Hsüan-hsüeh Chin., lit. “secret mystical teaching”; a philosophical movement of the 3d and 4th centuries C.E., known as neo-Taoism, and based on the philosophical Taoism (tao-chia) of Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu. The term hsüan-hsüeh as a concept goes back to the Tao teching, which describes the Tao as the “secret of secrets.”
The followers of the hsüan-hsüeh movement combine Taoist ideas with Confucianist principles. They consider Confucius (K’ung-tzu) to be the greater sage because he attained a higher level of insight than either Lao-tzu or Chuang tzu.
The neo-Taoists developed and refined a special form of converse known as pure conversation (ch’ing-t’an). The most important representatives of the hsüan-hsüeh movement were Wang Pi (226-49 C.E.), Hsiang Hsiu (221 -300 C.E.), and Kuo Hsiang (?-ca. 312 C.E.), all of whom wrote important commentaries on the Tao-te ching.
Neo-Taoists see the Tao as literally nothingness, whereas Lao-tzu holds that the true Tao cannot be named. It follows from this that the Tao cannot be the cause of anything: to say that something was caused by the Tao would amount to saying that it was caused by itself. The hsüan-hsüeh philosophers thus refute the view that nonbeing (wu) can give rise to being (you).
Thus in neo-Taoism the Tao -the central concept of original Taoism– was increasingly replaced by the idea of Heaven (t’ien), which is said to be the totality of all that exists. To see the world from the point of view of Heaven means to transcend phenomena and differentiations. The identity of things is therefore a central tenet of neo-Taoism. To realize this identity, it is necessary to abandon all likes and dislikes and live in complete harmony with one’s true self, uninfluenced by external factors. Such an attitude is said to lead to complete freedom and happiness.
Unlike Lao-tzu, the supporters of neo-Taoism do not condemn institutions and customs, providing these adapt themselves to social change and to the require ments of the times. They see change as a mighty force, which man is unable to perceive directly but to which everything is subject. Voluntary submission to this principle is known as wu-wei, i.e., to let things take their course by not opposing or resisting the process of natural change.
Since the 5th century C.E. neo-Taoism has been strongly influenced by Buddhism and in consequence lost a great deal of its earlier importance.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Hsüan-hsüeh documents
Books on Hsüan-hsüeh
External links