What is the way of Huang Lao? Is Huang Lao an old man?

1 The concept of "Tao" originally refers to Huang Lao in the early Han Dynasty;

The concept of "Tao" originally refers to Confucianism or Confucianism; During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, people used "Tao" to refer to what we call Taoism today, but still used "Tao" to refer to Confucianism or Confucianism.

3 Taoism and Huang Lao have always been synonymous concepts;

Since the end of the Han Dynasty, people have used Huang Lao to refer to Taoism today.

From Ge Hong to Kou Qianzhi, Taoism, Huang Lao and Taoism gradually became synonymous concepts;

In the Tang Dynasty and beyond, Taoism, Huang Lao and Taoism were still the same concept, but with different names.

The strict distinction between Taoism and Taoism is a misunderstanding of ancient times in today's academic circles, especially Taoism.

In the early Han Dynasty, Huang Lao said it was because the Yellow Emperor was the head of God. The road taken by Zhang Lu and others at the end of Han Dynasty is the inheritance of Huang at the beginning of Han Dynasty. Today's Taoism is a continuation of the early Han Dynasty and Huang Dynasty.

Taoism and Huang Lao are both Taoism. Taoism is not only the teaching of immortality, but also a real man-made religion with a profound philosophical theory, noble political ideals, taking good Taoism as its own responsibility and juxtaposed with Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Sima Tan pointed out that Taoism "takes the goodness of Confucianism and Mohism and sums up the essentials of naming", while Sima Qian called this school "Huang Lao" more. In Historical Records, Biography of Laozi and Biography of Han Fei, Sima Qian said that Shen Buhai: "Shenzi's learning originated from Huang Lao, which is the main punishment name"; Han Fei said: "I like the study of criminal names, and I belong to Huang Lao." Zhuangzi is also mentioned in this biography, but it is not said that Zhuangzi's learning belongs to Huang Lao. Sima Qian saw hundreds of thousands of words written by Zhuangzi, "Ignoring Confucius' disciples and understanding Laozi's skills", and also saw that Zhuangzi did not belong to Huang Lao in the early Han Dynasty, nor did he belong to Taoism, "taking the goodness of Confucianism and Mohism and summing up the essentials of fame and dharma". In Historical Records, Mencius and Biography of Xun Qing, Sima Qian pointed out Shen Dao, Tian Pian, Jiezi and Yuan Huan. They all learned the moral skills of Huang Lao. Sima Qian interpreted these scholars who studied the moral skills of Huang Lao as Mencius and Xun Qing, because they had some ideological tendencies that Laozi did not have but Taoism did.

In Sima Qian's view, these scholars in the Warring States period have the same ideological tendency and belong to the "Huang Lao" school, which is another time for Sima Qian to trace back to the previous generation with his own classification standards and his own ideas at that time. We can say that Huang Lao or Taoism existed during the Warring States period, but we can't say that Huang Lao was named during the Warring States period. There was Huang Lao at that time, but there was no Huang Lao; Just like there were old people and yellow people at that time, but there was no Taoism. The so-called reality of Huang Lao can only be said that some scholars have some contents of Huang Lao, but it may not form a more formed and consistent school. They have their own ideological elements of Huang Lao in the early Han Dynasty, but they are covered up by their more prominent ideological elements. According to the available data, legalist tendencies are more prominent in Han Fei's and Shen Buhai's thoughts. As for Shen Dao, meson and others, the ideological materials we can find are extremely scarce. Sima Qian divided the above-mentioned people into the biographies of Laozi and Mencius, which enables us to roughly measure their ideological tendencies.

At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, there was a man named Gaigong in Jiaoxi who was visited by Cao as a teacher. He said that "the rule is quiet and the people decide", and "the rule should be based on Huang Laoshu" ("Historical Records Cao Guo Xiang Family"). Gaigong's teacher can be traced back to Gong who was good at compiling Huangdi and Laozi (Biography of Historical Records and Le Yi) at the end of the Warring States Period. Later, Cao Can entered the DPRK as a prime minister, and Huang Lao Shu was officially regarded as the guiding ideology of governing the country. Emperor Wen of Han acceded to the throne, and then the Dou family "loved the words of Huangdi and Laozi, and the emperors would have to read Huangdi and Laozi's books and respect their skills" (Historical Records, Family of consorts). As the ruling thought of the country at that time, Huang Laoshu lasted for decades, and scholars who ruled the words of Huangdi and Laozi also formally formed a school, namely the Huang Laoshu School, or the Taoist School. "Historical Records of Prime Minister Chen's Family" records that he has many conspiracies, which is forbidden by Taoism. On the one hand, he said that Chen Ping was "a good trick for the Yellow Emperor and Lao Zi". In Sima Qian's dictionary, Huang Lao and Taoism are the same concept, but their names are different. Although people later used Taoism more than the word Huang Lao, and extended the connotation of Taoism to Zhuangzi and others in the pre-Qin period, in the Han Dynasty, even for a longer period of time, people still used the word Huang Lao more to refer to the school that appeared in the early Han Dynasty and was called Taoism by Sima Tan. (See: Ren's History of the Development of China Philosophy (Qin and Han volumes), pp. 125 and 129, People's Publishing House, pp. 1985).

