《恒先》與老子

Heng xian and Lao Zi

作為上海博物館藏楚竹書中的一篇，《桓先》以其獨特的內容引起了學者的廣泛關注。本文主要從《恆先》和老子的關係出發，圍繞「恆」和「復」兩個觀念來討論《恆先》在道家思想史上的意義。文章認為，「恆」應該是在老子「恆道」的基礎之上提出的，但是對「道」概念的刻意迴避以及提出「恆」作為本原的新名稱，表現著該篇對於本原的新理解。與老子之道相比，這種新理解通過「大虛」、「自生」等說法突出了「恆」的純粹虛無的特徵，從而最大限度地排除了存在於老子之道中的「有」性，這與表現在《莊子》和《黃帝四經》中的傾向是一致的。「復」的觀念在《恆先》和《老子》中都同樣地被強調著，這使我們很容易注意到生成和復歸這個在中國古代宇宙生成論中所包含的基本模式。在這種模式下，本原不僅僅意味著開始，它同時還是目的和結束。在本原的確立中，宇宙生成論者也確立了自己的終極價值和追求。

As one of the texts included in the Shanghai Museum's collection of excavated texts from Chu, the Heng xian (The abiding beginning) has, due to its unique content, widely attracted the attention of scholars. The following article begins by examining the relation between the Heng xian and Lao Zi and proceeds to discuss the concepts of “heng (abiding)” and “fu (return)' in order to discern the significance of the Heng xian within the intellectual history of Daoism. We posit that the use of “abiding” in the Heng xian originally derived from Lao Zi's “heng dao (abiding way)”, but that its intentional avoidance of “way” and its use of “abiding” as a new term to describe the source of all things represents a new understanding of this source. Compared to the “way” of Lao Zi, this new understanding utilizes ideas such as “da Xu (great emptiness)” and “zi sheng (spontaneity)' to expound the pure emptiness characteristic of “abiding”. Consequently, it completely eliminates the “being aspect of the “way” of Lao Zi. This inclination is similarly manifest in the Zhuang Zi (Master Zhuang) and the Huang Di si jing (The Yellow thearch's four classics). The concept of “return” is emphasized equally in both the Heng xian and the Lao Zi, which allows us to easily notice the basic pattern of creation and return included in ancient Chinese cosmogony. In this model, the source of all things not only implies beginning, but at the same time also embodies destination and completion. In establishing a source of all things, the cosmogonist also establishes his own ultimate value and purpose.