See Also: Huainanzi(encyclopedia)

Huainanzi (sh)




or Huai-nan-tzu

Chinese Daoist classic written งใ 139 BC under the patronage of the nobleman Huainanzi.

The work deals with cosmology, astronomy, and statecraft. It asserts that the dao (way) originated from vacuity, which produced the universe, which in turn produced material forces. These material forces combined to form yin and yang, which give rise to the multiplicity of things. Many of the teachings of the Huainanzi are still accepted as orthodox by Daoist philosophers as well as by Confucianists. See also Daoism.