Song Jian (philosopher)

Song Jian ( Chinese 宋鈃 / 宋钘 , Pinyin Song Jian ) was a Chinese philosopher from the Warring States Period . He was a member of the Jixia Academy ( Chinese 稷下學宮 , Pinyin Jìxià xúegōng ) in the ancient state of Qi , the spiritual center of the Chinese world at that time.

Because he represented similar teachings as the philosopher Yin Wen ( Chinese 尹文 , Pinyin Yǐn Wén ) (approx. 360–280 BC), who is also called Yin Wen zi ( Chinese 尹文子 ) , who also belongs to the Jixia Academy , they were referred to as the Song Yin School ( Chinese 宋尹学派 ).

He was roughly a contemporary of the Zhuangzi. His teachings are discussed in the last chapter of the book Zhuangzi .

Fonts

His writings have long been lost. According to current research, the Tianxia chapters of the work Zhuangzi and the four chapters Xinshu (心术) (first and second part), Baixin (白心) and Neiye (内业) of the political-philosophical work Guanzi ( Chinese 管子 ), the anonymous Jixia Academy writings combined, important documents from the School of Song and Yin ( Chinese 宋尹学派 ).

Name variants

Song Jian ( Chinese 宋鈃 , Pinyin Sòng Jiān ), Song Rong ( Chinese 宋榮 / 宋荣 , Pinyin Sòng Róng ), Song Rong zi ( Chinese 宋榮子 / 宋荣子 , Pinyin Sòng Róng zǐ ).

Some also read the name Song Xing ( Chinese 宋鈃 , Pinyin Sòng Xíng ), in the history of Chinese philosophy by Feng Youlan / Derk Bodde with Sung K'eng (in Wade-Giles).

personal data
SURNAME	Song Jian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	宋鈃 (traditional Chinese); 宋钘 (simplified Chinese); Sing Jiān
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	chinese philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH	between 5th century BC BC and 3rd century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	between 5th century BC BC and 3rd century BC Chr.