1. Hui's, Zhong biography is found in the Sanguo zhi (Beijing: Zhonghua, 1982), 28.784–95Google Scholar, and will be discussed later (all references to the standard or “dynastic” histories are to the Zhonghua shuju (Beijing) punctuated edition and will be cited by juan and page numbers). Xuanxue, translated as “Neo-Daoism” in some Western sources, is a large topic. The word xuan, literally “dark red,” is used in the Laozi (especially ch. 1) to describe the sublimity and mystery of the Dao. Toward the end of the Han period, political instability, the rampant abuses of the official appointment system and other forms of corruption seriously weakened the hold of the Han Confucian orthodoxy and provided the necessary impetus for a reexamination of the classical heritage. Han scholarship was seen to have given rise to a fragmented and thus distorted view of the of the ancient sages, which were unified in their understanding of the Dao as the source and principle of the natural and sociopolitical order. Under the relatively favorable conditions during the Zhengshi reign, with a measure of stability at the center and a strong interest in reform, a new hermeneutic of the Dao began to flourish.

In this context, the emergent learning of the “mysterious” Dao represents a broad philosophical front and is not a partisan or sectarian “Daoist” movement. Confucius remained the ideal sage; indeed, he is seen by some to have “embodied” the Dao in his very being. The Yi jing and other Confucian classics must not be neglected, although the Laozi and the Zhuangzi should be recognized also for their profound wisdom. Through philosophical debates (e.g., on the relationship between “capacity” and “nature”) and a reinterpretation of the classical tradition (e.g., by composing commentaries to the Lun yu , the Laozi, and the Yi jing), philosophers of the early Wei thus sought to discern the “true” meaning of the Dao and its implications for government. Later, during the fifth century, xuanxue became a subject in the official curriculum, with a sharpened focus on the Yi jing, the Laozi, and the Zhuangzi, which were collectively described as the “Three Treatises on the Mysterious (Dao)” (sanxuan ). The term “xuanxue” was then applied retrospectively to the intellectual currents that emerged during the early Wei period. In this discussion, I distinguish xuanxue as a general philosophical hermeneutic with crisscrossing currents from “Xuanxue” as a subject of official learning. On this point, see further discussion in the text and n.82 below.

During the early Wei period, philosophical debates and criticism became a mainstay of elite culture. “Pure conversation” (qingtan )—which may be described as a structured form of social gathering in which the host and invited guests debated on specific philosophical topics—acquired a commanding presence on the intellectual stage. I consider xuanxue in the general sense defined above to be the substance of “pure conversation,” providing the participants with the topics, vocabulary, and content of debate. There is a sizeable literature on xuanxue and qingtan. Some of the relevant studies will be cited in the notes below. In English, Wagner, Rudolf G., The Craft of a Chinese Commentator: Wang Bi on the Laozi (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2000)Google Scholar, and Chan, Alan K.L., Two Visions of the Way (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991)Google Scholar both contain a general discussion of the Zhengshi intellectual context and an extensive bibliography.

2. Xiaoyi, Wang, Wang Bi pingzhuan (Nanjing: Nanjing daxue, 1996), 112 Google Scholar. See also Wang's, earlier studies, Zhongguo wenhua de qingliu (Beijing: Zhong-guo shehui kexue, 1991)Google Scholar; and “Zhong Hui yu zaoqi xuanxue” , Zhongguo zhexueshi yanjiu 2(1987), 28–32 Google Scholar.

3. Masami, Ōgami , “Shō Kai ron” , Aoyamagakuin daigaku bungakubu kiyō 30 (1988), 17–29 Google Scholar. This essay has been collected into Ōgami's, recent book, Gen Seki Kei Ko no bungaku (Tokyo: Sōbunsha, 2000)Google Scholar.

4. Hao, Zhong is accorded a short biography in the Hou Han shu (Beijing: Zhonghua, 1973), 62.2064–65Google Scholar. See also Sanguo zhi 13.391–92nl. Zhong Hao is often mentioned in historical sources with another intellectual luminary of Yingchuan, Xun Shu (83–149), a descendant of Xunzi , father of Xun Shuang , the noted Yi jing scholar, and grandfather of Xun Yue , author of the Shen jian , and Xun Yu . See Xun Shu's biography in Hou Han shu 62.2049. Xun Yu (163–212), in particular, was a key figure in late Han and early Wei politics. See Tang Changru , “Dong Han moqi de daxing mingshi” , in his Wei Jin Nan Bei chao shilun shiyi (Beijing: Zhonghua, 1983), 25–52 Google Scholar. Among the associates and students of Zhong Hao and Xun Shu were Li Gu , Li Ying , and Chen Shi . All three were leaders of the qingyi movement that pitted the literati against both the eunuchs and the maternal relatives of the imperial family. Li Gu was killed in 147 by Liang Ji , supreme commander and brother of two empresses, while Li Ying, who was also a native of Yingchuan, died in prison at the height of the purges or proscriptions against the qingyi “faction” (danggu ) in 169. Li Ying's aunt was the wife of Zhong Hao's brother, whose son, in turn, married Li Ying's sister. Li Gu's and Li Ying's biographies are found in Hou Han shu 63.2073–89 and 67.2191–97, respectively. Chen Shi (104–187), another famous son of Yingchuan, was known especially for his fairness and integrity; he was implicated during the proscriptions but was spared a violent death. See his biography in Hou Han shu 62.2065–69. Qingyi is translated as “righteous protest” in The Cambridge History of China, vol. 1, The Ch'in and Han Empires, ed. Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), 797; 327–30 discusses the danggu proscriptions. Also relevant is Ch'en, Ch'i-yün, Hsün Yüeh (A.D. 148–209): The Life and Reflections of an Early Medieval Confucian (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975)Google Scholar.

5. See Zhong You's biography in Sanguo zhi 13.391–99, as well as Xun Yu's in Sanguo zhi 10.307–17 and Hou Han shu 70.2280–90. Both began their political careers in the Yingchuan provincial administration (Sanguo zhi 13.392n2). In 191, Xun Yu left Yuan Shao for Cao Cao. A few years later, Xun recommended Zhong You to Cao Cao (Sanguo zhi 10.311). Zhong You, having risen quickly in 216 to the position of Chief Minister or “Counselor-in-chief” (xiangguo ), suffered a political setback in 219—following the chronology in the biography of Cao Cao, Sanguo zhi 1.52—but was reinstated when Emperor Wen of Wei (Cao Pi , r. 220–226) ascended the throne. According to Zhong Hao's biography in the Hou Han shu (62.2065), Zhong You was the grandson of Zhong Hao. The commentary to Zhong You's biography in the Sanguo zhi, however, identifies Zhong You as Zhong Hao's great-grandson (13.392nl). The name “Zhong You” may also be pronounced “Zhong Yao.” I follow the standard reading here, although the second reading seems to find support from the Shishuo xinyu , which contains an interesting entry relating how Emperor Wen of Jin (the posthumous title of Sima Zhao [211–265]) made fun of Zhong Hui by alluding to his father's name using the word “yao” . See Yong, Yang , Shishuo xinyu jiaojian (Hong Kong: Dazhong, 1969), 25.2,586 Google Scholar; cf. Mather, Richard, Shih-shuo Hsin-yü: A New Account of Tales of the World, by Liu I-ch'ing with Commentary by Liu Chün (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1976), 401 Google Scholar. All quotations from the Shishuo xinyu are taken from Yang Yong”s edition and will be cited by their chapter and section numbers. Zhong You was also a noted calligrapher. See Goodman, Howard L., “The Calligrapher Chung Yu (ca. 163–230) and the Demographics of a Myth,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 114.4 (1994), 555–71CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Goodman traces in great detail the family history of Zhong You and suggests that he was likely Zhong Hao's great-grandson. The translation, “Counselor-in-chief,” is taken from Hucker, Charles O., A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1985)Google Scholar.

6. The Hou Han shu relates, “Zhong Hao, styled Jiming , was a native of Changshe in Yingchuan. The family was a distinguished one in the commandery; and for generations it had been good at law … [Zhong Hao] taught the Shi and law to over a thousand students” (62.2064); cf. Sanguo zhi 13.391nl.

