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Explorations into Yan Zun’s Edition and Commentary to the Daodejing:...
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Explorations into Yan Zun’s Edition and Commentary to the Daodejing: Laozi Zhigui

A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 8401

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Thomas Michael

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Guest Editor
School of Philosophy, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Interests: Daoist religion and philosophy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Misha Tadd

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Philosophy, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
Interests: Daoism; Global Laozegetics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Yan Zun 嚴遵 (1st century CE) was a recluse who lived in Sichuan during the final years of the Western Han Dynasty. He offered lessons on the Daodejing and the Zhuangzi, and the Daoist tradition later recognized him as an immortal (xian 仙). He is credited with the authorship of two works, the Laozi zhu 老子注 (Commentary on Laozi) in two juan that has not survived, and the Laozi zhigui 老子指歸 (The Essential Meaning of Laozi) in thirteen juan, of which the first six, covering the Dao portion of the Daodejing (chapters 1-37), were lost sometime during the Song Dynasty, while the last seven juan, covering the De portion of the Daodejing (chapters 38-81), still survive.This makes the Laozi zhuigui the earliest complete edition of and commentary to the Daodejing of which any part survives. Fortunately, it also comes with a sub-commentary composed by Gushenzi 谷神子 (Master of the Spirit of the Valley). In part because only the De section survives, this work has been largely overlooked by modern scholarship, even though it held an important place in the development of post-Han Daoist religion and philosophy, especially on the thought of Wang Bi and Xuanxue Daoism, and it was consistently ranked among the most important commentaries to the Daodejing up until the Song Dynasty. Among the striking features of his commentary are his innovative and deeply influential discussions of the Dao, nothingness (wu 無), and non-action or spontaneity (ziran 自然).

This Special Issue intends to introduce Yan Zun and his edition of and commentary to the Daodejing to a wider audience, bringing the Laozi zhigui into conversation with both contemporary studies on the religion and philosophy of the Daodejing and with comparative philosophy. We are pleased to invite scholars to submit their original research works on Yan Zun and the Laozi zhigui, and we encourage papers that focus on the contributions that he and his commentary made to the Daoist tradition and to the wider tradition of Chinese religion and philosophy. We are especially interested in papers that bring the Daoism of Yan Zun and his commentary into contemporary discussions of comparative philosophy and religion. 

Suggested themes and article types for submissions:

  • Yan Zun’s worldview;
  • Yan Zun’s place in Chinese intellectual history;
  • Yan Zun’s “nothingness” in comparison;
  • The relationship between Yan Zun’s commentary and Gushenzi’s subcommentary.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editor or to the Assistant Editor of Religions. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring a proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo a double-blind peer-review process.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Thomas Michael
Dr. Misha Tadd
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Yan Zun
  • Laozi zhigui
  • Laozi Daodejing
  • Daoist religion and philosophy

