The Huainanzi
Page 122
zong origins, ancestor
The “Ancestor” is used by the Huainanzi as a metaphor for the Way. Because all things emerged from the Way, the Way is literally the ancestor of all things. The text further exploits the suggestive parallels between the Way as “Ancestor” and the Liu clan as a kinship group united by common descent from a single sage-ancestor, Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty. Just as the diversified universe operates harmoniously under the control of the Ancestor, the extended Liu clan can embody the same spontaneous harmony in support of the ancestral throne.
Andrew Meyer
English-Language Finding List for Chinese Terms
Accomplished Person
zhiren
accord with patterns
xun li
action
dong
activation
ji
active
dong
adapt
yi
adapt to natural patterns of things
yin
adjust
yi
advantage
li
advantage and disadvantage
lihai
affair
shi
align
zheng
alter
bian
Ancestor
zong
appropriate
yi
argument
lun
arts
shu
assess, assessment
lun
attention
zhi
authentic
zhen
Authentic Person
zhenren
awareness
yi
basic
ben
basis
ben
being
you
benefit
li
benefit and harm
lihai
bright, brightness
ming
change
yi, bian
Changes, the
Yi
clarify, clarity
ming
cleverness
zhi
Confucian
ru
contradict, on the contrary
fan
convention
su
correct
zheng
cosmos
yuzhou
crafty knowledge
zhi
crux
ji
culture
wen
custom
su
decorative elegance
wen
decree
ming
Decree of Heaven
tianming
degree
du
describe
shuo
destiny
ming
discern, discernment
ming
discourse
lun
disposition
qing
disposition and nature
qingxing
dispositional nature
qingxing
dispositional responsiveness
qing
dispositional responsiveness evoked by nature and life circumstances
xingming zhi qing
disturbance, to disturb
dong
divine
ling, shen
do nothing
wuwei
Documents, the
Shu
Earth, earthly
di
eaves and roof beams
yuzhou
effort
shi
emotional responses
qing
emotional responses evoked by nature and fate
xingming zhi qing
empire
tianxia
emptiness
xu
enumerate
shu
essence
jing
essence and spirit
jingshen
essential qualities
qing
essential qualities of nature and life circumstances
xingming zhi qing
event
shi
existence
you
expediency
quan
fate
ming
feelings
qing
find one’s source in
yuan
Five Conducts
wu xing
Five Orbs
wu zang
Five Phases
wu xing
follow the natural course of things
yin
force
shi
form and name
xingming
foundation
ben
fulcral moment
ji
fundamental
ben
fundamental and peripheral
benmo
genuine
zhen
Genuine Person
zhenren
genuine qualities
qing
genuine responses
qing
get to the source of
yuan
god
shen
govern
zhi
Grand Beginning, Grand Inception
taichu
Grand One
taiyi
Grand Purity
taiqing
guard the One
shouyi
Hall of Light
Mingtang
harm and benefit
xingde
harmony
he
heart
xin
Heaven, heavenly
tian
Heaven, under
tianxia
Heavenly Heart
xin
Heaven’s Decree
tianming
hegemon
ba
heft
quan
hold fast to the One
shouyi
Humaneness, humane
ren
illuminate, illumination
ming
inaction
wuwei
innate tendencies of nature and destiny
xing ming zhi qing
instinctive responses
qing
instinctive responses evoked by nature and life circumstances
xing ming zhi qing
intelligence
zhi
intelligence and forethought
zhilu
intelligence and precedent
zhigu
intention
yi
know, knowledge
zhi
life circumstances
ming
life span
ming
Mandate of Heaven
tianming
measure
du
mechanism
ji
military formation
xing
mind
xin
modify
yi
Moral Potency
de
movement, to move
dong
music
yue
name
ming
naturally
ziran
nature
xing
nature and fate
xing ming
nature and life circumstances
xing ming
non-action
wu wei
non-being
wu
non-deliberative action
wuwei
nonexistence
wu
non-intentional action
wuwei
non-purposive action
/>
wuwei
non-striving
wuwei
norms
shu
nothing, Nothingness
wu
nourish one’s nature
yangxing
numinous
ling
object
wu
Odes, the
Shi
One
yi
one year
chunqiu
oppose
fan
order (v.)