7. Sanguo zhi 13.397–99; also see Sanguo zhi 22.634, biography of Chen Qun. From the start, Wang Lang had argued against the reinstatement of rouxing. Wang clearly saw the real intent of Zhong You's proposal, because death sentences could be commuted even under existing law. Given that Wang Lang died in 228, the debate before Emperor Ming must have taken place between 227 and 228. Wang Lang” s biography indicates that both he and Zhong You were known for their expertise in judging criminal cases. Whereas Wang Lang emphasized caution in applying punishment, that heavy punishment should be avoided whenever doubt existed (zuiyi congqing ), Zhong You was discerning in his judgment and meted out punishment proportionate to the crime (mingcha dangfa ). See Sanguo zhi 13.407. The reinstatement of rouxing was evidently a hotly debated topic at the time—see also, for example, Sanguo zhi 9.302n6, biography of Xiahou Xuan (209–254), who authored a treatise on corporal punishment; and Jin shu 30.921–26, “Treatise on Punishment and Law,” which explains that the motivation for reinstating rouxing lay in the ineffectiveness of existing laws to fight the rising crime rate. The Sanguo zhi 10.321n2 also mentions a debate on rouxing between Kong Rong (d. 208) and Xun Qi cf. Hou Han shu 70.2266, for Kong Rong's view on this issue. My concern here is simply whether Zhong You's emphasis on the rule of law would find expression in Zhong Hui's Laozi learning. The fact that Chen Qun was asked to develop his father's view may also serve as an indication of the place of family learning in early third-century China. Incidentally, Chen Qun's grandfather, Chen Shi, was a close friend of Zhong Hao (see n.4 above). For a summary of the debate on corporal punishment during the early Han period, see Han shu 23.1097–1105.

8. Zhong Yu also introduced new laws allowing sons to clear the name of their deceased fathers and prohibiting remarriage for wives of the aristocrats. See Zhong Yu's brief biography attached to Zhong You's in Sanguo zhi 13.399–400. The official title dali was changed to tingwei at the start of the Wei dynasty. Whereas Xiahou Xuan was an acknowledged leader of the Wei elite, Li Feng, as we shall see, participated in the debate on “capacity and nature.” Li Feng plotted with Xiahou Xuan against Sima Shi (208–255) and was killed immediately; the fate of his family, however, came under Zhong Yu's purview. The incident is reported in detail in Sanguo zhi 9.299–302, biography of Xiahou Xuan, where it is also mentioned that Zhong Hui wanted to befriend Xiahou Xuan after the latter had been arrested but was rebuffed (9.302n4). On this incident, see also Shishuo xinyu 5.6.

9. Zhong You's Laozi and Yi jing commentaries are mentioned by Liu Jun (462–521) in his commentary to the Shishuo xinyu 2.11. This reference has been omitted in Richard Mather's translation. Zhong Hui also refers to his father's Yi jing commentary (Sanguo zhi 28.785nl).

10. Zhong Hui composed a biography of his mother, which has been preserved in the commentary to his biography in Sanguo zhi 28.784nl and 785–86nl. When Zhong Yu was a provincial governor toward the end of the Zhengshi reign, he engaged Guan Lu fig (209–256), the famous diviner, in a discussion of the Yi jing. The Sanguo zhi commentator, Pei Songzhi (372–451) relates that Zhong Yu challenged Guan on over twenty matters concerning the Yi jing and adds that he thought the difficulties Zhong had raised were truly exceptional. This would suggest that Zhong Yu at least thought of himself as a Yi jing expert. See Sanguo zhi 29.821–22, biography of Guan Lu.

11. Sanguo zhi 28.784. The Shishuo xinyu reports two instances in which Zhong Yu and especially Zhong Hui showed their quick wit (2.11 and 2.12). The latter reference tells the story that Zhong Yu and Zhong Hui stole wine when they were young. A similar story is attributed to the two sons of Kong Rong; see Shishuo xinyu 2.4.

12. Sanguo zhi 28.784. A similar account is recorded in the commentary to the Shishuo xinyu 2.12, which gives an abbreviated version of Zhong Hui's biography. See also Sanguo zhi 14.452, for Jiang Ji's rise in officialdom. Sanguo zhi 9.299nl gives an account of the widespread corruption that plagued the appointment of military officials, a problem to which Jiang Ji is said to have contributed.

13. Sanguo zhi 28.785nl; cf. Mather, Richard, “The Controversy over Conformity and Naturalness during the Six Dynasties,” History of Religions 9 (1969–70), 167 CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Zhong Hui also acquired good calligraphic skills and had on more than one occasion forged documents to advance his interests. See Sanguo zhi 28.787 and 791–92; see also Shishuo xinyu 21.4.

14. Sanguo zhi 28.795. The Chinese text reads, “.”

15. Wang Bi's biography by He Shao (d. ca. 300) is preserved in the commentary to Zhong Hui's; see Sanguo zhi 28.795–96nl. One of Wang Bi's forebears, Wang Chang (d. 169), was a student of Xun Shu and was presumably known to Zhong Hao as well; see Sanguo zhi 10.307nl. From a distinguished family in Shanyang commandery, Wang Chang was the son of Wang Gong , who came to associate with the leaders of the qingyi reform movement when he was governor of Runan , another leading center of learning near Yingchuan. In particular, Wang Gong became close to Chen Fan (d. 168), who would later bring Wang Chang into politics; see Hou Han shu 56.1819–26 and 66.2159. Wang Chang's son ended up serving under He Jin (d. 189), the strongman in government at the time. See Sanguo zhi 21.597–99, biography of Wang Can (d. 217), grandson of Wang Chang, for further details. Family connection may have been one reason why Wang Bi became a protégé of He Yan, grandson of He Jin, although this should not undermine Wang Bi's philosophical talent or He Yan's ability to identify and appreciate such talent. Similarly, it is possible that family history had brought Zhong Hui together with He Yan and Wang Bi. In this context, another young contemporary, Xun Rong , Xun Yu's grand-nephew, may be mentioned. The commentary to the biography of Xun Yu (Sanguo zhi 10.316nl), citing the “Family Records of the Xun Clan” (Xun shijiazhuan ) reports that Xun Rong, “styled Boya , was much celebrated (as a young intellectual) with Wang Bi and Zhong Hui. … He debated with Wang Bi and Zhong Hui on the meaning of the Laozi and the Yi jing.”

16. Baoxuan, Wang, Zhengshi xuanxue (Jinan: Qilu, 1987), 148 Google Scholar. As is well known, Cao Shuang dominated the Zhengshi political scene; in 249 Sima Yi (179–251) engineered a takeover that led to the death of Cao Shuang, He Van, and other members of the faction. After Sima Yi's death, control of the Wei government came into the hands of his two sons, Sima Shi and Sima Zhao. In 265, the latter's son, Sima Yan (236–290) formally ended the reign of Wei and established the Jin dynasty (265–420).

17. Sanguo zhi 28.795nl. “He Yan maintained that the sage does not have (such basic emotions as) fondness, anger, sorrow, and joy. His views were extremely cogent, on which Zhong Hui and others elaborated.”

18. Sanguo zhi 13.400; cf. Sanguo zhi 9.283. Subsequently, Zhong Yu was removed from the capital to serve as governor of the Wei commandery, where he met Guan Lu (see n.10 above).

19. Sanguo zhi 28.786nl.

20. Sanguo zhi 28.791.

21. Sanguo zhi 28.795.

22. Sui shu 32.910.

23. The method of huti , which Richard Lynn translates as “overlapping trigrams,” became current during the Han dynasty and was associated with such scholars as Zheng Xuan (127–200) and Yu Fan (ca. 170–ca. 239). A hexagram is formed by two trigrams; i.e., lines 1–3 and lines 4–6. To understand a hexagram, one can thus focus on the basic meaning of the two constituent trigrams. The method of “overlapping trigrams,” however, takes lines 2–4 and 3–5 to form another two trigrams, in terms of which the hexagram under examination may be explained more fully. Leaving aside the technical details, this serves above all to expand the field of external referents, to which the individual lines of the hexagram are seen to refer, in order to arrive at a more comprehensive understanding of the cosmos. See Lynn, Richard, trans., The Classic of Changes: A New Translation of the I Chingas Interpreted by Wang Bi (New York: Columbia University Press, 1994), 32 Google Scholar.

24. Sanguo zhi 10.319n2; also see Jin shu 39.1150, biography of Xun Yi. Xun was the son of Xun Yu and brother-in-law of Chen Qun. Wang Bi, in his shorter writing on the Yi jing, also criticizes the method of “overlapping trigrams” and other attempts to reduce meaning to objective referents. See Lynn, ibid. Yet in his commentary on the Yi jing, there are instances where he seems to have made use of the method. For example, it was suggested as early as the Song dynasty that Wang Bi's reading of the third line of hexagram 38, kui , took lines 3–5 to refer to the trigram kan . See Boxian, Jian , Wei Jin sijia Yi yanjiu (Taipei: Wenshizhe, 1986), 108 Google Scholar. In general, however, consistent with his emphasis on unity, Wang Bi's understanding of the Yi jing hinges on the idea that the meaning of each hexagram is determined by one line. A useful introduction to the Yi jing learning of the Xun family is Ch'en, Ch'i-yün, “A Confucian Magnate's Idea of Political Violence: Hsün Shuang's (128–190 a.d.) Interpretation of the Book of Changes,” T'oung Rio 54 (1968), 73–115 Google Scholar.

