''Huang–Lao'' () was the most influential
Chinese school of thought in the early
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
, having its origins in a broader political-philosophical drive looking for solutions to strengthen the feudal order as depicted in Zhou politics. Not systematically explained by historiographer
Sima Qian, it is generally interpreted as a school of
Syncretism
Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various school of thought, schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or religious assimilation, assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the ...
, developing into a major religion, the beginnings of religious
Taoism
Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...
.
Emphasizing the search for immortality,
Feng Youlan and
Herrlee Creel considered its religious Taoism to be different from if not contradictory to the more philosophical strain of Taoism found in the ''
Zhuangzi''. Probably originating together around 300 BCE, the more politically dominant Huang–Lao denoted both for much of the Han. Highly favoured by superstitious rulers, it dominated the intellectual life of the Qin and early Han together with "
Chinese Legalism", and the term "Taoism" () was probably coined with elements of Huang–Lao literature in mind.
Coming to mean something like Daoism,
Sima Tan likely coined the term
Daojia (Dao family or "school") with Huang–Lao content in mind, and is traditionally classified under it. Likely shorthand for
dao and
de ("
the way and its power"), and then a new synthesis, Daojia would not have meant the exact same thing as Huang-Lao, but they are often used interchangeably in the
shiji.
Laozi
Laozi (), also romanized as Lao Tzu #Name, among other ways, was a semi-legendary Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosopher and author of the ''Tao Te Ching'' (''Laozi''), one of the foundational texts of Taoism alongside the ''Zhuangzi (book) ...
and
Zhuangzi would later be taken as baseline examples of the dao school. Although
Sima Qian does favour them, Tan's description of the school arguably accords more with content they had described as Huang–Lao.
Terminology

''Huang–Lao'' is a
portmanteau
In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together. , with Huang being the
Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch, or Huangdi ( zh, t=黃帝, s=黄帝, first=t) in Chinese, is a mythical Chinese sovereign and culture hero included among the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. He is revered as ...
, and Lao being
Laozi
Laozi (), also romanized as Lao Tzu #Name, among other ways, was a semi-legendary Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosopher and author of the ''Tao Te Ching'' (''Laozi''), one of the foundational texts of Taoism alongside the ''Zhuangzi (book) ...
.
The related Daoist name ''
Daode Tianzun'' was a deification of Laozi as a reincarnated personification of the Dao.
The term ''Huang-Lao'' first appears in the (109 – 91 BCE) ''
Records of the Grand Historian'', which was begun by
Sima Tan and completed by his son
Sima Qian. Sima Tan (at least possibly) studied under a Huang–Lao master with a philosophical lineage dating back to the
Warring States period
The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...
Jixia Academy at the court of
Qi in modern
Shandong
Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...
.
Political views
Hans van Ess analyzed the
Shiji and
Hanshu biographies of 2nd-century BCE individuals described as "Huang–Lao" followers, and found they were either members of a Huang–Lao faction or a ''Ru'' "Confucian" and ''Fa'' "Legalist" faction. The historian
Sima Qian used the term Huang–Lao "as a characterization of persons belonging to a political group which was the faction he belonged to as well." These historical members of the Huang–Lao faction had three political policies in common: "opposing the campaigns in the north" against the
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...
, "affiliation to rich and independent families with a power-base far from the capital" at
Chang'an
Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...
, and "opposing the measures to deprive the feudal kings of their power."
The rich families of Huang–Lao may be said to have considered the emperor a first among equals rather than someone vested with absolute authority. Naturally, as someone favoring his class and ideology with it,
Sima Tan's work was rather biased towards Daoism and feudalism (or the Chinese version of it).
Sima Qian considered
Emperor Wen of Han and
Emperor Jing of Han, the
Empress Dowager Dou,
Cao Can,
Chen Ping and
Tian Shu to be Huang–Lao proponents.
It was probably the earliest movement that linked together
Laozi
Laozi (), also romanized as Lao Tzu #Name, among other ways, was a semi-legendary Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosopher and author of the ''Tao Te Ching'' (''Laozi''), one of the foundational texts of Taoism alongside the ''Zhuangzi (book) ...
,
Zhuangzi, the worship of
Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch, or Huangdi ( zh, t=黃帝, s=黄帝, first=t) in Chinese, is a mythical Chinese sovereign and culture hero included among the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. He is revered as ...