4 Huang Lao, Taoism, Taoism

In the section "Connotation of Tao", we have pointed out that the word "Tao" used by people since the end of Han Dynasty refers to what we call Confucianism or Confucianism today. The word "Tao" refers to what we call Taoism today. In this section, we also point out that at least from the end of the Han Dynasty, the word "Huang Lao" refers to what we refer to today as Taoism. The biography of Huangfusong in the later Han Dynasty contains:

At first, Zhang Jiao, a huge deer, claimed to be a great virtue teacher, serving Huang and improving his disciples. He bowed for the first time ...

The way of opening angle, also known as "Taiping Road", is regarded by modern scholars as a symbol of the establishment of Taoism. According to the records in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, this Taiping Road is Huangdao Road, and this Huangdao Road is Taoism.

Together with Taipingdao in Zhangjiao, the "Five Mi Dou Daoism" founded by Zhang Ling or Zhang Xiu is considered as the beginning of Taoism. The reflection of Zhang Lu biography:

Zhang Lu is a male, and Pei Guofeng is also a human being. Grandfather's mausoleum, a guest in Shu, learned Taoism in the mountains, wrote Taoist books to confuse the people, and gave the recipients five buckets of rice, hence the name rice thief. After Ling's death, Jpua went his own way. If you die, Lu Fuxing will do it. ..... Those who learn Taoism are all ghosts at the beginning. So I believed it, and I offered a drink offering. There are countless leaders from all walks of life, and most of them offer a large glass of wine to treat their heads. Everyone teaches honesty not to cheat, and turns himself in if he is sick, much like the Yellow Scarf Uprising.

It is similar to the "yellow turban insurrectionary", that is, it is similar to Taiping Road in Zhangjiao. Pei Songzhi quoted "Dian lue" as saying that Zhang Xiu was the founder of "Five Mi Dou Daoism" and that "the cultivation of law is similar to the cultivation of angle". The Zhang Lu incident in The Biography of Han Ada is based on The History of the Three Kingdoms, and the Dianlue quoted is the same as that quoted by Pei in The History of the Three Kingdoms. It can be seen that the Wudoumi Road pioneered by Zhang Ling or Zhang Xiu is also the Huang Lao Road. Huang's idea at that time was what we call Taoism today.

For Ge Hong, Taoism and Huang Lao are not only the same, but also obviously refers to what we call Taoism today. Here are some examples of convenient drawing:

Today, if you follow the immortal scriptures and fly nine elixirs to make the world immortal, your benefits will be more than just the work of one person, and the virtue of Huang Lao will be boundless. However, ignorance is absurd and sad. ("Bao Puzi's inner chapter, releasing stagnation")

Huang Lao, as mentioned here, is Taoism with the aim of immortality.

Bao Puzi said: Taoist books were written by yellow people and old people. Cover your ears and attract many good deeds from later generations. Each of them grew up knowing and seeing something, pretending that the article was mountain products ("Bao Puzi's Inner Chapter: Relieving Stagnation").

Ge Hong knows very well that there are very few books written by Huang Lao. Most of the books written by Huang Lao at that time were "grown up" by good people of later generations according to their own knowledge, which is a true account of the origin of Taoist classics. Huang Lao here also refers to Taoism with the purpose of longevity.

It is true that a person's body is a craftsman, and Baode is an immortal. ("Bao Puzi's Inner Chapter Ming Ben")

What matters is the secret of Taoism, which is nothing more than an immortal party. ("Bao Puzi's inner chapter, diligence")

Both Taoism and Huang Lao here refer to Taoism aimed at immortality.

Ge Hong criticized Zhang Jiao and others, saying, "There are followers of Zhang Jiao, Liu Gen, Wang Xin and Li Shen, or Chitose, who, under the guise of small skills, sit back and wait for death, change their faces, confuse Li Shu, correct those fools, and recruit traitors because they don't take life extension as their business and cure disasters as their business, which is called rebellion ..." This is a mutual criticism within Taoism, criticizing Zhang Jiao and others' way of respecting Huang Lao. On the one hand, it shows that there are different factions in Taoism, on the other hand, it also shows that Ge Hong, as a kindred spirit, led the opening of "Feng Huang Dao".

