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Summary
Translation of the first grand synthesis of classic Chinese thought.
This is a translation, with a commentary and a long contextualizing introduction, of the only major work of Han (206 B.C. to 220 A.D.) philosophy that is still available in complete form. It is the first translation of the work into a European language and provides unique access to this formative period in Chinese history. Because Yang Hsiung’s interpretations drew upon a variety of pre-Han sources and then dominated Confucian learning until the twelfth century, this text is also a valuable resource on early Chinese history, philosophy, and culture beyond the Han period.
The T’ai hsüan is also one of the world’s great philosophic poems comparable in scale and grandeur to Lucretius’ De rerum naturum. Nathan Sivin has written that this is one of the titles on the short list of Chinese books every cultivated person should read.
Han thinkers saw in this text a compelling restatement of Confucian doctrine that addressed the major objections posed by rival schools including Mohism, Taoism, Legalism and Yin-Yang Five Phase Theory. Since this Han amalgam formed the basis for the state ideology of China from 134 B.C. to 1911, an ideology that in turn provided the intellectual foundations for the Japanese and Korean states, the importance of this book can hardly be overestimated.
Michael Nylan is Professor of Modern and Ancient Chinese Studies at Bryn Mawr College.
This publication has been supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent federal agency.
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
General Introduction to the Mystery Text
On the Term "Mystery"
A Capsule Biography of Yang Hsiung
The Mystery in the Tradition of the Changes
The Arrangement of the Mystery
Significant Structure in the Mystery
The First Seven Heads
No. 1. Center - 18, No. 2. Full Circle - 19, No. 3. Mired - 19, No. 4. Barrier - 19, No. 5. Small - 20, No. 6. Contrariety - 20, No. 7. Ascent - 21
Every Tenth Head
No. 1. Center - 22, No. 11. Divergence - 22, No. 21. Release - 22, No. 31. Packing - 23, No. 41. Response - 23, No. 51. Constancy - 24, No. 61. Embellishment - 24, No. 71. Stoppage - 25, No. 81. Nurturing - 25, General Commentary - 26
Method of Divination of the Mystery
Interpretation Following Divination
On Luck and Divination in the Mystery
The Mystery as Divination Classic
Early Notions of Ming: The Historical Background to the Problem of Fate
Yang Hsiung's Solution to the Problem of Ming
Propositions About Time, Luck, and Virtue
The Intellectual Debts of Yang's New Classic
Yang's Mystery as a Chinese Summa
Contra the Relativists
Contra the Immortality Seekers
Contra the Proponents of "Change as the Only Constant"
Contra Predestination
Contra the Mantic Specialists
Conclusion
Key Terms
The Five Classics of Confucianism
On Ch'i
Yin/yang Five Phases Theory: Correlative Thought
Self-Cultivation
"Center Heart"
Ritual
The Meaning of Chen
Polar Oppositions of the Mystery: Hsüan ch'ung
Interplay of Opposites in the Mystery: Hsüan ts'o
Evolution of the Mystery: Hsüan li
Illumination of the Mystery: Hsüan ying
Numbers of the Mystery: Hsüan shu
Elaboration of the Mystery: Hsüan wen
Representations of the Mystery: Hsüan yi
Diagram of the Mystery: Hsüan t'u
Revelation of the Mystery: Hsüan kao
