Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 39.djvu/9

 CONTENTS:

PREFACE xi

INTRODUCTION.

CHAP. PAGE.

I. Was Tâosim older than Lâ0-ʓze 1

Three Religions in China, Peculiarity of the Tâo Teh Kiing.

II. The Texts of The Tâo the King and Kwang-ʓZE Shû, as regards their authenticity and genuineness, and the arrangement of them. . .4

i, The Tâo Teh King. The evidence of Sze-mâ Khien, the historian ; of Lieh-ʓze, Han Fei-ʓze, and other Tâoist writers ; and of Pan Kû. The Catalogue of the Imperial Library of Han; and that of the Sui dynasty. The Commentaries of ‘the old man of the Ho-side,’ and of Wang Pi^. Division into Parts and Chapters, and number of Characters in the Text.

ii. The Writings of Kwang-ʓze. Importance to Taoism of those Writings. The division of the Books into three Parts. Their general Title and its meaning.

III. What is the meaning of the name Tâo? and the chief points of belief in Taoism. . . . 12

Meaning of the name. Usage of the term Thien. Beculiag usage of it by Kwang-jze. Mr. Giles’s view that the name ‘God’ is the equivalent of Thien. Relation of the Tâo to the name Tî. No idea of Creation-proper in Taoism. Man is composed of body and spirit. That the cultivation of the Tâo promotes longevity... Startling results of the Tâo; and how It proceeds by contraries. The paradisiacal state. The decay of Tâoism before the growth of knowledge. The moral and practical teachings of Lâo-ʓze. Humility; his three Jewels ; that good is to be returned for evil.

IV. Accounts of Lâo-ʓze and Kawamg-ʓze given by Sze-Mâ Khien. . . . . . . . 33

V. On the Tractate of Actions and theie Retributions 38

Peculiar style and nature of the Treatise. Itsdate. Meaning of the Title. Was the old Tâoism a Religion? The Kang family. Influence of Buddhism on Tâoism.