Laozi's Interpretation -- New Edition of the Canon of the Masters

Author: Zhu Qianzhi
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1984-11-01
Features: The New Collection of the Masters of the Hundred Schools is a systematic review of the works of the Masters of the Hundred Schools after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Compared to the Collection of the Masters of the Hundred Schools published during the Republican era, the later version is more refined and is currently the best ancient philosophical resource. This book primarily uses the stone inscription of the Tao Te Ching from Longxing Temple in Yizhou, Tang Dynasty's Jinglong era (708 AD), and references over 100 editions including stone copies, Dunhuang manuscripts, old handwritten copies, lost copies, and the Zhengtong Daozang editions for collation. This book is a reprint of the 1958 edition of Longmen United Publishing House. The entire work will be published in two volumes.
Volume 1 includes the same works of the Masters of the Hundred Schools as the old Collection of the Masters of the Hundred Schools and is frequently read or consulted by researchers. Each work selects the best available annotated edition to date. For a very few works without annotations, separate annotations will be provided. Some books include multiple annotated editions, each with its own strengths. To maintain consistency in style, except for a few exceptions, only annotated editions written in classical or semi-classical Chinese are included. The main text and annotations of all works are uniformly punctuated with modern-style punctuation, and printing or typesetting errors are corrected.
Volume 2 collects the remaining works of the Masters of the Hundred Schools not included in Volume 1. Most of these works lack modern annotations, and where necessary, annotations should be added. For the rest, better versions will be selected for collation. Many of the works in this volume are incomplete or fragmented. During the compilation process, different situations are distinguished: some select existing, well-edited versions, while others require supplementary or recompilation. Some works in the Masters of the Hundred Schools are apocryphal or suspected of being spurious. However, those with earlier origins, historical influence, and reference value for certain research topics will be included selectively.