傳統觀點認為在漢代，老子已經被神格化為民間信仰乃至當時所謂「道教」的最高主神，但支持這一結論的幾條關鍵性材料卻面臨著重新定年和辨偽，因而這一觀點現在並非不可動搖。本文繼續了作者對此問題的系列考察，在對〈老子聖母碑〉和〈老子變化經〉做出考察之後，本文將從漢代宇宙生成論、太一在漢代民間信仰中的地位以及民間信仰歌舞祭神的角度，對傳統認為的延熹八年〈老子銘〉裡老子至尊神格地位提出質疑。認為當時的老子還不具備成為最高主神的條件，天神太一仍然是民間信仰的主神。由此還可確認，《老子想爾注》中以老子做為道教的主神「太上老君」，不應該是漢代的觀念。並希望通過這一例個案研究，提出道教形成史上的「天崇拜」與「道崇拜」之區分。

　　　　　Tradtionally, Laozi 老子 is seen as having become the most imprtant Taoist god by the end of Han dynasty. There are several pieces of evidence to support this conclusion, including the "Stele of the Holy Mother of Laozi" 老子聖母碑, the "Scripture of the Incarnations of Laozi" 老子變化經, and the "Inscription for Laozi" 老子銘. Recently, however, much of this material has come under re-examination. In this paper, I will follow up on previous studies of the "Stele of the Holy Mother of Laozi" and the "Scripture of the Incarnations of Laozi" and try to answer the question of who was the most important god in the "Inscription", Laozi or Taiyi 太一, by making reference to Han dynasty cosmogony, the role of Taiyi in the popular religion of the time, and folk religion rituals. I shall try to prove that most of the evidence that led scholars to believe that the "Inscription" represented the absolute deification of Laozi can be understood in another way. For example, the "Buddhist influences," which made many scholars think that Laozi had already been compared with Buddha, can actually be explained without any reference to Buddhist theories, using instead resources from ancient China. More importantly, using various sources, we can see that it was Taiyi, not Laozi, who was recognized as the supreme god both officially and unofficially, and especially in popular belief. In other words, Laozi had not yet obtained the status of the new highest god at the end of the Han. This conclusion will be useful in new discussions of the dating of the Xiang'er Commentary 想爾注, which treats Laozi as the supreme Taoist god but which is generally thought to have been produced by the Zhang family at the end of the Han period, and other topics in early Taoist history.