어주(御注)의 도덕경 제80장 해석 연구

초록

This article examines the interpretation of the four emperor commentaries on Chapter 80 of Tao Te Ching, known as Lao Tzu’s theory of an ideal state. In Chapter 80 of Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu presents the scale of the state, the education of the monarch, and the lives of the people in an ideal society. However, since the Qin and Han dynasties, China has entered the era of the great empire of the ‘In a big state with a large people’ with advanced civilization and active human exchange. Therefore, Lao Tzu’s theory of an ideal state has become an increasingly unrealistic theory of the state. The task of the commentator is not only to clarify the original meaning of the text, but also to reinterpret that original meaning and discover content applicable to one’s own era. The emperor commentary is that it reinterprets ancient scriptures from the perspective of the monarch, not from an academic perspective, and tries to discover political ideas that can be applied to one’s own time. The four emperor commentaries each have the following characteristics. Tang Xuanzong’s emperor commentary interpreted the meaning of ‘In a little state with a small people’ as an order for the monarch to give up the desire to expand the size of the state, and said that regardless of the size of the sate, if the monarch has no desire to ‘In big state with a large people’ the ideal society is naturally realized. Song Huizong's emperor commentary equates the age of perfect virtue before the emergence of the sage who ruled the state with benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and music described in Chuang Tzu with the ideal society described in Chapter 80 of Tao Te Ching, and believes that the realization of an ideal society is only possible through the politics of ‘Wuwei’ rather than the politics of ‘Renwei’. Ming Taizu's emperor commentary understands that Lao Tzu was warning against the greed of those with political and economic vested interests in Chapter 80 of Tao Te Ching, and said that regardless of the size of the sate, if the monarch was free from greed, a peaceful society could be built in all states. Qing Shizu's emperor commentary clearly states that the ideal society described by Lao Tzu in Chapter 80 of Tao Te Ching can only be realized when a monarch with Tao governs the ‘In a little state with a small people’ rather than the “In a big state with a large people’. Although the way of understanding Chapter 80 of Tao Te Ching of the four emperor commentaries are different, the four emperor commentaries understand the society described in Chapter 80 of Tao Te Ching in which the people do not turn their backs on the state which is understood as an ideal state that a monarch must build. In order to build such an state, what the four emperor commentaries focus on in Chapter 80 of Tao Te Ching is the virtue necessary for the monarch to prevent the people from turning their backs on him. The four emperor commentaries define the ideal society of Lao Tzu as a society in which people are pure-hearted and warm-hearted, and emphasize that the most important thing for the realization of such an ideal society is the monarch’s ‘Having no desire’. Rather than focusing on the scale of the state, the monarch’s education, and the people’s lives mentioned in Chapter 80 of Tao Te Ching, the four emperor commentaries seek to find in Chapter 80 of Tao Te Ching the virtues that the monarch should pursue and practice in order to build a socioeconomically stable state.

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