Zhong Hui’s Laozi Commentary and the Debate on Capacity and Nature in Third-Century China

Zhong Hui’s Laozi Commentary and the Debate on Capacity and Nature in Third-Century China
鍾會老子注與魏初才性之辯

Alan K. L. Chan 陳金樑

Zhong Hui (A.D. 225–264) was a major, albeit neglected figure in third-century Chinese intellectual history. Author of a Laozi commentary and a treatise on the relationship between “capacity” (cai) and “nature” (xing), Zhong Hui played a significant role in the development of xuanxue (Learning of the Mysterious Dao), which came into prominence during the early Wei dynasty and dominated the Chinese intellectual scene well into the sixth century. This essay presents a reconstructed version of Zhong Hui’s Laozi commentary and compares Zhong’s approach with Wang Bi’s. Zhong Hui’s work on “capacity and nature” (caixing) captures a major debate in early xuanxue philosophy and will be scrutinized also in this discussion.

鍾會可以說是一位被遺忘的玄學家。在他生活的歷史舞台上，鍾會卻是一個有相當份量，極為時人所器重的人物.如果不是因為他謀反司馬氏政權失敗，歷史對他的態度也可能不會這樣冷漠。鍾會著作包括有《老子注》和《才性四本論》，現已失傳.本文以現存鍾會《老子注》文字為根據，嘗試討論鍾會的《老》學，與王弼比較，並對魏初才性之辯作初步探討。