The concept of Dao in the three classical interpretations of the Laozi: An analysis and a comparison

The essay analyzes and compares the concept of Dao in the three most influential commentaries of the Laozi. In particular, it explores how different readings of Dao within the texts relate to different historical periods, traditions, goals, and authors of the commentaries. For example, the tradition of the Huang-Lao school, with its interest in cosmological theories and self-cultivation, permeates the Heshang gong commentary and its vision of Dao as an accessible and knowable cosmic principle. On the other hand, in the Xiang Er, the religious institution of the Celestial Masters, approaches the Laozi as a sacred text, and Dao as a divinity with its clear and intelligible precepts. Finally, the relative interpretative freedom of Wang Bi, devoid of orthodox exegetical influences, together with the search for internal coherence of the text, generates a totally different commentary from the earlier exegetical tradition. The Laozi becomes a manual of wisdom that reveals the Dao as the logical foundation of the world.