Then Huang Lao, who was served by Zhang Jiao, and Huang Lao in the early Han Dynasty; What is the relationship between Taoism mentioned by Mou Zi and Ge Hong and Taoism in the early Han Dynasty? This is an inevitable question at this point. However, we are in no hurry to answer this question immediately. We want to continue to look at the connotations of Taoism and Huang Lao in the vocabulary of the ancients after Ge Hong.

5 Taoism, Huang Lao and Taoism (continued)

After Ge Hong, people gradually used the word "Tao" to refer to what we call Taoism, and at the same time they still used concepts such as Huang Lao and Taoism. Huang Lao, Taoism and Taoism have become synonymous concepts. According to the records of Wei's Old Records, the old gentleman came and said to Kou, "I took this as a warning and came from the beginning of heaven and earth, but I won't pass it on to the world. Today's luck should come out. " You declare my new branch, clean up the orthodoxy, except for the three false laws, rent rice tax, and the combination of men and women ... "..." The "Tao" here is not based on the Five Classics of Confucianism, but on the Tao of Laozi. Since then, the concept of Taoism specifically refers to the religion with the purpose of immortality. At the same time, Taoism still uses names such as Taoism and Huang Lao. "Shu Wei" Shi Lao zhi "load:

The origin of Taoism comes from Laozi. It is self-evident, innate and rich in resources. In Yujing, he is the Sect of the God King; I am the Lord of the flying fairy ...

Taoism here is another name for Taoism.

In the Southern Dynasties, slightly later than Kou's, Tao, Tao and Huang Lao were used by both sides as the same concept in the debate over Yi and Zhang Rong's On Men:

The work of the case was written from the Western Zhou Dynasty; The arrival of Buddhist scriptures began in the Eastern Han Dynasty. More than 800 years old, dozens of generations. If we say that although the situation has been long, it is Lu Shang who stole Qi and Liu Ji who stole Wang Mang's Han Dynasty. (Biography of Nanqi Gu Huan)

The purpose of Taoism is that in the two classics of my hometown. ...

Nowadays, Taoism takes immortality as the only religion and gives priority to immortality (On Two Religions by Shao, a famous monk in Ming Dynasty)

Taoist scriptures are simple and boring. The collection of Fahua such as Lingbao and Miao Zhen is particularly clumsy.

If the husband Ming Zong dominates the meeting and romance, isn't it lazy that he neglects his studies and thinks carefully? Is it the evil of Taoism? (Xie Zhenzhi's "Heavy Taoist Book").

However, beyond self-interpretation, Confucianism is grand. After that, what can be compared with Zhong Ni is Huang Lao Shixiong. (Zhou Qing's "Difficult Zhang Changshi Gate")

The above concepts of Huang Lao, Taoism and Taoism are synonyms.

At the end of the Northern Dynasties, the concepts of Huang Lao and Taoism were used, which still maintained the tradition of self-effacing. When the monk Daoan wrote Two Religions, he said:

There are three points worthy of admiration in seeking Tao: one is Lao Tzu's inaction, the other is fairy bait, and the third is Fu Yong's forbearance …

The ultimate of Taoism lies in longevity, breathing too much, going to the old and welcoming the new.

Taoism here still refers to Taoism. This tradition has not fundamentally changed until the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.

6 Huang Lao, Taoism and Taoist ideas after the Tang Dynasty

In this section, we will mainly list materials to explain that after the Tang and Song Dynasties, people's vocabulary of Huang Lao and Taoism still refers to Taoism, which is the same concept as Taoism. These materials include:

There are only 590 volumes of Taoist scriptures, which are said by the Buddha. There are as many as 235 volumes, which are the books of various philosophers such as Huang Lao (Shi Ming almost "completely abolished Buddhism and monks to restore righteousness")

At the age of twelve, I learned the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Book of Rites, and saw the purpose of Huang Lao. I studied Confucianism and Mohism. (Written by Wang Shi, written by Sima Chengzhen and explained by Pan Zun) (All articles cited in this article were compiled by Chen Yuan, supplemented by Chen Zhichao and Zeng Qingying, and published by Cultural Relics Publishing House, 1988).

Therefore, Jiangxi Lian Lu Shuai Sigong ... is elegant, values Huang Lao and respects nothingness. (Li Guan's "Taoist Liu Hongshan Courtyard Wall")

Laozi has only two volumes among many praises, and the well frog does not know the end. (Gu Kuang "Quzhou Kaiyuan Temple Monument")

Taoism believes that vitality is based on one, and one becomes nine. Therefore, Taiyi walks in the Nine Palaces, and its altar is full of prayers, which is the product of a true fairy official. (Inscription of Song Shou in Taiyi Palace in the West of Song Dynasty).

