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

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