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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16 pages, 446 KB  
Article
The Lost Orthodoxy: Yan Zun’s Interpretation of the Laozi and the Pre-Qin to Han Daoist Tradition
by Bocheng Fan and James Brown-Kinsella
Religions 2026, 17(4), 448; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17040448 - 3 Apr 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 465
Abstract
Prior to the Tang Dynasty, interpretations of the Laozi fell into two traditions: the Pre-Qin and Han tradition, represented by Yan Zun, and the Wei–Jin tradition, represented by Wang Bi. The commentaries on the Laozi in circulation today are influenced by metaphysics in [...] Read more.
Prior to the Tang Dynasty, interpretations of the Laozi fell into two traditions: the Pre-Qin and Han tradition, represented by Yan Zun, and the Wei–Jin tradition, represented by Wang Bi. The commentaries on the Laozi in circulation today are influenced by metaphysics in emphasizing “non-being” (wu) as the substance of the Dao (dao). Yan Zun’s Laozi zhigui 老子指歸 (lit. “Purport of the Laozi”) is the oldest extant commentary. In his thought, Yan carries on the legacies of the Laozi and the Zhuangzi and serves as a precursor to later religious Daoism. Yan Zun established a triadic framework—comprising the Dao, Vacuity, and Spontaneity—that shaped Han and Tang Daoism. This reading inherits the Pre-Qin Daoist principle that takes Vacuity as its ontological root and yielding softness as its operative function, laying the theoretical foundation for religious Daoist thought in the Jin and Tang dynasties. Yan Zun’s interpretations of the Laozi frequently surprise modern scholars, yet his views align closely with the contents of the Mawangdui Laozi silk manuscripts (c. 168 BCE) and Peking University Western Han bamboo-slip Laozi (c. 150 BCE), which demonstrates his distinctive scholarly contribution and contemporary relevance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Explorations into Yan Zun’s Edition and Commentary to the Daodejing: Laozi Zhigui)
24 pages, 494 KB  
Article
The Origin of the Integration of the Yijing and the Laozi: Yan Zun’s Laozi Zhigui and Its Philosophical Construction and Historical Impact
by Yujie Zhang and Qing Yuan
Religions 2026, 17(3), 329; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17030329 - 5 Mar 2026
Viewed by 530
Abstract
Yan Zun’s Laozi Zhigui is the earliest surviving commentary that systematically interprets the Laozi through the lens of the Yijing. It holds pioneering significance in the history of Laozi studies and intellectual history. This paper systematically examines its ways of quoting the [...] Read more.
Yan Zun’s Laozi Zhigui is the earliest surviving commentary that systematically interprets the Laozi through the lens of the Yijing. It holds pioneering significance in the history of Laozi studies and intellectual history. This paper systematically examines its ways of quoting the Yijing—explicit citation, implicit appropriation, and in-depth infiltration—to reveal Yan Zun’s interpretive strategy of reconstructing the ideological system of the Laozi through the philosophical principles of the Yijing. This study finds that the Yijing learning not only provided Yan Zun with a cosmogonic model of “Spirit Illumination—Supreme Harmony—Qi’s Transformation and Separation”, thereby resolving the ambiguity of the Laozi’s cosmology, but also prompted him to construct a view of heaven that integrates “vigorous creativity” and “softness and non-action”. By incorporating such concepts from the Yijing as “cultivating both virtue and achievement”, he formed an orderly political philosophy of “abiding by one’s proper place” to attain “Supreme Harmony”. Abandoning the image-number Yi learning of the Han Dynasty, Yan Zun returned to the philosophical tradition of the Yijing. His synthesis of the Yijing and the Laozi not only influenced Yang Xiong’s Taixuan and Eastern Han classical learning but also served as a crucial intellectual precursor to Wei-Jin Xuanxue and exerted a lasting impact on the theoretical framework of Daoist religious thought. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Explorations into Yan Zun’s Edition and Commentary to the Daodejing: Laozi Zhigui)
22 pages, 453 KB  
Article
Beyond the Ontology–Cosmogony Dichotomy: Qi and the Worldview of the Laozi Zhigui
by Hyunjung Oh
Religions 2026, 17(2), 214; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17020214 - 10 Feb 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 538
Abstract
This study examines the Laozi Zhigui—a key text of Han dynasty Huang-Lao thought—and reconstructs the categorical status of qi to reassess received primordial qi-centered cosmological interpretations and clarify the text’s distinctive worldview. The Laozi Zhigui explains the relation between Dao and [...] Read more.