, the
School of Naturalists, elements of
Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of ''Shen (Chinese folk religion), shen'' ('spirits') and Chinese ancestor worship, ances ...
, and aspects from the other
Hundred Schools of Thought. Huang–Lao Daoist philosophy was favoured at the
Western Han courts of
Emperor Wen (r. 180–157 BCE) and
Emperor Jing (r. 157–141 BCE), before
Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BCE) established
Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...
as the state philosophy.
Huang–Lao was eclipsed by the "Legalistic"
Gongsun Hong and
Zhang Tang, with Gongsun founding the Confucian academy.
Texts
If the term is defined vaguely, a number of pre-Qin texts might retroactively be included under the term Huang–Lao. Excepting the ''
Huangdi Neijing'', most Huang–Lao texts vanished, and traditional scholarship associated the philosophical school with syncretist
Chinese classics
The Chinese classics or canonical texts are the works of Chinese literature authored prior to the establishment of the imperial Qin dynasty in 221 BC. Prominent examples include the Four Books and Five Classics in the Neo-Confucian traditi ...
, namely the legalistic ''
Hanfeizi'', the Taoistic ''
Huainanzi
The ''Huainanzi'' is an ancient Chinese text made up of essays from scholarly debates held at the court of Liu An, Prince of Huainan, before 139 BCE. Compiled as a handbook for an enlightened sovereign and his court, the work attempts to defi ...
'', but also the more Confucian ''
Xunzi'' and ''
Guanzi''. Other proposals include parts of the Daoist ''
Zhuangzi'', sections of the historical ''
Guoyu'' ("Discourses of the States"), ''
Chunqiu Fanlu'' ("Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals"), and ''
Lüshi Chunqiu'' ("Mister Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals"), the ''
Heguanzi'' ("Book of Master Pheasant-Cap"), and the military ''
Huang Shigong San Lüe'' ("Three Strategies of Huang Shigong").
Randall P. Peerenboom criticizes the tendency to classify all these texts together and "make of 'Huang-Lao' a dustbin by sweeping too much into it". If defined more strictly, nothing before the Han dynasty could be called Huang–Lao. No pre-Qin text actually uses the term. Modern scholars are reinterpreting Huang–Lao following the 1973 discovery of the legalistic
Mawangdui Silk Texts, which included four manuscripts, called the ''Huang-Lao boshu'' ( "Huang-Lao Silk Texts"), that are controversially identified as the long-lost ''
Huangdi Sijing'' ("Yellow Emperor's Four Classics") or a text relared with the ''Heguanzi''.
Early syncretism
The syncretism of "Legalistic" texts like that of
Shen Dao and the
Han Feizi are sometimes considered early examples of Huang–Lao. The more purely administrative
Shen Buhai was said to be the earliest known political philosopher to have been influenced by such ideology. However, Sima Tan's argument that Shen Buhai and Shen Dao studied Huang–Lao is problematic. As its spokesman, Sima Tan probably pushes back Huang–Lao's origin as far as possible.
One way Huang–Lao's rule of law from Han Fei with a greater emphasis on naturalism. It also acts as more of a theoretical constraint on the ruler. Even when Shen Buhai's work existed in its entirety, it was not necessarily lengthy, and is highly focused on administration. Neither Shen Buhai nor Shen Dao ever attempts to articulate natural or ethical foundations for ''
fa'' (administrative method), or provide any metaphysical grounds for appointment (''
xing-ming''). The Han Huang–Lao work ''Boshu'' grounds ''fa'' and ''xing-ming'' in the Taoist Dao.
A number of chapters of the ''
Guanzi'', which places considerable importance on traditional
Confucian values, express a blend of what may be considered Legalistic, Confucian, and
Daoistic philosophy that might be termed "Huang-Lao". Having its base in
Qi, it spread south to develop in areas belonging to
Chu. Chu culture being inherited by the
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
, preceding the consolidation of the realm deft Han Emperors like Jing would be steeped in a Taoistic laissez-faire, and later texts like the
Huainanzi
The ''Huainanzi'' is an ancient Chinese text made up of essays from scholarly debates held at the court of Liu An, Prince of Huainan, before 139 BCE. Compiled as a handbook for an enlightened sovereign and his court, the work attempts to defi ...
include naturalist arguments against rule by law ("
Chinese Legalism") in favour of rule by worthies on the basis that one needs their competence for such things as diplomacy. Historically all such material would end up criticized as
Fajia.