25. As mentioned, Xun Rong, Xun Yi's nephew, also debated with WangBi and Zhong Hui on the meaning of the Laozi and the Yi jing (Sanguo zhi 10.316nl). In particular, he took exception to Wang Bi's interpretation of the “number of the great expansion” (dayan zhi shu ) in the Yi jing (Sanguo zhi 28.795n1), which traces all phenomena to a necessary ontological foundation. See Richard Lynn, The Classic of Changes, 60–61; for a discussion of Wang Bi's departure from Han interpretations, see A. Chan, Two Visions of the Way, 29–32; and Yongtong, Tang, “Wang Bi's New Interpretation of the I Ching and the Lun-yü ,” trans., Walter Liebenthal, Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, 10 (1947), 124–61Google Scholar.

26. In his Jiezi shu , Wang Sengqian identifies the caixing debate and Xi Kang’s famous discussion on music as basic to the repertoire of every learned speaker in philosophical debates; see Wang”s biography in Nan Qi shu 33.598–99. On Wang's work, see Yu Yingshi , “Wang Sengqian Jiezi shu yu Nanchao qingtan kaobian” , Zhongguo wenzhe yanjiu jikan (l993), 173–96. See also Yu's “Preface” to Yiming, Tang Wei Jin qingtan (Taipei: Dongda, 1992)Google Scholar. The Shishuo xinyu also attests to the importance of the caixing debate; see 4.5,4.34, 4.51, and 4.60, the first of which will be discussed later.

27. Sanguo zhi 21.627–28, biography of Fu Jia. The name “Fu Jia” is pronounced “Fu Gu” in modern Chinese; “Jia” seems to be the older pronunciation—see Shuowen jiezi zhu (Shanghai: Shanghai guji, 1986), 88 Google Scholar. Fu Jia recognized Zhong Hui's sharp mind and befriended him, but he also warned Zhong not to be proud, after the latter had gained the trust of Sima Zhao. See Sanguo zhi 21.627 and 628nl. Zhong Hui's biography also mentions that he “at one time discussed the identity and difference of caixing”; see Sanguo zhi 28.795.

28. Wang Baoxuan, Zhengshi xuanxue, 152–53. Wang suggests that the work was probably completed in 256, because in that year, according to the Sanguo zhi (4.134), Zhong summarized a discussion on the relative merits of certain ancient kings that transpired at a banquet hosted by the Wei emperor. Although there may be overlaps, the two topics seem nonetheless too different to be collapsed into one treatise on caixing.

29. Wang Xiaoyi, Wang Bi pingzhuan, 113. See also Xiaohai, Zhu (Chu Hsiao-Ha [sic] , “ Caixing Siben lun ceyi ” , Journal of Oriental Studies (Hong Kong) 18 (1980), 207–24Google Scholar. The suggestion is that because Wang Guang , whose view forms a part of the Siben lun, died in 251, Zhong's work should be dated before that time. It is difficult to say when the written work was completed, although it may be assumed that the four views themselves were established before Wang's death. This is because, as I shall argue, Wang Guang seems to have been the last to step into the debate, taking aim especially at Zhong Hui's position. It is not necessary to assume that there was actually a debate involving all the four proponents; conceivably, Fu Jia was the first to make known his view, which was circulated and against which the other three reacted separately.

30. According to the Shishuo xinyu 4.5, Zhong Hui went to Xi Kang's house, but fearing that Xi Kang might criticize his work he “threw” it inside and ran away. This may suggest that Zhong Hui was then still relatively young and not fully secure in his political career. Perhaps the work may be placed between 245 and 254, after which Zhong Hui seems fully preoccupied with political developments. On another occasion, perhaps not long after 249, Zhong Hui was snubbed by Xi Kang. Whether this has contributed to Zhongf s damaging views against Xi Kang later is, of course, a matter of conjecture. But Zhong's role in the eventual execution of Xi cannot be denied, for which see Sanguo zhi 21.606nl and 28.787; Shishuo xinyu 6.2 commentary and 24.3; and Jin shu 49.1373. There is no need to try to “rehabilitate” Zhong Hui; his contribution to xuanxue stands on its own. What may be worth mentioning is that although Zhong was snubbed by Xi Kang, his reply was really quite brilliant. Taking the Shishuo xinyu account (24.3), Xi Kang refused to acknowledge Zhong Hui when the latter visited him. When Zhong was about to leave, Xi Kang asked, “What had you heard that made you come? And what have you seen that makes you leave?” Zhong replied, “Having heard what I had heard, I came; having seen what I have seen, I am (therefore) leaving.” Cf. Richard Mather, Shih-shuo Hsin-yü, 393. Zhong Hui has also been accused of trying to bring harm to Ruan Ji (210–263); see Jin shu 49.1360.

31. Wang Baoxuan, Zhengshi xuanxue, 165–66. Wang Xiaoyi, Wang Bi pingzhuan, 364–65, traces Wang Bi's Laozi commentary to about 244.

32. Sui shu 34.1000; Jiu Tang shu 47.2027; Xin Tang shu 59.1514.

33. This is reported in Gongwu, Chao , Junzhai dushu zhi (Taipei: Guangwen, 1967)Google Scholar, 11.4b. Zhang Junxiang's compilation originally included thirty commentaries. It has been suggested that the Daode zhenjing zhushu , attributed to Gu Huan , a noted Daoist master of the fifth century, is in fact an incomplete version of Zhang's work; see Zhongmin, Wang , Laozi kao (Beijing, 1927; reprint, Taipei: Dongxing, 1981), 92–94 Google Scholar. However, the present Dao zang edition of the work (Harvard-Yenching Index no. 710), in Dao zang (Shanghai: Shanghai shudian, 1996), 13.274–356 Google Scholar, does not contain any reference to Zhong Hui.

34. Du Guangting, Daode zhenjing guang shengyi (Harvard-Yenching Index no. 725), 5.12b; in Dao zang, 14.340.

35. The Sui shu (35.1060) mentions also a Zhong Hui (Collected Works) in nine juan, to which a catalogue had been added during the Liang dynasty (502–557); and under the “miscellaneous” section (34.1006), a Churao lun in five juan, a few lines from which have been preserved in the Song encyclopedic work, Taiping yulan . See Kejun, Yan , Quan Sanguo wen (Beijing: Zhonghua, 1995), 25.1191 Google Scholar. Zhong Hui was also an accomplished poet; a few fragments of his poetry in the fu style have been preserved in various sources; see Quan Sanguo wen, 25.1188.

36. Tang Yongtong , “Du Da zang zhaji” , reprinted in Tang Yong-tong xueshu lunwen ji (Beijing: Zhonghua, 1983), 407–8Google Scholar. Li Lin's work, the Daode zhenjing qushan ji , in twelve juan, is collected in the Dao zang (Harvard-Yenching Index no. 718). All citations from Li Lin's work are from the Dao zang edition, 13.844–942.

37. Takao, Fujiwara , “Shūitsu Rōshi kochūhen” , in Takamatsu kōgyō kōtō senmon gakkō kenkyū kiyō , 1 (1966)Google Scholar. I thank Professor Fujiwara for sending me an offprint of his work. According to Wang Zhongmin, the Qing scholar Yan Kejun had collected fragments of Zhong's commentary; but it seems that the work was never put to print. See Wang Zhongmin, Laozi kao, 57.

38. Zhenzong, Yao, Sanguo yiwen zhi , in Shishi shanfang congshu (Shanghai: Kaiming, 1936), 68Google Scholar; cf. Shihan, Wang, Wen xuan lixue quanyu (Taipei: Guangwen, 1966)Google Scholar, 2A.35b. After the Song period, scholars do quote from Zhong Hui occasionally. For example, the Ming scholar Jiao Hong (1541–1620) cites Zhong's interpretation of chapter 25 in his commentary to the Laozi; the Qing scholar Wei Yuan (1794–1856) also refers to Zhong once in his commentary, the Laozi benyi . But in all likelihood they were relying on the three sources identified here. In what follows, citations from Lu Deming's Laozi yinyi are from the Sibu beiyao edition, appended to Bi's, Wang Laozi commentary (Taipei: Zhonghua, 1981)Google Scholar. Quotations from the Wen xuan refer to the Taiwan reprint of the Qing dynasty “Master Wan” edition, which is in turn based on a Song edition (Taipei: Zhengzhong, 1971). For ease of reference, I will also give the corresponding page numbers in the readily available 6-volume edition of the Wen xuan (Shanghai: Shanghai guji, 1986)Google ScholarPubMed. The Wen xuan zhu yinshu yinde , Harvard-Yenching Sinological Index Series, no. 26 (Peiping: Harvard-Yenching Institute, 1935), 117, gives a partial list of citations from Zhong's Laozi zhu. A full list is given in Kazutaka, Tominaga , Monzen Ri Zen chü insho sakuin (Tokyo: Kenbun, 1996), 81 Google Scholar.

