《老子》第六十四章“千里之行”句考异

摘要

The article attempts to elucidate the lections ＂千里之行＂ and ＂ 百仞之高＂ found on different versions of Laozi. With reference to the similar wordings on the texts of various ancient classics and the Shanghai bamboo slips, the writer concluded that ＂ a thousand miles walk＂ was a popular idiom used in the pre Qin period. Thus, the phrase ＂千里之行＂ would possibly be the orig inal scripture of Laozi rather than the modified text by the scholars in the period ＇afterwards.%通行本《老子》第六十四章有“千里之行，始于足下”一句。此句历代各本或作“百仞之高，始于足下”，马王堆帛书本同，有学者因而怀疑今本“千里之行”句乃后人所改。根据传世典籍及新出上博竹书文句，先秦两汉时人常以“步行千里”为喻，“千里之行，始于足下”乃古人常用之成语。故此，先秦时《老子》．可能已有作“千里之行”的本子，今本的文句应有其来源，未必是后人改订。