The Huainanzi is an eclectic compendium of Chinese philosophy, political theory, and lore, compiled by a large team of scholars under the sponsorship of Liu An (ca. 179-122 BCE), the Prince of Huainan. Liu An was a Han-dynasty aristocrat who ruled a large and wealthy autonomous kingdom in modern Jiangxi. In 139 BCE, he presented the text of Huainanzi to the young and recently enthroned Emperor Wu (r. 141-87 BCE), perhaps hoping to influence the new emperor’s governing philosophy. But Emperor Wu viewed princely kingdoms like Huainan as an obstacle to his political ambitions and, like his father, sought to centralize power by weakening or abolishing them. In 122 BCE, a series of complex developments led to Liu An being accused of plotting treason. He committed suicide at the age of 58 and his kingdom was converted into two commanderies under central government control.

Numerous passages in the Huainanzi reflect the influence of a small-government philosophy known as Huang-Lao (“Huangdi and Laozi”), which was popular in the early Western Han but was abandoned by Emperor Wu in favor of a statist empire-building policy. The passages translated below espouse a spirit of cultural relativism and skepticism about the value of ritual norms that strongly suggests influence from the Warring States philosophical text Zhuangzi. Such open-minded attitudes became extremely rare in later periods of Chinese history after a Ru-oriented perception of ritual as essential to morality, and of barbarian ways as immoral and inferior, became entrenched among the educated elite.

The translations below are adapted from the complete translation of the Huainanzi by John S. Major, Sarah A. Queen, Andrew Seth Meyer, and Harold D. Roth, The Huainanzi: A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Government in Early Han China (New York: Columbia University Press, 2010).

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From the chapter “Yuandao” (Tracing the Way to Its Source)

To the south of the Jiuyi Mountains, activities on dry land are few, while activities on water are many. The people therefore cut their hair and tattoo their bodies in order to resemble scaly creatures.¹ They wear short pants, not long trousers, in order to make swimming easier. And they have short sleeves in order to make poling their boats easier. In doing this, they are adapting to [their natural environment].

To the north of the Yanmen Pass, the northern Di do not eat grain. They despise the aged and value the young, and it is their custom to esteem those with great physical strength. People there do not unstring their bows, nor do they remove the bridles from their horses. In doing this, they are adapting to [their natural environment].

Thus when Yu went to the country of naked people, he removed his clothes when he entered and put them back on when he left. In doing this he was adapting to [his natural environment].

From the chapter “Qisu” (Integrating Customs)

If the original nature of human beings is obstructed and sullied, one cannot get at its purity and clarity—it is because things have befouled it. The children of the Qiang, Dī, Bo, and Di peoples all produce the same sounds at birth.² Once they have grown, even with both the xiang and diti interpreters, they cannot understand one another’s speech; this is because their education and customs are different.³ Now a three-month-old child that moves to a new state after it is born will not recognize its old customs. Viewed on this basis, clothing and ritual customs are not rooted in people’s nature; they are received from without….

The Hu people strike bones together to seal an oath; the Yue people make cuts in their arms; the people of the Central States smear their mouths with blood.⁴ The origins of all these customs are different, but in terms of establishing trust, they are as one. The Three Miao bind their heads with hemp; the Qiang people bind their necks; the people of the Central States use caps and hairpins; the Yue people shear their hair.⁵  But they are all one and the same in being forms of clothing….

Thus the rites of the barbarians of the four quarters are not the same, yet they all revere their ruler, love their kin, and respect their elder brothers. The customs of the Xianyun are the opposite of ours, yet they are kind to their children and venerate their elders.⁶ Birds in flight form a line, and beasts in the wild gather into herds; who is there to teach them?

Thus the state of Lu observed the rites of the Confucians and practiced the arts of Confucius. Its territory was stripped away and its name brought low; it was unable to befriend those nearby or attract those far away. King Goujian of Yue shaved his head and tattooed his body; he did not have leather caps or jade belt ornaments; he lacked the postures of bowing and bending. Even so, he defeated Fuchai [of Wu] at the Five Lakes (Lake Tai); facing south, he was hegemon of the world.⁷ All twelve of the lords north of the Si River led the Yi peoples to pay court to him.

In the countries of the Hu, Mo, and Xiongnu, people leave their limbs uncovered and their hair untied; they sit on the floor with their legs [rudely] splayed out and speak a different language.⁸ Yet their states have not collapsed, and they do not necessarily lack ritual propriety. King Zhuang of Chu wore thin lapels on a broad robe, yet his commands were obeyed throughout the subcelestial realm, and as a consequence he became hegemon of the lords. Lord Wen of Jin wore clothes of coarse cloth and sheepskin and a leather belt for his sword, yet his might was established everywhere within the seas. How can it be that only the rites of Zou and Lu [may be] called rites?⁹

For this reason, when entering a state, one follows their customs, and when entering a household, one respects their taboos. If one does not violate a prohibition in entering, if one does not go forward contrary [to custom], then even when traveling to a country of naked people or barbarians (Yi-Di), or going beyond the farthest limits of chariot tracks, one will have no trouble.

1. The Han-era Chinese believed that southern peoples like the Yue tattooed their bodies to frighten off dangerous creatures like dragons and crocodiles when swimming or diving in the rivers. See Brindley, Ancient China and the Yue. ↩︎
2. The peoples labeled as Qiang in Han times were native to the Kokonor (Lake Qinghai) region on the northeastern end of the Tibetan Plateau. The Dī 氐 (not to be confused with Di 狄) were a people native to the uplands of northern Sichuan and southern Gansu. Bo 僰 was originally a label for peoples of the southern Sichuan region, also known as Pu 濮. It was later applied to certain Yunnan peoples in the Yuan and Ming periods. ↩︎
3. For the terms xiang and diti, see the “Wangzhi” chapter of the Liji (source 1.6). ↩︎
4. In Han times, the label Hu was typically applied to pastoral nomadic peoples of Inner Mongolia and Mongolia, especially the Xiongnu. ↩︎
5. The Three Miao were a group of peoples associated with the region of Hubei and Hunan and best known as antagonists of the legendary sage-kings Yao and Shun. ↩︎
6. On the Xianyun, see source 1.1. Since the Xianyun had long ceased to exist as a distinct people, the text is probably using Xianyun as a synonym for the Xiongnu, a nomadic people of the Mongolian steppe who forged a powerful empire under the leadership of Modun (r. 209-174 BCE) in 209-200 BCE. They were the Western Han empire’s primary geopolitical rival, and some Han scholars identified them as descendants of the Xianyun. ↩︎
7. “Facing south” was the ritual position of authority taken by a Chinese ruler at court, while his ministers addressed him facing north. On Goujian and Fuchai, see the account of the Huangchi conference in source 1.2. ↩︎
8. The Chinese regarded sitting with one’s legs extended or splayed out to be a rude, barbaric practice. The proper sitting postures were kneeling and (less formally) cross-legged. ↩︎
9. Zou was the native state of Mencius, while Lu was Confucius’s state. “The rites of Zou and Lu” thus means the Zhou ritual norms favored by the Ru tradition. ↩︎