Huainanzi
The Huainanzi ( Chinese 淮南子 - "Master of Huainan") is a work of Chinese philosophy written under the direction of Liu An ( 劉 安 ; 180-122 BC), the prince of Huainan . It is considered a classic of Daoism , but it also shows Confucian and legalistic influences.
content
The Huainanzi covers a variety of topics, including a. ancient myths , contemporary government art, didactic historical anecdotes, astronomy , philosophy , metaphysics and mysticism . It is divided into 21 chapters:
| chapter | title | transcription | German translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 原 道 訓 | Yuandao | From the real Dao |
| 2 | 俶 真 訓 | Chuzhen | From the beginning of reality |
| 3 | 天文 訓 | Tianwen | From the heavenly signs |
| 4th | 墬 形 訓 | Zhuixing | From the earthly forms |
| 5 | 時 則 訓 | Shize | From the rules of the seasons |
| 6th | 覽 冥 訓 | Lanming | From the investigation of the hidden things |
| 7th | 精神 訓 | Jingshen | From the underlying mind |
| 8th | 本 經 訓 | Benjing | From the fundamental concatenation |
| 9 | 主 術 訓 | Zhushu | From the doctrine of ruling |
| 10 | 繆 稱 訓 | Miucheng | From wrong naming |
| 11 | 齊 俗 訓 | Qisu | Of the equality of morals |
| 12 | 道 應 訓 | Daoying | From the Dao's answers |
| 13 | 氾 論 訓 | Fanlun | From the inconsistency of things |
| 14th | 詮 言 訓 | Quanyan | Of explanatory words |
| 15th | 兵略 訓 | Binglüe | On the use of weapons |
| 16 | 說 山 訓 | Shuoshan | From the mountains |
| 17th | 說 林 訓 | Shuolin | From the woods |
| 18th | 人間 訓 | Renjian | From the human world |
| 19th | 脩 務 訓 | Youwu | Of the need to learn |
| 20th | 泰族 訓 | Taizu | From the ultimate synthesis |
| 21st | 要略 | Yaolue | Summary of the important |
The traditional view reports that the Huainanzi was composed by eight Taoist sages who frequented the court of Liu An. When these Taoist sages appeared at Liu An's court, who was a center of science and the arts, Liu An asked them to present him with new knowledge, whereupon the sages astonished him with magical arts. Liu An, impressed by the arts of the wise men, went to teach with them and so the Huainanzi is said to be the record of Liu An's conversations with the wise men.
The cosmological speculations of Huainanzi are those of Daoism: The original qi is said to have been divided into a pure and clear qi , which forms the sky, and a dark and heavy qi, which forms the earth.
In addition, the work shows influences of Yijing , the Yin and Yang school and the school of the five-element teaching .
The basic idea of Huainanzi is a Daoist political utopia and the work can be seen as a guide for an enlightened ruler ( Zhenren ). Although the work deals to a large extent with politics and state affairs, it also contains explanations on scientific and spiritual subjects and, in relation to these subjects, represents the most comprehensive of the Daoist classical works. In political terms, the work presents itself as an attempt to reduce the cultural Establish and maintain independence in southern China.
The image of the saint (Zhenren), which is already sketched in Daodejing and Zhuangzi , is more comprehensive than that of Laozi and Zhuangzi. The saint of Huainanzi reconciles the requirements of the mystical spirituality of the Zhuangzi saint and the requirements of a political life and resembles the Confucian image of the noble (Junzi), who is a founder of cosmic order. The saint of Huainanzi is an embodiment of the Dao and thus resembles that which is contained in everything and is a universal principle. According to the Huainanzi , political rule is subject to the same patterns that govern nature. Dominion appears as an expression of the Daoist conception of the cosmos and is subject to the same principles.
literature
- Thomas Cleary (ed.): The three treasures of the Dao. About the harmony of body, mind and soul. (Basic texts of inner alchemy) . Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1996, ISBN 3-596-12899-4 ( Fischer 12899 Spirit ).
- Helwig Schmidt-Glintzer : History of Chinese literature. From the beginning to the present. 2nd edition, Munich 1999. CH Beck.
Individual evidence
- ^ Charles Le Blanc and Rémi Mathieu Philosophes Taoïstes II: Huainan Zi , Bibliotheque de la Pleiade. Paris: Gallimard, 2003, ISBN 2-07-011424-4