%A Thomas Michael, CHEN Yazhou %T Approaching Laozi : Comparing a Syncretic Reading to a Synthetic One %0 Journal Article %D 2017 %J Front. Philos. China %J Frontiers of Philosophy in China %@ 1673-3436 %R 10.3868/s030-006-017-0002-5 %P 10-25 %V 12 %N 1 %U {https://journal.hep.com.cn/fpc/EN/10.3868/s030-006-017-0002-5 %8 2017-03-15 %X

Is Laozi a syncretic text whose primary body of ideas were cobbled together from multiple and various sources, none of which can reasonably be identified as Daoist, or is it a synthetic text whose ideas emerged from a single source that for all intents embodies the core elements of a tradition that meets the standards of inclusion for a tradition of early Daoism? The present work examines the key points of Hongkyung Kim’s sophisticated account of Laozi’s origins as a syncretic text. It then goes on to present the key points of what would have to be involved in its original circulations as a synthetic text. It concludes by suggesting a middle ground that is able to explain why an originally synthetic Laozi is all too easily read by modern scholars as a syncretic text.