique, highly contextualized translation of the <i>Laozi</i> is based on the earliest known edition of the work, Text A of the Mawangdui <i>Laozi</i>, written before 202 BCE. No other editions are comparable to this text in its antiquity. Hongkyung Kim also incorporates the recent archaeological discovery of <i>Laozi</i>-related documents disentombed in 1993 in Guodian, seeing these documents as proto-materials for compilation of the <i>Laozi</i> and revealing clues for disentangling the work from complicated exegetical contentions. Kim makes extensive use of Chinese commentaries on the <i>Laozi</i> and also examines the classic Chinese texts closely associated with the formation of the work to illuminate the intellectual and historical context of Laozi's philosophy.</p><p>Kim offers several original and thought-provoking arguments on the <i>Laozi</i>, including that the work was compiled during the Qin, which has traditionally been viewed as typical of Legalist states, and that the <i>Laozi</i> should be recognized as a syncretic text before being labeled a Daoist one.</p>