Huainanzi
Also known as: Huai Nan Zi, The Master of Huainan, The Huainanzi
A Western Han encyclopedic treatise blending Daoist cosmology with statecraft, ethics, and natural philosophy, the Huainanzi draws on earlier myths and histories to illustrate a vision of cosmic order and sage rulership.
Description
Compiled under Liu An, Prince of Huainan, the Huainanzi integrates Daoist, Yin–Yang, and Confucian strands into a wide-ranging synthesis on cosmology, government, self-cultivation, and the rhythms of Heaven and Earth. Its arguments often unfold through exemplary narratives: mythic episodes of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, the Great Flood and Yu’s control, Nüwa’s repair of the shattered sky, and moralized tales like Kuafu’s pursuit of the sun or Jingwei’s perseverance. The text aims to yoke cosmic principles (dao, qi, yin–yang) to humane governance, encouraging rulers to act in accord with spontaneous order and seasonal cycles. Read as both philosophical summa and mythographic repository, it preserves early citations and reshaped retellings that became staples of later Chinese myth and literature.
Historiography
The Huainanzi survives in a transmitted recension with commentarial accretions from the Han and later periods; chapter structures (21 pian) are stable though individual readings vary across editions. The work cites or alludes to earlier texts (e.g., Laozi, Zhuangzi, Shijing, Shujing) and preserves mythic motifs parallel to the Shanhaijing and other sources. Modern scholarship, notably the Columbia translation and studies by Major et al., emphasizes its syncretic program and editorial coherence under Liu An’s patronage. Reception ranged from courtly interest to later philosophical anthologizing; its myths influenced historiography and literary retellings throughout imperial China.
Date Notes
Traditionally presented to Emperor Wu of Han in 139 BCE; finalized before Liu An’s death in 122 BCE.
Symbols
Major Characters
- Huangdi (Yellow Emperor)
- Fuxi
- Nuwa
- Yao
- Shun
- Liu An
Myths
- Cosmic Harmony and the Dao
- Myths of Sage-Kings and Ordering the World
- The Cycle of Heaven and Earth
Facts
- Composed under Liu An in the early Western Han; presented at court during Emperor Wu’s reign.
- Structured into 21 chapters (pian), each treating a thematic domain from cosmology to statecraft.
- Integrates Daoist, Confucian, Legalist, and Yin–Yang ideas into a syncretic program.
- Uses mythic narratives as moral and cosmological exempla rather than as stand-alone stories.
- Preserves early versions or summaries of famous tales such as Kuafu, Jingwei, and the Nine Suns.
- Advocates rulership aligned with cosmic rhythms, emphasizing nonaction (wuwei) properly understood.
- Influenced later encyclopedias and philosophical anthologies throughout imperial China.
- Modern standard English translation is a collaborative volume by John S. Major and colleagues (Columbia, 2010).
- Text frequently cites canonical classics, embedding quotations within its argumentative weave.
- Served both as philosophical summa and as a repository of mythic and historical lore for later writers.