Mr. Gao Heng's Study Of Lao Xue

Mr. Gao Heng had elaborated Lao Tzu and his works, which was in view of the deep-seated background of Pu Xue, by means of characters, rhyme and exegesis. Mr. Gao Heng carried forward the achievements of predecessors. At he same time, he was not blinded by prejudice. He issued enormous original ideas, and he had sound theoretic foundation. In the course of textual criticism and inference, he sought out the connotation which hid among the text. Thus he established profound and substantial system on the study of Lao Xue.The purpose of this dissertation is to summarize Mr. Gao Heng's study of Lao Xue in a systematic way, and to reveal Lao Tzu's great image that Mr. Gao Heng had displayed. In the preface of the dissertation, the present author mainly makes an introduction of Mr. Gao Heng's academic study especially Zhu Zi, emphatically states his achievement of Lao Xue. This dissertation consists of six parts altogether:This first part starts with methods which Mr. Gao Heng adopted to pursue his studies, making a thorough inquiry about his attainments of study of Lao Xue and Yi Xue. In the mean time, we probe into the practical use in his study of ancient books and records before The Qin Dynasty. Then compare his study of Lao Xue with Zhu Zi and Yi Xue. Thus we seek out the relevance among them.The second part emphatically inquires into the Book of Lao Tzu Zheng Gu, including the study that answered questions and removed doubts about Lao Tzu, proofreading the text of Book of Lao Tzu, and exploring the ideology of Lao Tzu.The third part is to emphasize the Book of Lao Tzu Zhu Yi written by Mr. Gao Heng, including the stylistic rules and layout about the analysis of the text of Lao Tzu, the comment which is concerned about Lao Tzu's experience, significantly promulgating the text in chapter order, and making a summary about Lao Tzu's theories on the universe, life, and politics.The fourth part is about the comparison between the two books, setting forth Mr. Gao Heng's respective achievements and faults from many perspectives such as the cause and process of formation, characteristic and academic value, particularly the different means which Mr. Gao Heng used to expound the two books.The fifth part expounds Mr. Gao Heng's achievements, faults and enlightenment about his study of Lao Xue, combined by the study of other scholars and the comparison with Mr. Gao Heng's.The sixth part is the concluding summary, which comprehensively sums up Mr. Gao Heng's distinctive ingenuity in his study of Lao Xue, the influence with regard to the present age, and the prospects for the future study of Lao Xue.