The law of Buddha's old age requires him to return, only pure and silent, all natural, not immersed in foreign things. Huang Lao's Buddhism is also. (Wang, "Rebuilding the View of Crane")

(I) The instruments of prayer and sacrifice are all based on the theory of Taiyi, using the theory of Taoism.

The occupation of Feng Xiang and Zhang Bao's family has become the law of Japanese official department. The reason why Taoism tries to figure out its image is to control the difference between its service position and the way of offering sacrifices to the altar ... (Inscription by Lv Huiqing in Taiyi Palace in Song Dynasty).

Taoism originated from Zhuang (according to the word "Zhuang") and Zhou Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Ming emperors, and flourished in the sage of my Song Dynasty ... (Master He Deshun, Taoist master, recreates the view of sunny days in Guangzhou)

I want to take the road of Taoism, which originated from Huangdi and Laozi. Its way is based on quietness, and it is used to make things clear ... Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, alchemists have spoken in succession, but there are the techniques of flying immortals, the method of making holes in Huangting ... Yu Dan's magical medicine. All ofuda decimals belong to Taoism. You can't have your cake and eat it. However, I have tasted the theory of piracy: the way of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi is true, and the words of the alchemist are also at the end ... (Su Shi's "Shangqing Chuxiang Palace Monument")

Laozi's way, Huangdi's way is also ... Since the Han people took Huang Lao as a famous teacher and the Confucians got sick, it is called heresy today ... (Ma Jiaxuan's Dong Xiao, Gong Zhuang and Tian Ji).

According to Taoism, which originated in the Yellow Emperor and Lao Dan and extended to Lieyukou and Zhuangzi, it is juxtaposed with Confucius' method to teach the world without abolishing it. (The female savage wishes to "practice spirituality in Daikin Shanzhou")

As the saying goes, there are many people who learn Taoism, but there are many people who hide the ancient times. Live in the mountains, eat and drink in the Woods, and put Huang Huang outside. The name of Huang's hometown is attached to the stream on the Ruofu River, thinking it is a fairy. (Yuan Haowen's purple microscopy)

..... As everyone knows, the illusion and confusion of God have always been the desire of the curious and the so-called cunning of sincere Taoism. (Ji Zhizhen's "Chongyang Zushi Kaidao Monument")

When Taoism came out of Laozi and Zhuangzi, later people lost their original purpose, and they became demons, charms, burns and chapters. The more you send, the farther you throw, and the longer you come. (Yan Xu's "Guangning Xuan Tong Taigu Zhenren Hao Zongshi Daoxing Monument")

Taoism flowed out from Huangdi and Laozi, taking quietness and nothingness as religion, taking spiritual cultivation as work, taking longevity as effect, and immortals soared to the extreme. (Li Zhishao rebuilds the Immortal Wanshou Palace)

Su Gong said that the flow of believers is based on Huang Lao, quiet, empty knowledge and kindness and thrift. Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the alchemist's words, the skill of flying immortals and the skill of Dan medicine have all been attributed to the Tao. But Huang Lao's way is also the foundation, and the alchemist's words are also the end. It can be said that it is perfect to repair its foundation and not respond in the end. (Youren Xu's "Qing Chu to Gong Ji")

The so-called Daoism in the Han Dynasty is based on Huang Lao and inaction. Its abuse is immortality, known as the elixir. (Yu Ji's "Fei Fei Zi You Shi Zhi")

Tai Shigong used to write the name, which is the name of six important schools. Because of this, all previous dynasties did not take Jing Xuan as the body and prayed for it. Although it's right there. (Mountain "Tomb Inscription of Xiao Zhenren from the First and Second Generation Teachers of Taiyi")

People like Taoism stick to their books, self-defense, modesty and self-restraint, and conform to the Book of Changes. The modesty of the Book of Changes can cultivate one's morality and treat others ... Since their knowledge has changed, the immortal's ability has flourished. They want to save their lives, but they want to swim outside. They want to be calm, live together and be fearless. (Song Lian's "Huncheng Daoism")

……

The above articles are all written for Taoism, among which Taoism and Huang Lao refer to Taoism. This shows that from the Tang Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, so did the Qing Dynasty. People still keep the traditional view that their concepts of Taoism and Huang Lao refer to Taoism. Even in this Millennium, people refer to Taoism more with the concepts of Taoism and Huang Lao than with Taoism.