Verborgene Tugend: Liu Yuan über Laozi: Teil V einer Reihe kommentierter Übersetzungen von fünf Inschriften aus der Liumen-Tradition in der daoistischen Anthologie Chongkan Daozang jiyao

Abstract

This contribution is the last in a series of articles presenting the texts and annotated translations of five stele inscriptions, which were included in the collection Chongkan Daozang jiyao 渳刊澭稱烑癿 (Reedited Essentials of the Daoist Canon), a Daoist anthology published in 1906 at the monastery Erxian An 二 仙 簌 (Hermitage of the Two Immortals) in Chengdu (Sichuan). The inscriptions in question were, with one exception, composed to commemorate the renovation or rebuilding of temple halls and other structures belonging to either the Erxian An or the adjacent Qingyang Gong 梮羊宮 (Palace of the Grey Goat), and were included in the relevant sections of the Chongkan Daozang jiyao. All texts share a common derivation from the Liumen 劉 檀 (Liu School) tradition. The term Liumen refers to the teachings of the Confucian scholar Liu Yuan 劉 沅 (1768–1856) as well as a quasi-religious movement, which was based on Liu’s thought and flourished in late imperial and Republican times. Liu Yuan and the following Liumen patriarchs were patrons of the Qingyang Gong and the Erxian An, and the two Daoist sanctuaries, among other temples in Chengdu and its environs, were supported by the Liumen community. The present article contains a full translation of Liu Yuan’s Laozi kaobian 翿子翽灘 (Critical Study of Laozi). Among the five inscriptions preserved in the Chongkan Daozang jiyao, this text is the only one which does not commemorate any concrete renovation project, but contains Liu’s personal appraisal of Laozi. According to the Daoist tradition, Laozi manifested himself twice at the location of today’s Qingyang Gong, and the temple is consequently dedicated to the cult of Laozi. From the early 19th century to the middle of the 20th century, the Qingyang Gong received substantial support from the Liu family and Liumen adherents, and it is obvious that the Liumen community was significantly involved in the management of this ancient sanctuary. In 1905, the text Laozi kaobian was copied by the scholar and eminent Liumen adherent Yan Kai 枱 楷 (1877–1927) to be inscribed on a stele in the Qingyang Gong. The stele was erected under the auspices of the Qingyang Gong’s abbot and with the support of the then Liumen patriarch and other donors. The original stele is not extant, only a precious rubbing of the text survived in a private collection. Moreover, the compilers of the Chongkan Daozang jiyao included the Laozi kaobian in the section Qingyang Gong beiji 梮羊宮碑痨 (Stele Inscriptions of the Qingyang Gong) of the anthology. Thus, in the early 20th century, Liu Yuan’s treatise served as a visible written artefact manifesting the Liumen community’s patronage of the Qingyang Gong.