Table of Contents

Preface Introduction 1. Wang Bi: A Biographical Sketch Wang Bi's Life Wang Bi's Afterlife 2. The System of the Classics A Sketch of Commentary Strategies during the Han Dynasty 3. Technique and the Philosophy of Structure: Interlocking Parallel Style in Laozi and Wang Bi Introduction The Discovery of Parallel Style in Western The Problem: Molecular Coherence Open Interlocking Parallel Style in the Laozi Closed Interlocking Parallel Style in the Laozi Interlocking Parallel Style in Early Texts Interlocking Parallel Style in Wang Bi's Time Conclusion Scholarship Outside the Laozi 4. Deconstructing and Constructing Meaning The Hidden Meaning The Implied Author and His Authority: Kongzi and Laozi The Status of the Laozi and the Texts Ascribed to Confucius The Implied Reader and His Education The Countertexts The Homogeneity Hypothesis The Potentiality of the Text: Comparing Different Commentary Constructions of the Laozi Example 1: Laozi 17.1 Example 2: Laozi 6 Example 3: Laozi 11 Conclusions 5. The Craft of Wang Bi's Commentary Introduction Integration of Commentary and Text Emphatic Rejection of Other Readings Explaining Metaphors, Similes, Comparisons, and Symbols Insertion of Subject Defining Terms through Equivalence Translating the Text Merging Terms and Structures Conclusions Notes Bibliography Subject Index

About the Author

Rudolf G. Wagner is Professor of Chinese Studies at the Institute of Chinese Studies, University of Heidelberg, Germany. His previous books include Reenacting the Heavenly Vision: The Role of Religion in the Taiping Rebellion, The Contemporary Chinese Historical Drama: Four Studies, and Inside a Service Trade: Studies in Contemporary Chinese Prose. He received the Leibnitz Award for scholarly excellence from the German Research Foundation in 1993.