39. On the phrase in the current version of the Wang Bi Laozi, Lu Deming remarks that Zhong Hui's text and several others’ have the word in place of . See Kunio, Shima, Rōshi Kōsei (Tokyo: Kyūkoshoin, 1973), 208–9Google Scholar, for a list of the variants.

40. On the word bi in chapter 15 of the current Laozi, Lu Deming remarks, “”; but he adds that according to Zhong Hui and the Liang emperor Wudi , the word is pronounced “.”

41. Zongsan, Mou , Caixing yu xuanli (Taipei: Xuesheng, 1993), 138 Google Scholar, makes the point that Zhong Hui should be viewed as a “transitional” figure to Wang Bi.

42. Unless otherwise stated, quotations from Wang Bi are translated directly from the modern critical edition by Yulie, Lou , Wang Bijijiaoshi , 2 vols. (Beijing: Zhonghua, 1980)Google Scholar. Compare Lynn, Richard, 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 Press, 1999)Google Scholar; Lin, Paul J., trans., A Translation of Lao-tzu's Tao-te ching and Wang Pi's Commentary (Ann Arbor: Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan, 1977)Google Scholar; and Rump, Ariane and Chan, Wing-tsit, trans., Commentary on the Lao-tzu by Wang Pi (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1979)Google Scholar.

43. Heshanggong is a legendary figure depicted as a teacher to Emperor Wen of Han (r. 179–157 b.c.). Modern Chinese scholars generally agree in dating the commentary to the Later Han period, although some Japanese scholars maintain that it is a later product of the Six Dynasties. See also n.53 below.

44. The commentary by Yan Zun, entitled the Laozi zhigui , now contains only chapters 38–81 of the current Laozi. The best edition of the Laozi zhigui is that contained in the Dao zang (Harvard-Yenching Index no. 693), which clearly indicates that the work had originally thirteen juan, the first six of which have been lost. Judging from the available evidence, it can be accepted as a Han product. The Laozi text that accompanies Yan Zun's commentary agrees in many instances with the wording of the Mawangdui manuscripts. See Chan, Alan K.L., “The Essential Meaning of the Way and Virtue: Yan Zun and ‘Laozi Learning’ in Early Han China,” Monumenta Serica, 46 (1998), 105–27CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Robinet, Isabelle, Les commentaires du Tao tö king jusqu'au VIIe siècle (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1977)Google Scholar. Quotations from Yan Zun's commentary are translated from the modem critical edition by Deyou, Wang , Laozi zhigui (Beijing: Zhonghua, 1994)Google Scholar.

45. The Xiang er commentary, a copy of which was discovered among the Dunhuang manuscripts (no. 6825 in the Stein collection), is closely linked to the “Way of the Celestial Masters” and has been ascribed to Zhang Daoling , the founder of the sect, or his grandson Zhang Lu . It is also incomplete; only the first part has survived, beginning with the middle of chapter 3 and ending with chapter 37 in the current chapter division of the Laozi. The central thesis of the commentary is that devotion to the Dao in terms of spiritual self-cultivation and compliance with its ethical precepts would assure boundless blessings in this life and beyond. On this work, see Zongyi, Rao , Laozi Xiang er zhu jiaozheng (Shanghai: Shanghai guji, 1991)Google Scholar; and Bokenkamp, Stephen, Early Daoist Scriptures (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997)Google Scholar.

46. Sun Chuo's rhapsody has been translated by Knechtges, David R. in Wen xuan, or Selections of Refined Literature (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1982–1996), 2.243 Google Scholar.

47. Chapters 10, 51 and 65 all refer to xuande , “mysterious virtue” or “profound virtue.” Unless stated otherwise, translations from the Laozi are based on the current Sibu beiyao edition. Rather than translating the Laozi in the light of Zhong Hui's commentary, I will generally offer a “minimalist,” literal reading so as to highlight the way in which Zhong Hui exercised his interpretive prerogative and made sense of the Laozi. This would also allow us to see more clearly how Zhong Hui compares with other commentators in the discussion that follows. Where appropriate, reference will be made to the following Laozi translations: Lau, D.C., Chinese Classics: Tao Te Ching (Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 1982)Google Scholar; Chan, Wingtsit, The Way of Lao Tzu (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1963)Google Scholar; Chen, Ellen M., The Tao Te Ching: A New Translation with Commentary (New York: Paragon House, 1989)Google Scholar; Henricks, Robert G., Lao-Tzu Te-Tao Ching: A New Translation Based on the Recently Discovered Ma-wang-tui Texts (New York: Ballantine Books, 1989)Google Scholar; LaFargue, Michael, The Tao of the Tao Te Ching: A Translation and Commentary (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992)Google Scholar; and Waley, Arthur, The Way and its Power (New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1980)Google Scholar.

48. On the Mawangdui text, see Henricks, Lao-Tzu Te-Tao Ching, 206; and Lau, Chinese Classics: Tao Te Ching, 278.

49. I translate po and hunpo as “soul” in a general sense here. Brashier, K. E., “Han Thanatology and the Division of ‘Souls’,” Early China 21 (1996), 125–58CrossRefGoogle Scholar, has drawn at_Ttention to the imprecision of translating hunpo as “soul.” For our purposes, of greater concern is the concept of qi , the vital energy that gives and sustains life, which will be discussed later. Zhong Hui's language here seems to support Brashier's main argument that hunpo does not divide into “a tidy dualism of a heaven-bound hun and an earth-bound po” (p. 158). I am grateful to an anonymous reader for Early China for reminding me of this. However, it should be noted that Heshanggong's commentary to this passage distinguishes hun from po.

50. Zhuzi yulei , 137 (Beijing: Zhonghua, 1986), 8.3265–66. For a detailed discussion of this passage, see Xichang, Jiang , Laozi jiaogu (Shanghai, 1937; Taipei: Dongxing, 1980), 54–56 Google Scholar; and Tarō, Hatano , Rōshi dōtōkukyō kenkyū (Tokyo: Kokusho kankōkai, 1979), 81–82 Google Scholar. Wang Bi's and Heshanggong's interpretation of this line will be discussed later.

51. For a different translation of this passage, see Rudolf G. Wagner, The Craft of a Chinese Commentator, 241–42. Zhong Hui's literary accomplishment is mentioned twice in Liu Xie's (ca. 465–522) Wenxin diaolong; see Wenxin diaolong zhuding , ed. Lizhai, Zhang (Taipei: Zhengzhong, 1979), 20.215 Google Scholar (“Xi Yi” and 43.412 (“Fuhui” ). Cf. Shih, Vincent Yu-chung, trans., The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons (Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 1983), 231 and 441Google Scholar.

52. E.g., WT Chan, Lau, Henricks. The two Mawangdui versions are fuller and specify, “in the government of the sage” (shengren zhi zhi )—see Henricks, Lao-Tzu Te-Tao Ching, 211, and Lau, Chinese Classics: Tao Te Ching, 280—but there is no indication that the additional words are present in the text that Zhong Hui had seen and commented on.

53. Quotations from the Heshanggong commentary are based on two modern critical editions: Chenghai, Zheng Laozi Heshanggong zhu jiaoli (Taipei: Zhonghua, 1971)Google Scholar; and Ka, Wang Laozi Daode jing Heshanggong zhangju (Beijing: Zhonghua, 1993)Google Scholar. Also see Qingxiang, Wang , Laozi Heshanggong zhu zhi yanjiu (Taipei: Xinwenfeng, 1994)Google Scholar. Translations are my own. Compare Erkes, Eduard, Ho-shang Kung's Commentary on Lao-tse (Ascona: Artibus Asiae, 1958)Google Scholar.

54. Rao Zongyi, Laozi Xiang er zhu jiaozheng, 16.

55. Translated from the Wen xuan. The received texts of Heshanggong and Wang Bi do not contain the words, “as for the One” (yi zhe — ). The Wen xuan quotation, however, agrees with the Mawangdui manuscripts and the so-called “ancient version” (guben ). See Henricks, Lao-Tzu Te-Tao Ching, 214–15; and Lau, Chinese Classics: Tao Te Ching, 284. The Wen xuan version seems to contain one mistake; it reads, “Ceaseless, it cannot be talked about (yan).” In place of yan , most versions read ming ; i.e., “it cannot be named.” Li Shan also cites Laozi chapter 21 here.

56. I believe that “fan” should be the correct reading, although the character resembles si , which suggests stagnant water and does not seem to fit the imagery. Fan has the sense of water overflowing, or flowing endlessly, in addition to its more common meaning of “floating” along. Cf. Laozi ch. 34.