This study examines the Laozi Zhigui—a key text of Han dynasty Huang-Lao thought—and reconstructs the categorical status of qi to reassess received primordial qi-centered cosmological interpretations and clarify the text’s distinctive worldview. The Laozi Zhigui explains the relation between Dao and the myriad entities through four stages of wu (nothingness)—Dao, De, Spirit-Illumination, and Great Harmony—and previous studies, working within inherited qi-centered cosmological frameworks, have generally assimilated these stages to qi. A contextual reading of key passages on cosmology, mind–nature, and self-cultivation clarifies that in the Laozi Zhigui, qi does not belong to the same ontological category as these four stages of wu. Instead, it functions as a mediating substance through which the order of wu is carried over into you (somethingness). Furthermore, the four stages of wu are likewise not as the internal differentiation of qi but as a non-substantialist account of the “generation of order.” On this basis, the worldview of the Laozi Zhigui can be reconstructed as a triadic schema of wu–qi–you (nothingness–qi–somethingness), which yields a distinctive model of qi cosmology that, unlike Han dynasty primordial qi-centered accounts, does not presuppose the generation and fission of a single primordial qi. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Explorations into Yan Zun’s Edition and Commentary to the Daodejing: Laozi Zhigui)
19 pages, 458 KB  
Article
From “Blending Qi to Achieve Harmony” to “Supreme Harmony”: A Study of the Concept of “Harmony” in Yan Zun’s Laozi zhigui
by Zhibin Chen
Religions 2026, 17(2), 213; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17020213 - 10 Feb 2026
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 544
Abstract
While scholarship has predominantly focused on the “harmony” of Confucian ethics or the functional and generative “harmony” of pre-Qin Lao-Zhuang Daoism, this study identifies a unique conceptual system of “harmony” in Han Dynasty Daoism through a textual excavation of Yan Zun’s Laozi zhigui [...] Read more.
While scholarship has predominantly focused on the “harmony” of Confucian ethics or the functional and generative “harmony” of pre-Qin Lao-Zhuang Daoism, this study identifies a unique conceptual system of “harmony” in Han Dynasty Daoism through a textual excavation of Yan Zun’s Laozi zhigui. Yan Zun transcends the relatively abstract generative narratives of pre-Qin Daoism by creatively substantializing “harmony” into “supreme harmony”, positioning it as a pivotal stage in the four-tiered cosmogonic schema of “Dao–De–Shenming–supreme harmony”. By regarding “supreme harmony” as the “ancestor of Heaven and Earth” and the ontological foundation for the nature and life of all things, Yan Zun endows “harmony” with a definitive ontological status. This cosmological and ontological category further permeates the domains of self-cultivation and state governance. In the realm of self-cultivation, Yan Zun advocates for “valuing the body and nourishing the spirit”, promoting the practice of spirit and qi embracing and tranquil non-action to achieve the existential realization and transcendence of individual life; in the realm of state governance, he criticizes rites and laws for harming natural harmony, proposing that the ruler should “embody the Dao and tread upon harmony”. This approach establishes a governance of non-action that aligns with the “utmost softness” of supreme harmony, thereby reconstructing an ideal political order where “harmonious qi flows freely.” The concept of “supreme harmony” advocated by Yan Zun not only marks the maturation of Han Daoist qi-cosmology, but also offers a new theoretical horizon for re-understanding the transformation of the concept of “harmony” from ethics to ontology in Chinese philosophy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Explorations into Yan Zun’s Edition and Commentary to the Daodejing: Laozi Zhigui)
21 pages, 401 KB  
Article
On the Interpretation of Ziran in the Three Commentaries on Laozi in the Han Dynasty
by Qing Yuan
Religions 2025, 16(12), 1507; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16121507 - 28 Nov 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1225
Abstract
The tradition of Chinese philosophical interpretation contains an inherent tension between “objectively interpreting classics” and “subjectively constructing systems”, with three major Han Dynasty commentaries on the Laozi—Laozi Zhigui, Laozi Daodejing Heshanggong Zhangju, and Laozi Xiang’er Zhu—serving as typical [...] Read more.
The tradition of Chinese philosophical interpretation contains an inherent tension between “objectively interpreting classics” and “subjectively constructing systems”, with three major Han Dynasty commentaries on the Laozi—Laozi Zhigui, Laozi Daodejing Heshanggong Zhangju, and Laozi Xiang’er Zhu—serving as typical manifestations of this tradition. As a core concept of the Laozi, ziran constitutes a shared entry point for their interpretations. However, due to differences in ideological positions and construction goals, they have formed distinct interpretive approaches. Laozi Zhigui constructs a philosophical system centered on ziran. At the cosmological level, it defines ziran as both the Dao’s inherent nature of being without will or deliberate intervention and the fundamental law governing all things’ self-generation and self-sufficiency, thereby dispelling the Dao’s attribute as a ruling entity. At the practical level, it advocates “the naturalness of xingming”, proposing that rulers should practice wuwei to purify their minds while the people follow their inherent nature to achieve self-harmony, pursuing the social ideal of “returning to primal simplicity”. Its core aim is to criticize the theological teleology prevalent in the mid-to-late Western Han Dynasty and provide an alternative path of rational speculation for the intellectual circle. Laozi Daodejing Heshanggong Zhangju puts forward the idea that “the nature of the Dao is ziran”, emphasizing that ziran is the inherent nature of the Dao rather than the innate state of humans. It