ming
origin
yuan
origins
zong
Pattern
li
patterns
wen
Perfected Person
zhiren
person
shen
persuade, persuasion
shuo (shui)
phenomenon
shi
physical form
xing
poetry
shi
positional advantage
shi
Potency
de
preserve the One
shouyi
principle
li
profit
li
propensity
shi
propriety
li
prose
shu
protocol
li
punishment and reward
xingde
purpose
zhi
put in order
li
put in order
zhi
qi
qi
Quintessential Sincerity
cheng
Quintessential Spirit
jingshen
Realized Person
zhenren
reason (v.)
lun
recision and accretion
xingde
rectify, rectitude
zheng
regulate
li
regulate
zhi
reputation
ming
resonance
ganying
return
fan
reversion
fan
revert
fan
Rightness
yi
rites
li
ritual
li
root
ben
root and branch
benmo
sage
shengren
self
shen
shape
xing
shift
yi
sincerity
cheng
six coordinates
liuhe
Something
you
source
yuan
space-time
yuzhou
speak
shuo
spirit
shen
spirit illumination
shenming
spirit transformation
shenhua
spiritlike
shen
spiritlike illumination
shenming
spiritlike transformation
shenhua
spontaneously
ziran
spring and autumn
chunqiu
Spring and Autumn Annals
Chunqiu
standard
du
stimulus and response
ganying
suitability, suitable
yi
Superior Man
junzi
task
shi
techniques
shu
Techniques of the Mind
xinshu
text
wen
thing
wu
thought
yi
trace X to its source
yuan
trajectory
shi
transformation
hua
unity, unify
yi
upright
zheng
vacuity
xu
vary
bian
vital breath
qi
vital energy
qi
vital essence
jing
vulgar
su
weight
quan
will
zhi
wisdom
zhi
without
wu
without striving
wuwei
world
tianxia
writing
shu
writings
wen
yin–yang
yin–yang
Appendix B
CATEGORICAL TERMS
Astronomical Terms
In early China, as in other ancient societies, no distinction was made between astronomy and astrology. The task of locating periodical phenomena (the sun, moon, and planets that could be seen with the naked eye) and occasional portents (such as comets and meteors) was directed at ascertaining their astrological significance. Special attention was paid to the location of Jupiter, which was invested with particular astrological potency. The principal means of determining the location of heavenly bodies was with reference to the twenty-eight lunar lodges.
The Twenty-eight Lunar Lodges, with Angular Extensions
The twenty-eight lunar lodges (xiu ) are a set of constellations denoting unequal segments of a celestial circle approximating the ecliptic and the celestial equator. The system is very ancient, attested in full from the early fifth century B.C.E. and possibly dating back as far as the late third millennium B.C.E. The lunar lodge system provides a means of locating the sun, moon, and visible planets among the fixed stars (table 1). For example, the location of heavenly bodies in the portion of the sky below the horizon can be calculated using the lunar lodges. The list of lodges begins in the east with Horn (jue ), whose determinative star is Alpha Virginis, and proceeds westerly around the celestial circle (table 2).
Table 1 The Five Visible Planets
Sui xing Year Star Jupiter
Ying huo Sparkling Deluder Mars
Zhen xing Quelling Star Saturn
Tai bo Great White Venus
Chen xing Chronograph Star Mercury
Table 2 The Twenty-eight Lunar Lodges
The Jupiter Cycle
The planet Jupiter takes approximately twelve years to complete a single orbit around the sun. The twelve years of Jupiter’s cycle had particular astrological significance. The names of the years apparently are from some unidentified non-Sinitic language; their origin is an unsolved mystery of the history of Chinese astrology. The Jupiter years also were correlated with the twelve earthly branches (table 3). At some time, perhaps as early as the fourth century B.C.E., the earthly-branch designations came to be associated with twelve animal names. These animal names do not appear in the Huainanzi, but subsequently became the usual way to refer to cyclical years. These names, too, have an unknown and mysterious origin.
TABLE 3 The Jupiter Cycle
Year Name Cyclical Character
(branch, zhi ) Animal
(not in HNZ)
Shetige zi Rat
Ming’e chou Ox
Zhixu yin Tiger
Dahuangluo mao Rabbit
Dunzang chen Dragon
Xiexia si Snake
Tuntan wu Horse
Zuo’e wei Sheep
Yanmao shen Monkey
Dayuanxian you Rooster
Kundun xu Dog
Chifenruo hai Pig
Calendrical Terms