57. The “nine generations” extend from one's great-great-grandfather to one's great- great-grandson. However, during the Han period “new text” scholars often take the phrase jiuzu to refer to nine branches of the family involving relatives of one's father, mother, and wife. See Cheng, Anne, “Filial Piety with a Vengeance: the Tension between Rites and Law in the Han,” in Filial Piety in Chinese Thought and History, ed. Chan, Alan K.L. and Tan, Sor-hoon (London: Routledge, forthcoming 2004)Google Scholar.

58. See Zhuangzi, ch. 10; as translated in Watson, Burton, The Complete Works ofChuang Tzu (New York: Columbia University Press, 1968), 109 Google Scholar; cf. Zhuangzi, ch. 16, and Laozi, ch. 57. The Laozi bamboo text discovered at Guodian gives a significantly different version of Laozi 19, but it does not impact on the present discussion. Zhong Hui's commentary suggests that the text at his disposal agrees in this instance with that of the Sibu beiyao edition.

59. This is based on Li Lin's version, which bypasses the differences in the received texts of Wang Bi and Heshanggong. This line also appears in ch. 17 of the current Wang Bi text, and partially in the Heshanggong Laozi. For textual details, see Xulun, Ma , Laozi jiaogu , revised edition (Beijing, 1956; Hong Kong: Taiping, 1965), 66, 84Google Scholar; and Hatano, Rōshi dōtōkukyō kenkyū, 123–24,169. Because the Mawangdui versions do not contain this line in ch. 23, some scholars believe that the line originally belonged to ch. 17 and was inserted into ch. 23 by mistake. But Heshanggong, Zhong Hui, and Wang Bi all commented on this line in ch. 23.

60. The Sibu congkan edition reads, “If the ruler does not have sufficient trust in (the people) below, then they will respond to the ruler insufficiently (buzu ) “In the light of other editions and Heshanggong's commentary on Laozi ch. 17, “buzu” should be emended to read “buxin” (mistrust). See Zheng Chenghai, Laozi Heshanggong zhu jiaoli, 157, and Wang Ka, Laozi Daode jing Heshanggong zhangju, 95.

61. In place “those who are one with (the way of) loss, the dao will lose them” , both the Wang Bi and Heshanggong texts have “.” The Mawangdui versions read, “”; see Henricks, Lao-Tzu Te-Tao Ching, 234–35.

62. The present Wang Bi text has “ji xi liao xi” . In place of liao, Lu Deming's version has mo . Many scholars have argued that mo should be the original wording in Wang*s text; but the difference is relatively minor. Yuan, Wei, Laozi benyi (Taipei: Hanjing wenhua, 1980), 28Google Scholar, reports also, “” which is likely a quotation from Lu Deming.

63. Hong, Jiao, Laozi yi , Congshu jicheng chubian edition (Shanghai: Shangwu, 1940), 3.55 Google Scholar, cites Zhong's commentary here and gives a slightly different wording; but the differences are minor.

64. This follows the present edition of Wang Bi's commentary; quotations from Wang Bi's commentary to this chapter in a couple of traditional sources give a slightly different reading. See Lou Yulie, Wang Bi ji jiaoshi, 68n28.

65. This follows the Wen xuan wording. In the Sibu beiuyao edition, the last line of ch. 65. reads, “ranhou naizhi dashun” . Like the Wen xuan, the twoMawangdui manuscripts also do not have the words “ranhou.” The Heshanggong Sibu congkan edition reads: “”.

66. Jin shu 43.1236, biography of Wang Yan (256–311); the wording here follows the emendation proposed by the Zhonghua shuju editors; see 43.1248n9.

67. See n.62 above. Whether the Wang Bi text originally has mo or liao does not affect the interpretation that the Dao is formless and transcends the realm of things. In this instance, the Heshanggong commentary makes explicit that the Dao is here said to be “without sound” (wu yinsheng ) and “empty without shape” (kong wuxing ).

68. This follows the wording of the current Sibu beiyao edition of Wang Bi's commentary: ; the Wen xuan commentary to Sun Chuo's “Rhapsody on Roaming the Celestial Terrace Mountains” (11.9b, 500) offers a more concise version: “xuan means dark, silent, and not having any (characteristics of) being” .

69. Commentary to Laozi ch. 51, in Wang Deyou, Laozi zhigui, 46.

70. Wang Bi does not make the point here, as Zhong Hui does, that the Dao is “free from danger” because it is able to “penetrate” or go through (tong ) everything; but elsewhere Wang does emphasize that the Dao permeates all levels of existence (e.g., chs. 14, 43). The Heshanggong commentary to ch. 25 is more specific, identifying the perceived referents of Laozi's remarks: the Dao pervades heaven and earth; it does not get “burned” even when it is in the hottest place, or literally in the yang place; nor does it “rot” even in the dampest, most yin corner. Thus, it is “free from danger.”

71. Zhuangzi, ch. 23. Heshanggong's commentary on chapter 14 reads: “(Laozi) is saying that when the One is up in the heavens, it is not dazzlingly bright.… When the One is (down here) below heaven, it is not indistinct or becomes obscure and dark.… ‘Ceaseless’ means that its movement is endless and without limits. ‘Cannot be named’ means that it is not of any color … sound … shape … [and thus cannot be distinguished or measured by them].” It is worth noting that the word “dull” (zhuo ), which Zhong Hui uses in his commentary on this passage, is often used in Heshanggong's commentary and Han cosmological writings in general to suggest a “turbid” form of qi with a heavier yin concentration.

72. Commenting on what the Yi jing calls the “number of the great expansion,” Wang Bi writes, “(One) is not a number but because of it numbers are made complete. This can be regarded as the great ultimate of change.” Lou Yulie, Wang Bi ji jiaoshi, 547–48.

73. See A. Chan, Two Visions of the Way, ch. 2 for a fuller discussion; cf. Chan, A., “A Tale of Two Commentaries,” in Lao-tzu and the Tao-te-ching, ed. Kohn, Livia and LaFargue, Michael (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1998), 89–117 Google Scholar. Recently, Rudolf Wagner argues with precision that “Wang Bi reads the cosmogonie and ontogonic language in the Laozi as a metaphor for a structural relationship between the That-by-which and the entities”; see Wagner, , Language, Ontology, and Political Philosophy in China: Wang Bi's Scholarly Exploration of the Dark (Xuanxue) (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2003), 143 Google Scholar. The “that-by-which” refers to that which makes the “ten thousand kinds of entities” what they are, i.e., the Dao, understood as wu, which Wagner translates as “unegativity.” Against the “cosmogonie or ontogonic approach”that places “the Dao or qi at the beginning,” Wagner also emphasizes that Wang Bi “reads all of this time sequence as a metaphor for logical sequence” (169); the same point is made on p. 187.

74. Yan Zun's commentary on the “great image” also emphasizes the greatness of the Dao. The Heshanggong commentary in this instance links the “great image” to the Daoist sage, who acts as a model to the world: “The man who is the great model (faxiang ) is simple by nature like an uncarved block and does not have any (ostensible) shape or appearance.”

75. See Makeham, John, Name and Actuality in Early Chinese Thought (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994)Google Scholar.

76. Thus, Wang Bi also subscribes to the view that in the realm of phenomena, “names arise from forms” (ming s heng yu xing ). This does not detract from Wang Bi's methodological point that “principle” (li ) and “actuality” cannot be discussed and understood unless one is able to “distinguish names” (bianming ). Names render possible the meaningful differentiation of phenomena and are a condition for understanding, without which forms cannot be determined and their basis or reason of being understood. See Wang Bi's shorter writing on the Laozi, the Laozi zhilüe , in Lou Yulie, Wang Bi ji jiaoshi, 199.

77. Heshanggong shares this basic interpretation, although he provides specific cosmological details: “When the undifferentiated substance (pu) of the myriad things scatters, it turns into vessels ready for use. In the case of the Dao, when it scattered it became a spiritual luminosity (shenming), which flowed and became the sun and the moon, and differentiated into the five agents” (commentary to ch. 28).

78. Wang Bi's commentary here is probably corrupt; see Lou Yulie, Wang Bi ji jiaoshi, 45n8 and Lynn, Classic of the Way and Virtue, 81–82n5. But the general point is clear efiough. The Zhuangzi reads, “When the springs dry up and the fish are left stranded on the ground, they spew each other with moisture and wet each other with spit—but it would be much better if they could forget each other in the rivers and lakes” (ch. 6); Watson, The Complete Works ofChuang Tzu, 80. The story is repeated in Zhuangzi, ch. 14; Watson, ibid., 163.

