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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 Liú Ān (, c. 179–122 BC) was a Han dynasty Chinese prince, ruling the Huainan Kingdom, and an advisor to his nephew, Emperor Wu of Han (武帝). He is best known for editing the (139 BC) '' Huainanzi'' compendium of Daoist, Confucianist, a ...
,
Prince of Huainan Huainan Kingdom was a kingdom of China's Han dynasty, located in what is now parts of Anhui, Jiangxi and Hubei provinces. History The title "King (or Prince) of Huainan" was first created in 202BC by Liu Bang, King of Han, for Ying Bu, the form ...
, sometime before 139. The ''Huainanzi'' blends
Daoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao ...
,
Confucianist Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
, and
Legalist Legalist, Inc. is an investment firm that specializes in alternative assets in the private credit industry. Today the firm manages approximately $750 million across three separate strategies: litigation finance, bankruptcy ( debtor-in-possession ...
concepts, including theories such as
yin and yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the cycles of yin and ya ...
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. 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.


The book

Scholars are reasonably certain regarding the date of composition for the ''Huainanzi''. Both the ''
Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' or ''History of the Former Han'' (Qián Hàn Shū,《前汉书》) is a history of China finished in 111AD, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. ...
'' and ''
Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...
'' record that when Liu An paid a state visit to his nephew the
Emperor Wu of Han Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), formally enshrined as Emperor Wu the Filial (), born Liu Che (劉徹) and courtesy name Tong (通), was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty of ancient China, ruling from 141 to 87 BC. His reign last ...
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. 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 ''Huang–Lao'' or ''Huanglao'' () was the most influential Chinese school of thought in the early 2nd-century BCE Han dynasty, having its origins in a broader political-philosophical drive looking for solutions to strengthen the feudal order as ...
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.  


Notable translations

* * Le Blanc, Charles and Mathieu, Rémi (2003). ''Philosophes Taoïstes II: Huainan zi''. Paris: Gallimard. Translations that focus on individual chapters include: * Balfour, Frederic H. (1884). ''Taoist Texts, Ethical, Political, and Speculative''. London: Trübner, and Shanghai: Kelly and Walsh. * 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 (1979–88). ''E-nan-ji'' '' uainanzi'. ''Shinshaku kanbun taikei'' 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'' 67. *
Ames, Roger T. Roger T. Ames (born 12 December 1947) is a Canadian-born philosopher, translator, and author. He is Humanities Chair Professor at Peking University in Beijing, China, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, an ...
(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. Roger T. Ames (born 12 December 1947) is a Canadian-born philosopher, translator, and author. He is Humanities Chair Professor at Peking University in Beijing, China, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, an ...
and
D.C. Lau D. C. Lau (; 6 March 192126 April 2010) was a Chinese sinologist and author of the widely read translations of Tao Te Ching, Mencius and The Analects and contributed to the Proper Cantonese pronunciation movement. D. C. Lau studied Chinese unde ...
(1998). ''Yuan Dao: Tracing Dao to Its Source''. New York: Ballantine Books.


Television series

*
The Legend of Huainanzi The Legend of Huainanzi (originally titled ) is a TV animation series produced by CCTV Animation Co. LTD, Huainan Media Industry Development Centre and Communication University of China. This 52-episode epic-historical-fantasy series is based on Chi ...


References


Citations


Sources

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External links


淮南子
-
Chinese Text Project The Chinese Text Project (CTP; ) is a digital library project that assembles collections of early Chinese texts. The name of the project in Chinese literally means "The Chinese Philosophical Book Digitization Project", showing its focus on books ...

淮南子
original text in Chinese 21 chapters

original text in Chinese 21 chapters

original text in Chinese 21 chapters

Morgan's translation

Sanderson Beck's article

Chinaknowledge article {{Authority control Chinese classic texts Han dynasty texts Han dynasty literature Taoist texts 2nd-century BC books