The Huainanzi: A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Government in Early Han China, by Liu An, King of Huainan

Translated and edited by John S. Major, Sarah A. Queen, Andrew Seth Meyer, and Harold D. Roth

The Huainanzi opens a unique window into the intellectual life of the early Western Han dynasty (206 B.C.E.-7 C.E.). Compiled by scholars at the court of Liu An, king of Huainan, and intended to summarize "all that a modern monarch needs to know," the text was formally presented by the king to his much younger cousin, Emperor Wu, in 139 B.C.E.

This first complete English translation of The Huainanzi, the product of twelve years of scholarship, faithfully reveals its tightly organized, sophisticated articulation of early Han philosophy and statecraft. Widely misperceived as a pastiche of material from various pre-Han texts, The Huainanzi emerges as a brilliant synthesis of traditions spanning the full spectrum of early Chinese thought. It quotes both Daoist classics such as Laozi and Zhuangzi and works associated with the Confucian tradition such as the Changes, the Odes, and the Documents, and alludes to texts of other traditions, from Mozi to Hanfeizi. The Huainanzi emphasizes rigorous self-cultivation and mental discipline, claiming that successful rule requires not only broad knowledge and diligent application but also, above all, the penetrating wisdom of a sage. This remarkable translation preserves The Huainanzi's special rhetorical features, such as parallel prose and verse, demonstrating that the text's literary achievements are much more complex than previously believed and powerfully serve to complement and convey its philosophical message.

Related Subjects

• Asian/Islamic Philosophy
• East Asian Studies

Series

• Translations from the Asian Classics

About the Author

John S. Major is an independent scholar and writer, former professor of history at Dartmouth College, and author of Heaven and Earth in Early Han Thought. Sarah A. Queen is professor of history at Connecticut College and author of From Chronicle to Canon. Andrew Seth Meyer is assistant professor of history at Brooklyn College whose current research is on Warring States intellectual history. Harold D. Roth is professor of religious studies and East Asian studies at Brown University and author of Original Tao: Inward Training and the Foundations of Taoist Mysticism.

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