79. It is, of course, possible that the limited evidence presents a partial view; nonetheless, taken as a whole, these fragments seem to reflect a consistent approach to the Laozi. To Heshanggong, who seeks to map out Laozi's meaning in terms of concrete objects and actions, the point of ch. 18 is that “when the six threads (of family relations) are severed, relatives are not in harmony. Then, there are filial and compassionate men who adopt and help one another.” The Sibu congkan text contains an error; emended in the light of several other versions. See Zheng Chenghai, Laozi Heshanggong zhu jiaoli, 119; and Wang Ka, Laozi Daode jing Heshanggong zhangju, 74nll. The “six threads” of family relations are traditionally defined as elders, brothers, clansmen, maternal uncles, teachers, and friends.

80. In six editions, this sentence reads more simply, “Things are beneficial because of their form.” See Zheng Chenghai, Laozi Heshanggong zhu jiaoli, 69; Wang Ka, Laozi Daode jing Heshanggong zhangju, 42.

81. According to Hatano, Rōshi dōtōkukyō kenkyū, 94, the phrase “to speak of nonbeing” is superfluous; the sentence should read, “This is to say that things (you) are beneficial because they are all dependent on nonbeing as the basis of their function.” Cf. Lynn, Classic of the Way and Virtue, 69. It should be pointed out that although Wang Bi assigns conceptual priority to nonbeing, he also recognizes that the meaning of wu cannot be understood without the mediation of being. See Lou Yulie, Wang Bi ji jiaoshi, 548.

82. Whereas the “valuing nonbeing” position is associated principally with He Yan and Wang Bi, the opposite camp is represented by Guo Xiang (d. 312) and Pei (267–300). The latter was the author of two treatises entitled Chongyou and Guiwu; Sanguo zhi 23.673n2. See Tang Yongtong, Wei Jin xuanxue lungao , collected in Tang Yongtong xueshu lunwen ji, 191–306. Also see Kangsheng, Xu , et al., Wei Jin xuanxue shi (Xian: Shaanxi shifan daxue, 1989)Google Scholar; and Shulian, Zhao , Wei jin xuanxue tanwei (Zhengzhou: Henan renmin, 1992)Google Scholar, chapters 3 and 5. When “Xuanxue” was established as a subject in the official curriculum during the fifth century, Wang Bi's Yi jing commentary served as required reading. On this development, see especially Wang Baoxuan, Zhengshi xuanxue, 2–7. However, as mentioned earlier (see n. 1 above), this is to be distinguished from xuanxue as a general term referring to a broad intellectual front that emerged during the Zhengshi reign and sought to lay bare the meaning of the mysterious Dao, especially with the view of arriving at a recipe for ideal government, which hinges on an understanding of such key concepts as wu and ziran. No doubt, Wang Bi's contribution is extremely important, but the point remains that xuanxue is complex and multifaceted.

83. For example, see Dunkang, Yu , He Yan Wang Bi xuanxue xintan (Jinan: Qilu, 1991), 159–62Google Scholar. Three recent studies on xuanxue that address this issue are Chenyang, Gao , Ru Dao huitong yu Zhengshi xuanxue (Jinan: Qilu, 2000)Google Scholar, ch. 6; Bin, Xu , Wei Jin xuanxue xinlun (Shanghai: Shanghai guji, 2000)Google Scholar, ch. 4; and Huaping, Gao Wei jin xuanxue rengemei yanjiu (Chengdu: Bashu, 2000)Google Scholar, esp. ch. 2.3.

84. A. Chan, Two Visions of the Way, 77–80; Wang Xiaoyi, Wang Bi pingzhuan, 265–74; and Rudolf Wagner, Language, Ontology, and Political Philosophy in China, 151–152, 163,211. Cultivation of the “roots” must of course be encouraged—Wang Bi focuses especially on quietude, tranquility, and having few desires to preserve what is “genuine” in oneself; in politics, abiding by “nonaction” (wuwei ) would translate into policies that allow the people to live in peace, enjoy the plenitude of nature, and be true to themselves. The ruler may be likened to the base or main trunk of a tree, and in this sense the ruler must enable the people, the “branches,” to flourish. But, the “branches” also suggest artificiality, alienation, deviancy, and other opposites of wuwei; and the ruler has a responsibility to put them to rest. The idea of “honoring the roots and putting to rest the branches” (chongben ximo ) derives from Han political philosophy. The Later Han scholar Wang Fu (d. 157), for example, argues that the key to proper governance lies in “cultivating the roots and curbing the branches” (wuben yimo ) and that creating wealth for the people and education are the “roots” and foundation of great peace. Fu, Wang, Qianfu lun 1.2, (“Wu ben” ) in Qianfu lun jian jiaozheng , Xinbian zhuzi jicheng edition (Beijing: Zhonghua, 1985), 14 Google Scholar.

85. Compare the commentary on Laozi ch. 60 in the Hanfeizi ch. 20, “Jie Lao” (Explaining the Laozi), which points out that the loss of “virtue” stems from confusion in one's “essence and spirit” (jingshen ), which in turn is caused by the departure of one's “soul” (hunpo). Qiyou, Chen , Hanfeizi jishi (Hong Kong: Zhonghua, 1974), 357 Google Scholar.

86. Differences in interpretive details notwithstanding, the idea that emotions and desires pose an obstacle to attaining “emptiness” is also high on Heshanggong's agenda: “He who has obtained the Dao diminishes his emotive appetite and gets rid of his desires. His five viscera are all clear and tranquil; he reaches the ultimate of emptiness. He maintains tranquility, and acts with seriousness” (commentary to Laozi ch. 16).

87. Heshanggong's commentary to Laozi ch. 27 reads: “One who is good at putting the Dao into practice seeks it within himself. He does not go down to the outer chamber or go out of doors; thus, he leaves no track or trace.”

88. See Hanfeizi ch. 21, “Yu Lao” (Illustrating the Laozi), 392; see also ch. 31,570, which alludes to Laozi ch. 36.

89. In Heshanggong's interpretation, shangde should be rendered the “highest virtue,” for the ruler's virtue is so great that none can surpass it. Paradoxically, the highest virtue is “not virtuous.” This is because the ruler “does not use virtue to teach the people”; “his virtue is not visible, and this is why (Laozi) says, ‘not virtuous'.” The ruler's virtue, in fact, “merges with heaven and earth”; as a result, “the harmonious qi flourishes and the people are thus able to be preserved and made complete.”

90. Wang Deyou, Laozi zhigui, 4.

91. Hanfeizi 20.326.

92. According to Heshanggong, Laozi ch. 19 is referring to ancient history: “Remove the inventions instituted by the sages, and return to the beginning and safeguard the origin. The Five Emperors dispensed the heavenly images and Cang Jie invented writing; but they are not as good as the Three Sovereigns, who knotted cords (to record events) without (using) written language.” “Discard wisdom” highlights the need to “return to nonaction”; and “the people will benefit a hundredfold” means that “in agriculture, cultivate the public (good) without self-interest.”

93. Lü shi chunqiu, 26.1, “Shi rong” ±; see Qiyou, Chen, Lü shi chunqiu jiaoshi (Shanghai: Xuelin, 1990)Google Scholar, 1697nl5. The “officer” (shi) is not biased or cliquish. This forms an important aspect of the rong of an officer of the state. Chen Qiyou suggests that rong means “attitude” (taidu ). which has a certain “standard” and “model” (fafan ); ibid., 1691nl.

94. The Chinese text reads: “.” Sanguo zhi 15.468, biography of Sima Lang , elder brother of Sima Yi. Sima Lang's own view will be introduced shortly.

95. This is a recurrent theme in Guo Xiang's commentary; see, for example, Qingfan, Guo , Zhuangzi jishi (Beijing: Zhonghua, 1985)Google Scholar, 58nl5,115nl and 311–14nnl–6.

96. Heshanggong's commentary on Laozi ch. 1 reads, “The received energy may be thick or thin. If the received energy is harmonious and rich, it gives birth to great men and sages.” Yan Zun's view of the sage has been mentioned earlier; see n.90 above.

97. Sanguo zhi 28.795nl; see n.17 above.

98. Shishuo xinyu 8.8; cf. Mather, Shih-shuo Hsin-yü, 212. A similar account is repeated in Jin shu 35.1050. Pei Kai was the son of Pei Hui (fl. 227–249), a key figure in early Wei intellectual history, whose discussion with Wang Bi provides important insight for our understanding of Wang” s philosophy; see Wagner, The Craft of a Chinese Commentator, 129–33. Zhong Hui's expertise in identifying talent and assessing a person's character is also recognized. He later recommended Pei Kai to office based on his assessment that Pei was “pure and penetrating” (qingtong ); see Shishuo xinyu 8.5 and 8.6; cf. 1.17; Sanguo zhi 23.674n2; Jin shu 35.1047. The idea that a person's “inner” being can be judged by the “brightness” of his eyes has a long history—see, for example, Mencius, 4A15 and 7A21. Mencius, too, seems to work with the assumption that human nature is fundamentally constituted by qi; see esp. Mencius 2A2. A recent article on this issue is Chan, Alan K.L., “A Matter of Taste: Qi and the Tending of the Heart (Xin) in Mencius 2A2,” in Mencius: Contexts and Interpretations, ed. Chan, Alan K.L. (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2002), 42–71 Google Scholar. “Knowing men,” of course, forms an important topic also in the Lun yu (e.g., 2.10); when integrated with a qi theory, it yields fresh possibilities for an understanding of nature and capacity, which bears directly on law, official appointment, and sociopolitical order at large.

