Wang Bi ( zh, 王弼; 226–249),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Fusi ( zh, 輔嗣), was a Chinese philosopher and politician. During his brief career, he produced commentaries on the ''

Tao Te Ching The ''Tao Te Ching'' () or ''Laozi'' is a Chinese classic text and foundational work of Taoism traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship and date of composition and compilation are debated. The oldest excavated por ...

'' and ''

I Ching The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...

'' which were highly influential in

Chinese philosophy Chinese philosophy (Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 中国哲学; Traditional Chinese characters, traditional Chinese: 中國哲學) refers to the philosophical traditions that originated and developed within the historical ...

Life and background

Wang Bi's grandfather Wang Kai (王凯) was a clansman of Wang Can, one of the Seven Scholars of Jian'an, while Wang Kai's wife was a daughter of the warlord Liu Biao. After Wang Can's two sons were implicated in Wei Feng's rebellion in 219 and executed, Wang Bi's father Wang Ye was made Wang Can's heir; Wang Ye also inherited Wang Can's library of about 10000 volumes (including books from Cai Yong's collection). Wang Bi served as a minor bureaucrat in the state of

Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...

during the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

period. He died from an

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of hosts in a given population within a short period of time. For example, in meningococcal infection ...

at the age of 23. Wang Bi's most important works are commentaries on

Laozi Laozi (), also romanized as Lao Tzu #Name, among other ways, was a semi-legendary Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosopher and author of the ''Tao Te Ching'' (''Laozi''), one of the foundational texts of Taoism alongside the ''Zhuangzi (book) ...

's ''

'' and the ''

''. The text of the ''Tao Te Ching'' that appeared with his commentary was widely considered the best copy of this work until the discovery of the Han-era

Mawangdui Mawangdui () is an archaeological site located in Changsha, China. The site consists of two saddle-shaped hills and contained the tombs of three people from the Changsha Kingdom during the western Han dynasty (206 BC – 9 AD): the Chancellor Li ...

texts in 1973. He was a scholar of

Xuanxue Xuanxue (), sometimes called Neo-Daoism (Neo-Taoism), is a metaphysical Post-classical history, post-classical Chinese philosophy from the Six Dynasties (222-589), bringing together Taoist and Confucianism, Confucian beliefs through revision and di ...

Writings

At least three works by Wang Bi are known: a commentary on

Confucius Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the phil ...

' ''

Analects The ''Analects'', also known as the ''Sayings of Confucius'', is an ancient Chinese philosophical text composed of sayings and ideas attributed to Confucius and his contemporaries, traditionally believed to have been compiled by his followers. ...

'', which survives only in quotations; commentaries on the ''

'' and the ''

'', which not only have survived but have greatly influenced subsequent Chinese thought on those two classics. His commentary on the ''I Ching'' has been translated into English by Richard John Lynn, ''The Classic of Changes'' (New York: Columbia University, 1994) Several translations into English have been made of his commentary of the ''Tao Te Ching'': * Ariane Rump, translator ''Commentary on the Lao Tzu by Wang Pi'', ''Monographs of the Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy'', No. 6 (Honolulu: University of Hawaii, 1979) * Richard John Lynn, translator ''The Classic of the Way and Virtue; A New Translation of the Tao-te Ching of Laozi as Interpreted by Wang Bi'' (New York: Columbia University, 1999) * Rudolf Wagner, translator.'' A Chinese Reading of the Daodejing: Wang Bi's Commentary on the Laozi with Critical Text and Translation'' (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2003) The German philosopher Kai Marchal wrote a literary essay about his experience of reading Wang Bi in times of global upheaval.

References

Works cited

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regard ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms ''Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms'' () by Pei Songzhi (372–451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After the fall of the Eastern Jin ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). 226 births 249 deaths 3rd-century Chinese philosophers Cao Wei government officials 3rd-century Taoists Three Kingdoms Taoists Cao Wei writers Philosophers from Shandong Politicians from Shandong Three Kingdoms philosophers Xuanxue Writers from Shandong Chinese classicists {{China-philosopher-stub

Life and background

Writings

See also

References

Works cited