Early Intertextual Uses of Parallels with the Laozi and Their Role as Sources of Authority By Larson Di Fiori A.B., Brown University, 2008 MSt., University of Oxford, 2011 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Religious Studies at Brown University Providence, Rhode Island May 2018 © Copyright 2018 by Larson Di Fiori This dissertation by Larson Di Fiori is accepted in its present form by the Department of Religious Studies as satisfying the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Date_________ ____________________________ Harold Roth, Advisor Recommended to the Graduate Council Date_________ ____________________________ Andrew Meyer, Reader Date_________ ____________________________ Janine Sawada, Reader Date_________ ____________________________ Sarah Queen, Reader Approved by the Graduate Council Date_________ ____________________________ Andrew G. Campbell, Dean of the Graduate School iii CURRICULUM VITAE Larson Di Fiori received an A.B. in East Asian Studies and Classics from Brown University in 2008. After a stint teaching English in Xi’an, China, he received a M.St. in Chinese Studies from the University of Oxford in 2011, following which he returned to Brown to join the then recently established Asian Religious Traditions program. At Brown and in the surrounding community, he has given several public talks on Daoism and Chinese culture in both English and Chinese. He has been awarded with the Brown/Wheaton Faculty Fellowship, the Chinese University of Hong Kong Global Scholarship Programme for Research Excellence, and the Confucius Institute New Chinese Studies Plan Doctoral Fellowship. In addition to experience as a teaching assistant, he has designed and taught his own courses at Brown, Connecticut College and Wheaton College. Additionally he has published in Philosophy East and West and contributed entries for the ongoing Daozang Jiyao Project based out of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Like the subjects of this study, this dissertation is the product of a thriving and nourishing ecosystem of teachers, colleagues, friends and family. As Kongzi says in the Lunyu: “Whenever a group walks together, I am sure to find a teacher.” It has been my good fortune to walk with a group full of many excellent teachers! First of all, this project and this entire field of study would not be possible without the ancients who wrote, compiled, preserved and transmitted the documents studied in this project. Indeed, if anything, working in this area of study has taught me how very much we owe to the past. As the commentaries studied herein note, the wellbeing of each person is deeply influenced by the social structures in which they live. I have benefitted from the institutional support and funding of Brown University and in particular the department of Religious Studies, which has given me a home for so many years. Most of all, ancient texts expound on the value of finding good teachers in one’s chosen pursuit. This project would not be possible without my committee, whose feedback has sharpened my many blunt arguments to a more useful point: Professor Harold Roth, my advisor, who has guided so much of my training and provided invaluable insights to my learning, researching and writing and has been an inspiration to me from the beginning. Without his constant support and guidance this project and indeed my scholarship as a whole would not be possible. Professor Sarah Queen, whose foundational research was a spark that led me to this project, and whose comments and suggestions have led to invaluable improvements in both this project and my scholarship as a whole. Professor Janine Sawada, who has provided essential advice and assistance not only on this dissertation, but throughout my career as a graduate student, and whose instruction has given me ideas for future research projects. Professor Andy Meyer who provided helpful comments and research suggestions at several key junctures in the project. Of great assistance on finding my path to this project was Doctor Dirk Meyer, my supervisor for my master’s thesis at Oxford, who sparked my interest in the many ways texts can be read and understood. I also benefitted from other institutions and colleagues that provided important assistance during various stages of this project: v The Chinese University of Hong Kong, for hosting me during a critical summer of writing, and the Department of Philosophy which gave me a place to anchor. In particular Professor David Chai, who generously gave of his time to advise and comment on my dissertation, and to Professor Hsiung Ping-chen, who lent her office to me while I was in Hong Kong, giving me a quiet space to work. The Brown-Wheaton faculty fellowship and Wheaton College for providing me with an opportunity to teach and provided funding to support my research. In particular the faculty of the Religious Studies department, Professors Jeffery Timm, Barbara Darling- Smith and Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus, who made me feel welcome as a colleague. Professor John Major also gave me useful comments on a portion of this project, for which I am grateful. My research has also benefitted from my friends and colleagues at Brown. Professor Jason Protass and Professor Michael Kennedy provided useful comments that aided me in making revisions. There were many places my writing process or graduate studies would have gone astray without the help of department secretaries Nicole Vadnais and Tina Creamer. I also benefitted from the support of my fellow graduate students, especially Megan McBride and Nicholas Friesner, who suffered through several early drafts of my thesis during our writing workshops, and to Adrien Stoloff, Sam Goldstein, Soyoung You and Sherry Pan who were always happy to discuss arcane details of Chinese culture with me. I am also grateful for my friends outside the academy. My thanks to Kate Goertz, Joshua Bocher and Jim Liu for listening to my rambling on the exceedingly obscure details of the Chinese commentarial tradition as I sorted out my ideas for this project. And to Wu Wenqing and the friends I train with, who help keep me and my love for Chinese studies lively. This project, and indeed much of my work as a scholar owes a great deal to Professor Henry Rosemont Jr., an inspiration and a mentor of mine from almost the very beginning, who encouraged me greatly in designing this project. I regret that I could not finish in time to show him the final results. Most of all, this would not have been possible without my family. To my cousin Adam I owe the computer on which the dissertation was written. Most of all, I have been blessed with my parents, all three, who have been with me throughout the entire process of this dissertation, through all the highs and lows. Their love and support have made this project, and everything else in life, worthwhile. vi Table of Contents CURRICULUM VITAE ....................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................... v List of Charts ................................................................................................................... x 1: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1 Laozi Collections ................................................................................................................................ 5 Commentaries, with a Caveat ............................................................................................................ 9 How the Early Commentaries Compare with Excavated Manuscripts ................................................ 11 Order of the Chapters ...................................................................................................................... 13 2: DEFINING JING .......................................................................................................... 18 When the Laozi technically became a "jinG" ..................................................................................... 21 How "jinG" are typically understood ................................................................................................. 22 Limitations Of The Study ................................................................................................................. 23 Definition of "jinG" in the Shuowen .................................................................................................. 25 Orality ............................................................................................................................................. 26 In Mozi ............................................................................................................................................ 27 In Hanfeizi ....................................................................................................................................... 32 In the HuanGdi SijinG........................................................................................................................ 35 Distinction Between Text And Thesis in Xunzi and ZhuanGzi.............................................................. 38 Shift To Text ....................................................................................................................................