99. Sanguo yhi 28.795n1.

100. Yan Kejun, Quart Sanguo wen, 25.1188.

101. “He Yan once said, ‘Whenever I take a five-mineral powder [wushi san , not only does it heal any illness I may have, but I am also aware of my spirit and intelligence becoming receptive and lucid‘.” Shishuo xinyu 2.14; as translated in Mather, Shih-shuo Hsin-yü, 36. The commentator Liu Jun adds, “Although the prescription … originated during the Han period, its users were few … It was … He Yan who first discovered its divine properties, and from his time on it enjoyed a wide currency in the world.” On the use of drugs by the literati during the Wei-Jin period, see the classic study by Xun, Lu , “Wei Jin fengdu ji wenzhang yu yao ji jiu zhi guanxi” , in his Eryi ji (Hong Kong: Sanlian, 1972), 77–93 Google Scholar. This work can also be found in vol. 3 of the Lu Xun quanji (Collected Works of Lu Xun) (Beijing: Renmin wenxue, 1981)Google Scholar.

102. The possibility of “deathlessness” (changsheng busi ) is recognized in the Heshanggong commentary (ch. 54). Proper Daoist cultivation can bring about “long life and lasting presence” (changsheng jiushou ), a state in which the qi-energy has become exceedingly pure such that it would enable the man of Dao to “return to the infinite” (ch. 28). However, the commentary does not recommend any active striving for it, which would contravene the ideal of naturalness. Rather, “the myriad things ought to follow their (allotted) time of life and death, and must not only want to live perpetually for time without end” (ch. 10; translation adapted from Boltz, William, “The Lao-tzu Text that Wang Pi and He-shang Kung Never Saw,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 48 [1985], 493–501)Google Scholar. The Xian g er commentary emphasizes repeatedly the ideal of an extraordinary “longevity” enjoyed by “perfected beings” or “immortals” (xianshou ) (e.g, chs. 6, 7,13, 30; see also chs. 16, 33) and argues that immortality can be attained through effort (ch. 19). To be sure, there were scholars who denied the existence of immortals during the Han and early Wei periods. Yang Xiong (53 b.c.-a.d. 18), for example, had already raised doubts about such claims, and Wang Chong”s (27-ca. 100) even more critical views were probably a source of influence for Wang Bi, to whom immortality was not an issue. Perhaps this is a feature of the scholarship of the Jingzhou academy, to which Wang Bi's xuanxue learning has been traced. Nevertheless, it appears that the belief in the existence of immortals enjoyed widespread support. Yu Fan, the noted Yi jing scholar and author of a Laozi commentary, was openly critical of the claim of immortals, for which he was exiled to the far south; see Sanguo zhi 57.1321.

103. Xi Kang is explicit in saying that immortals embody the finest (qi-energy and in his emphasis on self-cultivation. See Nobuo, Horiike , Kan Gi shisōshi kenkyū (Tokyo: Meiji, 1988), 503–24Google Scholar; Xu Kangsheng, et al., Wei Jin xuanxue shi, 194–233; Henricks, Robert, trans., Philosophy and Argumentation in Third-Century China: The Essays of Hsi K'ang (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983)Google Scholar, especially 21–70; and Holzman, Donald, La Vie et la Pensée de Hi Kang (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1957)Google Scholar, ch. 3. Perhaps this is one reason why Zhong Hui wanted to befriend Xi Kang and to show him his work on caixing. In any case, it should not be assumed that because Zhong Hui opposed Xi Kang politically, the two therefore must have held rival philosophical views; see, for example, Ogami, “Shö Kai ron,” 24. Indeed, there is little evidence to suggest that Zhong Hui considered Xi Kang to be a political foe during the Zhengshi period, or even during the Jiaping reign (249–254) that immediately followed, despite the fact that Xi Kang had refused his friendly overtures.

104. Sanguo zhi 15.468, biography of Sima Lang. Siding with Zhong You in arguing that only a true sage like Confucius could realize great peace was Wang Can. See also Sanguo zhi, 468nl, for Sun Sheng's attempt to resolve the debate in the fourth century.

105. Sanguo zhi 15.467.

106. Reforming the official appointment system was then seen as an urgent political corrective. Wang Su, in one of his memorials to the throne, recommended that offices that did not have real functions be eliminated. All officials must have their assigned duties and these duties must be properly discharged. Wang Su was the son of Wang Lang (n. 7 above). See Sanguo zhi 13.415–18.

107. As translated in Yates, Robin D. S., Five Lost Classics: Tao, Huang-Lao, and Yin-Yang in Han China (New York: Ballantine Books, 1997), 51 Google Scholar; see also Yates’ discussion of this work and the concept of xingming (forms and names), 21–25.

108. Sanguo zhi 28.784; also see Shishuo xinyu 2.12, commentary. Wang Bi's biography relates that Zhong Hui was very good at analyzing different views in disputation, although he had to acknowledge Wang Bi's superior philosophical reach; see Sanguo zhi 28.795nl. According to the Wenxin diaolong, “When the Wei house first came into power, intellectual attention centered on both names (ming) and law (fa). Fu Jia and Wang Can analyzed and refined ‘names and principles’ (mingli). Then, during the Zhengshi reign … with He Yan and his followers, the discourse on ‘mystery' (xuan) began to flourish.” Wenxin diaolong zhuding, ed. Zhang Lizhai, 18.183 (“Lun shuo” ); cf. Vincent Shih, The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons, 201. Zhong Hui's expertise in mingli should be assessed in this context. Wang Can and Zhong You both maintained that only sages are capable of realizing great peace (see n.104 above). Zhong Hui, as we will see presently, developed Fu Jia's position in the debate on capacity and nature. The Wenxin diaolong here (18.185) also praises Fu Jia's discussion on caixing. Wang Fu had earlier observed in his Qianfu lun (2.7, “Kao ji” ), “What is of names and principles (mingli) must be verified in reality. Then indeed no office would abandon its duty, and no position would be filled by the wrong person”; Qianfu lun jian jiaozheng, 65. Those who were attracted to Wang Bi's version of xuanxue understandably would find Zhong Hui lacking in his approach to the mysterious Dao. However, as suggested earlier, this is a value judgment that we need not make in this discussion. The argument here is simply that Zhong Hui's approach is consistent and that it represents a major current in early xuanxue philosophy.

109. It may be worth noting that Fu Jia began his political career under Chen Qun; see Sanguo zhi 21.622. During the Zhengshi reign, Fu Jia incurred the wrath of He Yan and was removed from office. However, Sima Yi took him into his staff; cf. n.27 above. The Jin shu 39.1150 reports that Xun Yi played a role in Fu Jia's rescue.

110. Fu Jia's criticism of Li Feng is recorded in Sanguo zhi 21.628n4, which also mentions that Fu Jia was on good terms with Zhong Yu. During the Zhengshi reign, Li Feng tried to stay clear of the conflict between Cao Shuang and Sima Yi. In the second month of 254, his plan to unseat Sima Shi was uncovered; see Sanguo zhi 9.299 and 301n3.

111. Shishuo xinyu 4.5; cf. Mather, Shih-shuo Hsin-yü, 94–95. See also 19.9, commentary, which mentions Wang Guang's participation in the debate. Wang Guang was the son of Wang Ling , who plotted to enthrone another member of the Cao clan and thus to establish a rival regime against the Sima government after 249. Wang Ling committed suicide in the fifth month of 251, and Wang Guang was killed shortly after. Wang Guang, whom Jiang Ji had praised highly, died in his forties; see Sanguo zhi 28.757–61 and 4.124. I have examined the caixing debate more closely in a separate article, “What are the Four Roots of Capacity and Nature?” which will appear in a memorial volume for Julia Ching edited by Vincent Shen. Here, I focus on the main argument, leaving aside the historical details and the issues relating to appointment of officials and the perceived concentration of power at the Personnel Secretariat (libu ).

112. Yunque, Chen, “Shu Shishuo xinyu wenxuelei Zhong Hui zhuan Siben lun shibi tiao hou” , in Chen Yinque xiansheng lunwen ji , vol. 2 (Taipei: Sanrenxing, 1974), 601–7Google Scholar.

