{"product_id":"explaining-and-illustrating-the-laozi-the-earliest-commentaries-on-the-daodejing-hardcover","title":"Explaining and Illustrating the Laozi: The Earliest Commentaries on the Daodejing - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eEirik Lang Harris\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eEirik Lang Harris\u003c\/b\u003e (Translator), \u003cb\u003eEric L. Hutton\u003c\/b\u003e (Editor)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlthough the ancient Chinese text \u003cem\u003eLaozi\u003c\/em\u003e--also known as the \u003cem\u003eDaodejing\u003c\/em\u003e--is highly popular worldwide, few Anglophone readers are familiar with the history of how the Chinese themselves have interpreted it. This volume aims to introduce students and general readers to the two earliest surviving commentaries on the \u003cem\u003eLaozi\u003c\/em\u003e, through translations that are approachable for non-specialists and can be read on their own. These two commentaries, the \"Jie Lao\" (Explaining the \u003cem\u003eLaozi\u003c\/em\u003e) and \"Yu Lao\" (Illustrating the \u003cem\u003eLaozi\u003c\/em\u003e), appear as two chapters in the book \u003cem\u003eHan Feizi\u003c\/em\u003e, traditionally dated to the 3rd century BCE. They are interesting not only for showing how at least one very early reader understood the \u003cem\u003eLaozi\u003c\/em\u003e, but also for what they may reveal about the state of the \u003cem\u003eLaozi\u003c\/em\u003e itself at that time, before it achieved the form of the text that is so famous nowadays. The book also includes original essays that explore the commentaries' relation to the rest of the \u003cem\u003eHan Feizi\u003c\/em\u003e, compare and contrast them with other \u003cem\u003eLaozi\u003c\/em\u003e commentaries, and analyze their place in the larger history of Chinese commentarial writing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEirik Lang Harris\u003c\/strong\u003e is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Colorado State University. He is the author of \u003cem\u003eAdventures in Chinese Realism \u003c\/em\u003e(2022) and \u003cem\u003eThe Shenzi Fragments \u003c\/em\u003e(2016). \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEric L. Hutton \u003c\/strong\u003eis Professor of Philosophy at the University of Utah. He is the translator of \u003cem\u003eXunzi: The Complete Text \u003c\/em\u003e(2014) among numerous articles on ancient Chinese and comparative philosophy.\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 256\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.75 x 8.25 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 21, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67850830414131,"sku":"9780197514900","price":186.55,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0300\/5595\/6612\/files\/vvdd6cmUFn9780197514900.webp?v=1793509300","url":"https:\/\/www.vysn.com\/products\/explaining-and-illustrating-the-laozi-the-earliest-commentaries-on-the-daodejing-hardcover","provider":"VYSN","version":"1.0","type":"link"}