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Huainanzi

2nd-century BC Chinese treatise

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Huainanzi
Qing-era copy of Huainanzi
Chinese	淮南子
Literal meaning	[The Writings of] the Huainan Masters
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Huáinánzǐ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Hwainantzyy Wade–Giles Huai2-nan2 tzŭ3 IPA [xwǎɪ.nǎn.tsɨ̀] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Wàaih-nàahm-jí Jyutping Waai4-naam4-zi2 IPA [waj˩ nam˩ tsi˧˥] Southern Min Tâi-lô Huâi-lâm-tsú Middle Chinese Middle Chinese Hweaj-nom-tzí Old Chinese Baxter–Sagart (2014) *[ɢ]ʷˤrij nˤ[ə]m tsəʔ

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The Huainanzi is an ancient Chinese text that consists of a collection of essays that resulted from a series of scholarly debates held at the court of Liu An, Prince of Huainan, sometime before 139 BCE. The Huainanzi blends Chinese folk religion, Taoist, Confucianist, and Legalist concepts, including theories such as yin and yang and Wu Xing theories.

The Huainanzi's essays are all connected to one primary goal: attempting to define the necessary conditions for perfect socio-political order.^[1] It concludes that perfect societal order derives mainly from a perfect ruler, and the essays are compiled in such a way as to serve as a handbook for an enlightened sovereign and his court.^[1]

Influences[edit]

In quantitative terms, the Huainanzi has major influences from the Zhuangzi and Lüshi Chunqiu, and to a lesser extent the Laozi and Han Feizi, but glosses and opposes Han Fei's combination of Shang Yang and Shen Buhai ("Chinese Legalism") along penal lines.^[2]

The book[edit]

Scholars are reasonably certain regarding the date of composition for the Huainanzi. Both the Book of Han and Records of the Grand Historian record that when Liu An paid a state visit to his nephew the Emperor Wu of Han in 139 BC, he presented a copy of his "recently completed" book in twenty-one chapters. Recent research shows that Chapters 1, 2, and 21 of the Huainanzi were performed at the imperial court.^[3]

The Huainanzi is an eclectic compilation of chapters or essays that range across topics of religion, history, astronomy, geography, philosophy, science, metaphysics, nature, and politics. It discusses many pre-Han schools of thought, especially the Huang–Lao form of religious Daoism, and contains more than 800 quotations from Chinese classics. The textual diversity is apparent from the chapter titles (tr. Le Blanc, 1985, 15–16):

Some Huainanzi passages are philosophically significant, for instance, this combination of Five Phases and Daoist themes.  

When the lute-tuner strikes the kung note [on one instrument], the kung note [on the other instrument] responds: when he plucks the chiao note [on one instrument], the chiao note [on the other instrument] vibrates. This results from having corresponding musical notes in mutual harmony. Now, [let us assume that] someone changes the tuning of one string in such a way that it does not match any of the five notes, and by striking it sets all twenty-five strings resonating. In this case there has as yet been no differentiation as regards sound; it just happens that that [sound] which governs all musical notes has been evoked. Thus, he who is merged with Supreme Harmony is beclouded as if dead-drunk, and drifts about in its midst in sweet contentment, unaware how he came there; engulfed in pure delight as he sinks to the depths; benumbed as he reaches the end, he is as if he had not yet begun to emerge from his origin. This is called the Great Merging. (chapter 6, tr. Le Blanc 1985:138)

Notable translations[edit]

• Major, John S.; Queen, Sarah A.; Meyer, Andrew Seth; Roth, Harold D. (2010). The Huainanzi. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-52085-0.
• Le Blanc, Charles; Mathieu, Rémi (2003). Philosophes Taoïstes II: Huainan zi (in French). Paris: Gallimard.

Translations that focus on individual chapters include:

• Balfour, Frederic H. (1884). Taoist Texts, Ethical, Political, and Speculative. London: Trübner.
• Morgan, Evan (1933). Tao, the Great Luminant: Essays from the Huai-nan-tzu. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.
• Wallacker, Benjamin (1962). The Huai-nan-tzu, Book Eleven: Behavior Culture and the Cosmos. New Haven: American Oriental Society.
• Kusuyama, Haruki (1979–1988). E-nan-ji 淮南子 [Huainanzi]. Shinshaku kanbun taikei (in Japanese). Vol. 54, 55, 62.
• Larre, Claude (1982). Le Traité VIIe du Houai nan tseu: Les esprits légers et subtils animateurs de l'essence [Huainanzi Chapter 7 Translation: Light Spirits and Subtle Animators of Essence]. Variétés sinologiques (in French). Vol. 67.
• Ames, Roger T. (1983). The Art of Rulership: A Study in Ancient Chinese Political Thought. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
• Le Blanc, Charles (1985). Huai nan tzu; Philosophical Synthesis in Early Han Thought: The Idea of Resonance (Kan-ying) With a Translation and Analysis of Chapter Six. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
• Major, John S. (1993). Heaven and Earth in Early Han Thought: Chapters Three, Four and Five of the Huainanzi. Albany: State University of New York Press.
• Ames, Roger T.; Lau, D.C. (1998). Yuan Dao: Tracing Dao to Its Source. New York: Ballantine Books.

Television series[edit]

• The Legend of Huainanzi

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

Sources[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Huainanzi.

Chinese Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Huainanzi (in Chinese)

• 淮南子 - Chinese Text Project
• 淮南子, original text in Chinese 21 chapters
• 淮南子, original text in Chinese 21 chapters
• 淮南子, original text in Chinese 21 chapters
• Tao, the Great Luminant, Morgan's translation
• Huainan-zi, Sanderson Beck's article
• Huainanzi, Chinaknowledge article