Han dynasty
Two influential ministers of
Emperor Gaozu of Han
Emperor Gaozu of Han (2561 June 195 BC), also known by his given name Liu Bang, was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning from 202 to 195 BC. He is considered by traditional Chinese historiography to be one o ...
reportedly studied and applied Huang–Lao political ideology,
Chancellors Cao Shen (d. 190 BCE) and his successor
Chen Ping (d. 178 BCE) employed the policy of ''wuwei'' ("inaction") and brought peace and stability to the state of
Qi.
Chao Cuo (d. 154 BCE), Chancellor to Emperor Jing, was another Huang–Lao official. He believed that the imperial rule should combine Huang–Lao and Confucianism, with punishment supplemented by reward, and coercion mitigated by persuasion.
During the
Eastern Han period, the
Way of the Celestial Masters movement incorporated
Daoist immortality techniques with Huang–Lao thought, and was associated with the
Yellow Turban Rebellion and
Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion (184 – 215 CE). "Later on, virtually all of the early texts disappeared and knowledge about original Huang-Lao was lost."
Besides these received texts, the imperial library bibliography preserved in the (111 CE) ''
Hanshu'' ("Han History") lists many books titled with the Yellow Emperor's name. However, with the exception of the medical ''
Huangdi Neijing'' ("Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic"), all were believed destroyed or lost – until the recent Mawangdui discoveries.
Mawangdui silk texts
The
Mawangdui Silk Texts discovered near
Changsha
Changsha is the capital of Hunan, China. It is the 15th most populous city in China with a population of 10,513,100, the Central China#Cities with urban area over one million in population, third-most populous city in Central China, and the ...
in 1973 included four manuscripts that some scholars interpret as primary Huang–Lao texts.
Silk manuscripts found in Mawangdui tomb number three, dated 186 BCE, included two versions of the ''
Daodejing'', one of which ("B" or ''yi'' ) had copies of four texts attached in front. They are titled , , also read as , , a collection of aphorisms, and , also the title of ''Huainanzi'' chapter 1).
Some Chinese specialists, such as Tang Lan (), and Yu Mingguang (), interpreted these four manuscripts as the no longer extant , which the bibliography of the ''Hanshu'' listed as having four sections. Tang's reasons included the ''Jingfa'' and ''Shiliujing'' titles with and the frequent references to Huangdi ("Yellow Emperor") in the ''Shiliujing''.
Other specialists, such as
Robin D. S. Yates and Edmund Ryden, interpreted the four manuscripts as mutually incompatible texts deriving from diverse philosophical traditions. Paola Carrozza refers to this approach as "different authors, different times, and different places."
Consequently, many of the interpretations of the nature and characteristics of Huang-Lao Taoist thought that have been based on a reading of the Mawangdui manuscripts are debatable, since they are based on the assumption that these texts form an integral whole and are really affiliated with Huang-Lao.
Philosophical interpretations
Sinologists have long disputed the nature of Huang–Lao philosophy. Before the 1973 Mawangdui excavation, some western interpretations of Huang–Lao were fanciful. For instance, Herbert J. Allen proposed that since Han prince
Liu Ying practiced both Huang–Lao and Buddhism, Huang–Lao did not mean Huangdi and Laozi, but "Buddhists (literally Yellow-Ancients, perhaps so-called from the colour of their garments)." Following the Mawangdui discoveries, the "Huang-Lao craze" in scholarship has significantly reshaped our understanding of early Daoism.
Tu Wei-Ming describes five common doctrines in the Huang–Lao silk texts. is the ultimate basis for and essential for sagely governance. The true king uses or "penetrating insight" to observe the inner workings of the universe, and enables timely responses to the challenges of the world. Loewe lists another principal idea of the Huang–Lao silk texts: , which is usually associated with Shen Buhai. ''Xing'' ("form or reality") exist first and should be followed by their ''ming'' ("name or description").