rejects the notion of all things generating themselves independently, highlighting the Dao’s supreme status transcending all things and its ruling role over the universe. This interpretation is closely bound to the commentary’s core tenet of “cultivating the Dao for longevity”, arguing that humans can only obtain the Dao’s nourishment by consciously aligning themselves with “the Dao’s nature as ziran” through practice. Thus, ziran becomes an “ought-to-be” state requiring active pursuit, integrating distinct health-preserving practices and preliminary religious overtones. Laozi Xiang’er Zhu undertakes a subversive reconstruction of ziran from a purely religious perspective, reducing it to a synonym for the deified Dao (Supreme Old Lord) and completely eliminating its independent philosophical status and original connotation. Abandoning the traditional understanding that “the nature of the Dao is ziran”, the commentary fully serves the construction of Taoist doctrine, completing the ideological leap from “interpreting the Laozi” to “establishing Taoist theory”. The differentiated interpretations of ziran in these three works not only demonstrate the diverse possibilities of interpreting the Laozi but also clearly reflect the historical trajectory of Han Dynasty thought transitioning from philosophical speculation to religious practice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Explorations into Yan Zun’s Edition and Commentary to the Daodejing: Laozi Zhigui)
24 pages, 408 KB  
Article
Yan Zun and the Lines of Dao: Reading Daodejing Chapter 42 Through Laozi, Heshang Gong, and Wang Bi
by Thomas Michael
Religions 2025, 16(12), 1492; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16121492 - 25 Nov 2025
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1379
Abstract
This study restores the late Western Han thinker Yan Zun to his rightful place in the history of Daoist thought. Despite the deep influence of his Laozi zhigui, its fractured transmission has led to modern neglect. This paper illuminates Yan Zun’s overlooked [...] Read more.
This study restores the late Western Han thinker Yan Zun to his rightful place in the history of Daoist thought. Despite the deep influence of his Laozi zhigui, its fractured transmission has led to modern neglect. This paper illuminates Yan Zun’s overlooked philosophy through a comparative analysis of four readings of Daodejing Chapter 42, a passage famous for its generative ambiguity. It juxtaposes Laozi’s Yangsheng phenomenology of co-presence, Heshang Gong’s Huang-Lao typological metaphysics, and Wang Bi’s Xuanxue radical metaphysics. Situated against this fully developed philosophical backdrop, Yan Zun’s commentary emerges as a sophisticated synthesis. By distinguishing between xu (emptiness) for an ontological non-being and wu (nothingness) for a generative cosmology, Yan Zun forges a unique “onto-cosmology.” He integrates a transcendent Dao as non-being with an immanent Dao as cosmogonic source, a creative tension his successors would later dissect. This analysis recovers Yan Zun both as a lost Daodejing commentator and as the architect of a pivotal, synthetic path in Daoist philosophy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Explorations into Yan Zun’s Edition and Commentary to the Daodejing: Laozi Zhigui)
16 pages, 452 KB  
Article
From Text to Praxis: Yan Zun’s Intertextual Strategies in Laozi Zhigui and the Pragmatic Synthesis of Zhouyi, Zhuangzi, and Huang-Lao Thought
by Fufu Li
Religions 2025, 16(5), 628; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16050628 - 16 May 2025
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1793
Abstract
This paper, through a detailed textual analysis of Laozi zhigui 老子指歸, examines Yan Zun’s sophisticated intertextual strategies in elucidating the Daodejing 道德經 and explores the eclectic and inclusive conceptual framework he constructed. First, Laozi zhigui not only directly quotes or adapts phrases from [...] Read more.
This paper, through a detailed textual analysis of Laozi zhigui 老子指歸, examines Yan Zun’s sophisticated intertextual strategies in elucidating the Daodejing 道德經 and explores the eclectic and inclusive conceptual framework he constructed. First, Laozi zhigui not only directly quotes or adapts phrases from major texts such as the Zhouyi 周易, Zhuangzi 莊子, Huangdi sijing 黃帝四經, and Huainanzi 淮南子, but also incorporates concepts such as yin and yang, qiwu 齊物, and yinxun 因循 from these sources. To a considerable extent, this approach has enriched the ideological connotations of the Daodejing. Second, Yan Zun takes the core ideas of the Daodejing as a foundation to blend the philosophies of the Zhouyi, Zhuangzi, and Huang-Lao Daoism. In this way, he resolves potential conflicts among these diverse textual traditions and preserves the logical coherence and value integration of Laozi zhigui. Third, through his synthesis of these classical texts, Yan Zun develops a more comprehensive cosmological framework, alongside a practical political theory and principles for self-cultivation. Although the primary purpose of the Laozi zhigui is to elucidate the Daodejing, through his remarkable interpretive skills, Yan Zun’s concepts not only clarify the classic text but also generate novel perspectives, innovative concepts, and a distinctive intellectual framework. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Explorations into Yan Zun’s Edition and Commentary to the Daodejing: Laozi Zhigui)
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