"Laozi Heshang Gongzhu" is the earliest existing annotated version of "Laozi Tao Te Ching" with great influence. It is said that it was newly written by Heshang Gong or Heshang's father-in-law. The original annotations were not divided into chapters. The characteristics of Heshang Gongzhu are its concise and clear annotations and ethereal artistic conception. His notes on "Laozi" focus on explaining Laozi's meaning. He always explains the meaning of "Laozi" in very simple language. Like Wang Bi's notes, there is no textual research. The reasoning is thorough and straight. The language is simple, smooth and approachable. It is another style among many Taoist scriptures.
Reader comments
The annotations of this book are concise and clear, and it explains Laozi's thoughts in simple language, which is easy to understand. I like the interpretation of "Tao" in the book, which gave me a deeper understanding of Taoist thought. Moreover, the words mentioned in the book, "Always have no desire to observe the wonderful things, always have desires to observe the wonderful things" also inspired me deeply and I understood that I should keep a normal mind in life. All in all, this is a good book worth reading.
The annotations of this book are concise and clear, and it explains Laozi's thoughts in simple language, which is easy to understand. I like the interpretation of "Tao" in the book, which gave me a deeper understanding of Taoist thought. Moreover, the words mentioned in the book, "Always have no desire to observe the wonderful things, always have desires to observe the wonderful things" also inspired me deeply and I understood that I should keep a normal mind in life. All in all, this is a good book worth reading.