Our limited exposure to the "lost texts" in the Silk Manuscripts seems to indicate that the thought of Huang-Lao contains several apparently unrelated but actually fully integrated philosophical concepts: a cosmological vision of the Way (''tao'') as the primordial source of inspiration; an administrative technique (''fa-li''), based on the principle and model of the naturalness of the Way; a concern for the cultivation of penetrating insight (''kuan''), so that a king could reign without imposing his limited, self-centered view on the order of things originally manifested in nature; and the necessity of attaining a kind of dynamic balancing (''ch'eng'') in order to ensure a steady flow, as it were, of the political system as a mirror image of the cosmos.
Tu concludes, "The Huang-Lao doctrine is neither Taoist nor Legalist in the conventional sense, nor is it, strictly speaking, a form of Legalized Taoism. It is rather, a unique system of thought."
John S. Major summarizes Huang–Lao ideology.
Dao is the "highest and most primary expression of universal potentiality, order, and potency", and "is expressed in cosmic order, which embraces both the world of nature and the human world." Royal government must conform to natural order, thus the king should practice ''
wuwei'' ("non-striving" or "taking no action contrary to nature") and use his to "learn all that can be learned about the natural order, so as to make his actions conform with it." Therefore, "The government of the true king is neither sentimental nor vacillating, and neither arbitrary nor domineering," it fully conforms with the "pattern of the Dao as expressed in the natural order, it is balanced, moderate, and irresistibly strong."
Randall P. Peerenboom recaps, "Huang-Lao's Boshu, while advocating a rule of law compatible with an organismic cosmology, is unique in that it supports a natural law grounded in the natural order." Peerenboom characterizes Huang–Lao as "foundational naturalism", meaning
naturalism based upon a cosmic natural order that includes both the and . Huang–Lao ideology gives "normative priority" to the natural order, with human social order based upon and in harmony with the cosmic order.
Jeffrey L. Richey contrasts Huang–Lao and
Mohist theories about the cosmic roots of ''fa'' "law". In the ''Jingfa'', ''fa'' originates with the impersonal ''Dao''; in the ''
Mozi'', it originates with the anthropomorphic ''
Tian'' ("heaven; god").
Harold D. Roth contends that the original meaning of Chinese was Huang–Lao instead of the traditional understanding as , namely the ''
Laozi
Laozi (), also romanized as Lao Tzu #Name, among other ways, was a semi-legendary Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosopher and author of the ''Tao Te Ching'' (''Laozi''), one of the foundational texts of Taoism alongside the ''Zhuangzi (book) ...
'' and ''
Zhuangzi'' texts) Daoism.
Sima Tan coined the term ''Daojia'' in his ''Shiji'' summary of the six philosophical ''jia'' ("schools").
The Taoist school enables man's numinous essence to be concentrated and unified, to move in unison with the formless, and to provide adequately for the myriad things. As for its methods, it follows the general tendency of the Naturalists (''Yinyang chia''), picks out the best of the Confucians and Mohists, and adopts the essentials of the Terminologists (''Ming-chia'') and Legalists. It shifts with the times and changes in response to things; and in establishing customs and in practical applications it is nowhere unsuitable. The general drift of its teaching is simple and easy to hold onto, much is achieved with little effort.[Tr. .]
Thus, Huang–Lao Daoism incorporated concepts from five traditions:
School of Naturalists,
Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...
,
Mohism,
School of Names, and
Legalism. Roth describes the hallmarks of Huang–Lao: the ruler should use self-transformation "as a technique of government, the emphasis on the precise coordination of the political and cosmic orders by the thus-enlightened ruler, and a syncretic social and political philosophy that borrows relevant ideas from the earlier Legalist and the Confucian schools while retaining the Taoist cosmological context."
References
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Footnotes
Further reading
* Chang, Leo S. and Yu Feng (1998), ''The Four Political Treatises of the Yellow Emperor'', University of Hawaii Press.
* Jan Yun-hua (1980), "''Tao Yuan'' or ''Tao: The Origin''," ''Journal of Chinese Philosophy'' 7:195-204.
* Loewe, Michael (1994),
Huang Lao Thought and the ''Huainanzi'', ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland (Third Series)'', 4:377-395.
External links
Huang-Lao Ideology R. Eno
The Huang-Lao Tradition FYSK Daoist Culture Centre Database
Chad Hansen
Brian Hoffert
Ulrich Theobald
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huang-Lao
Classical Chinese philosophy
Han dynasty
Taoist philosophy
History of Taoism
Confucian schools of thought