113. When Wang Ling told Wang Guang about his plan, the latter reportedly advised his father against it, citing the shortcomings of Cao Shuang and He Yan. Thus, according to Wang Guang, Sima Yi enjoyed widespread support for his action. Moreover, the Sima administration was able to appoint able and worthy individuals to office and had control of the military. For these reasons, it would be ill advised to oppose the Sima clan. See Sanguo zhi 28.759nl, citing the Han Jin chunqiu ; Pei Songzhi, however, doubted the veracity of this report.

114. Yan, He, Lun yu jijie , Shisan jing zhushu edition (Taipei: Shijie, 1963), 45 Google Scholar. Compare Guo Xiang's well-known statement, “The nature that each person receives from heaven has its own proper allotment. One cannot escape from it; nor can one add to it.” See Zhuangzi jishi, ch. 3,128n4.

115. Xi, Zhu, Mengzi jizhu , Sibu beiyao edition (Taipei: Zhonghua, 1973)Google Scholar, 6.4ab. D.C. Lau translates cai as “native endowment”; see Lau, , Mencius (Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 1984), 229 Google Scholar. Compare Dobson, W.A.C.H., Mencius (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1963), 113 CrossRefGoogle Scholar (“natural endowment”), and Legge, James, The Works of Mencius (New York: Dover Publications, 1970), 402 Google Scholar (“natural powers”). Kwong-loi Shun explains, “That is, ts'ai [cai] is an endowment that enables one to attain certain accomplishments”; see Shun, , Mencius and Early Chinese Thought (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1997), 219 Google Scholar. The word “cai” is defined in the Shuowen as “plants and trees at their first stage of growth”; Shuowen jiezi zhu, 272.

116. Yuan Zhun, a friend of Xi Kang, was the son of Yuan Huan , who served under Cao Cao; see Sanguo zhi 11.335–36nl.

117. Yuan's remarks on caixing are preserved in the Yiwen leiju , 21, and collected by Kejun, Yan in Quan Jin wen (Beijing: Zhonghua, 1995), 54.1769 Google Scholar. The concern with capacity and nature also figures prominently in the third-century work, Renwu zhi by Liu Shao ); translated by Shryock, John as The Study of Human Abilities (New Haven: American Oriental Society, 1937)Google Scholar. Besides the study by Chen Yinque and those mentioned in nn.28–29 above, see especially Okamura Shigeru , “Sai sei shihon ron no seikaku to seiritsu” , Nagoya daigaku bungakubu kenkyū ronshū 28, Bungaku 10(1962), 29–42, which examines the views of Tang Changru and Aoki Masaru on this debate. See also Horüke Nobuo, Kan Gi shisōshi kenkyū, 432–34.

118. Jin shu 49.1368, biography of Ruan Yu; see also Nan shi 75.1875, biography of Gu Huan, for Gu's assessment of the debate toward the end of the fifth century.

119. Wang Xiaoyi, Zhongguo wenhm de qingliu, 98. This represents the prevalent interpretation of the caixing debate. The issue, it seems to me, is not definition but rather the “root” or source of caixing.

120. For example, see Sanguo zhi 1.32,44,49nl.

121. As cited in Sanguo zhi 13.422n3.

122. Wang Baoxuan, Zhengshi xuanxue, 402–3, suggests that it was Li Feng who started the debate on caixing, followed in turn by Fu Jia, Wang Guang, and finally Zhong Hui. Given the lack of historical evidence and on logical grounds, I see little reason not to accept the sequence as reported in the commentary to the Shishuo xinyu. Wang Guang's father, Wang Ling, incidentally, was a friend of Sima Lang from his youth; see Sanguo zhi 28.758. Another figure that deserves attention is Lu Yu (d. 257), who was appointed libu shangshu (Director of the Personnel Secretariat) in charge of civil appointments in 236. He was replaced by He Yan in that key post at the start of the Zhengshi reign; see Sanguo zhi 22.652, biography of Lu Yu. The Sanguo zhi elsewhere relates that He Yan and his circle of friends had long thought ill of Lu and, when they came into power, tried to remove him from office (9.284, biography of Cao Shuang). Like Sima Lang, Lu argued for leniency as a guiding principle in the application of punishment. In the assessment of individuals and appointment of officials, Lu “first considered their moral integrity (xing- xing ) before addressing their ability (cai).” When Li Feng, who was then junior to Lu, asked him why, Lu replied, “Cai is what enables one to do good. Thus, (a person of) great capacity (should) achieve great goodness, whereas (one of) small capacity achieves goodness to a small degree. Now, if someone is said to be capable and yet he cannot do good, this means that (his) capacity does not fit its proper use (). Li Feng and others conceded that his argument was sound.” Sanguo zhi 22.650–52. This is a difficult passage—whereas Wang Xiaoyi, Zhongguo wenhua de qingliu, 98, takes it as indicative of Li Feng's position, Wang Baoxuan, Zhengshi xuanxue, 409, suggests that it is closer to Fu Jia's identity thesis. Neither provides explicit justification. My view is that, for Lu Yu, cai is decisive and encompasses both moral integrity and ability. In one sense, cai simply refers to a person's ability to produce results. If cai is divorced from moral integrity, it can do great harm to society. Thus, priority is given to moral effort, which serves to establish the proper meaning of cai. However, Lu's argument does not necessarily entail that cai is inborn. The greatest capacity by definition should yield the greatest good; but it is conceivable that cai could result from learning. The important point is to ensure that reputation is matched by performance, as Lu emphasizes in response to an edict by Emperor Ming (Sanguo zhi, ibid.). If Lu is saying that performance, be it political or moral, requires effort and training, he may have influenced Li Feng in developing the view that nature and capacity are different.

123. Wang Bi makes this point in his commentary to the Lun yu (17.2); see Lou Yulie, Wang Bi ji jiaoshi, 631–32. Xing as such cannot be said to be “rectified” or “correct” (zheng ), according to Wang Bi, but it is that which makes possible moral rectitude and correctness. Wang Baoxuan, Zhengshi xuanxue, 375, argues that Zhong Hui also shares this view, citing Zhong's commentary to Laozi ch. 16 as evidence; but it appears that he did not have access to all the surviving quotations from Zhong's work, which as a whole testify to a view of human nature in the sense of dispositions as being determined by one's qi-endowment. Again, although one may be born with fine qualities, whether they develop into anything of worth depends on effort. The centrality of fa reflects the concern that except for sages, nature requires judicious management to reach its proper end.

124. Another influential debate that marks the development of xuanxue is that on the relationship between words (yan ) and meaning (yi ). According to the early Jin scholar Ouyang Jian , both Zhong Hui and Fu Jia made use of the view that “words do not exhaust meaning” (yan bujin yi ) to support their arguments on caixing. As quoted in Yiwen leiju,19, and collected in Yan Kejun, Quan Jin wen 109.2084; see Tang Yongtong, “Yanyi zhi bian” , in his Wei Jin xuanxue lungao, 215. As far as Zhong Hui is concerned, it is possible that, like his approach to caixing, he also considered words to be necessary but not sufficient for full disclosure of meaning. However, recall that one of Zhong Hui's treatises on the Yi jing is entitled the Zhou Yi jinshen lun, which seems to suggest that the Yi jing can bring out fully the meaning of spirituality and the Dao. This would be closer to the idea that in principle the inner flows directly into the outer. Perhaps a distinction could be made between “words” and the linear symbols of the Yi jing. Whereas the former are not only cognitive but also tied to emotions, which would render them imperfect instruments for the expression of the highest truth, the latter are free from affective distortions. Wang Baoxuan, Zhengshi xuanxue, 349, makes the novel point that Zhong Hui followed his father's view in regarding calligraphy as the ideal vehicle that alone could “exhaust” meaning. There is no further record of Zheng's involvement in the yanyi debate. Wang Bi's position, as is well known, is that “words” must be “forgotten” before “meaning” can be understood. See A. Chan, Two Visions of the Way, 32–34; and Wagner, Language, Ontology, and Political Philosophy in China, ch. 1. On the idea that the classics embody a unified truth, see also Nylan, Michael, “A Problematic Model: The Han ‘Orthodox Synthesis’, Then and Now,” in Imagining Boundaries: Changing Confucian Doctrines, Texts, and Hermeneutics, ed. Chow, Kai-Wing, Ng, On-Cho, and Henderson, John B. (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999), 20 Google Scholar. Referring to Han shu 88.3598, Nylan brings out that “the business of Ju [Ru] is to [lun tongyi ] (‘discuss similarities and differences’), so that all lines of thought may be traced to their common source” (39nl9). Wei-Jin philosophical debates seem to have been motivated by a similar concern, which, given the evident political interest, perhaps should be distinguished from the kind of logical inquiry into the semantics of “identity and difference” characteristic of the “School of Names” (mingjia ) in early Chinese philosophy.