Everything about The Huainanzi totally explained
The
Huainanzi (淮南子;
pinyin Huáinánzǐ,
Wade-Giles Huai-nan Tzu; literally "The Masters/Philosophers of Huainan") is a 2nd century BCE Chinese philosophical classic from the
Han dynasty that blends
Daoist,
Confucianist, and
Legalist concepts, including theories such as
Yin-Yang and the
Five Phases. It was written under the patronage of
Liu An, King of
Huainan, a legendarily prodigious author. The text, also known as the
Huainan honglie 淮南鸿烈 ("The Great Brilliance of Huainan"), is a collection of essays presented as resulting from literary and philosophical debates between Liu and guests at his court, in particular the scholars known as the
Eight Immortals of Huainan.
The book
The date of composition for the
Huainanzi is more certain than for most early Chinese texts. 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 BCE, he presented a copy of his "recently completed" book in twenty-one chapters.
The
Huainanzi is an eclectic compilation of chapters or essays that range across topics of mythology, history, astronomy, geography, philosophy, science, metaphysics, nature, and politics. It discusses many pre-Han schools of thought (especially Huang-Lao 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):
01 原道訓 Yuandao Searching out Dao
02 俶真訓 Chuzhen Beginning of Reality
03 天文訓 Tianwen Patterns of Heaven
04 墬形訓 Zhuixing Forms of Earth
05 時則訓 Shize Seasonal Regulations
06 覽冥訓 Lanming Peering into the Obscure
07 精神訓 Jingshen Seminal Breath and Spirit
08 本經訓 Benjing Fundamental Norm
09 主術訓 Zhushu Craft of the Ruler
10 繆稱訓 Miucheng On Erroneous Designations
11 齊俗訓 Qisu Placing Customs on a Par
12 道應訓 Daoying Responses of Dao
13 氾論訓 Fanlun A Compendious Essay
14 詮言訓 Quanyan An Explanatory Discourse
15 兵略訓 Binglue On Military Strategy
16 說山訓 Shuoshan Discourse on Mountains
17 說林訓 Shuolin Discourse on Forests
18 人間訓 Renjian In the World of Man
19 脩務訓 Youwu Necessity of Training
20 泰族訓 Taizu Grand Reunion
21 要略 Yaolue Outline of the Essentials
Some
Huainanzi passages are philosophically significant, for instance, this combination of Five Phases and Daoist themes.
When the lute-tuner strikes the kung note [onone instrument], the kung note [onthe other instrument] responds: when he plucks the chiao note [onone instrument], the chiao note [onthe other instrument] vibrates. This results from having corresponding musical notes in mutual harmony. Now, [letus assume that] someone changes the tuning of one string in such a way that it doesn't 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's as if he hadn't yet begun to emerge from his origin. This is called the Great Merging. (chapter 6, tr. Le Blanc 1985:138)
Translations
The
Huainanzi has never yet been completely translated into English. A complete translation is due to be published for the first time in 2009 by John Major, Harold Roth, Sarah Queen and Andy Meyer, with contributions from Judson Murray and Michael Puett. Besides Evan Morgan's free translation of eight chapters (1, 2, 7, 8, 12, 13, 15, and 19) and John Major's scholarly analysis of three (3, 4, and 5), the only published translations are of individual chapters: 1 by Frederic Balfour, 6 by Charles Le Blanc, 9 by Roger Ames, 1 by Roger Ames and D.C. Lau and 11 by Benjamin Wallacker.
Further Information
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