Wenzi

Background

Some have named the Wenzi (Wen Tzu) the fourth most important Daoist text after the Dao De Jing, Zhuangzi, and Liezi. It is believed to be at least two thousand years old and is attributed to a student of Laozi (Lao Tuz) named Master Wen. There are actually two texts that bear this name. The first is the “Received Wenzi” which scholars have known for centuries. The second is the “Dingzhou Wenzi” which scholars have known since 1973 (Creativity, pages 5, 23).

Received Wenzi

The Received Wenzi was given official recognition by the Chinese Emperor centuries ago and was very influential in Chinese society. It was divided into 12 Chapters and included Daoist themes such as the Dao, leadership, flexibility, and virtue. One of the only English translations was completed by Thomas Cleary who divided it into 180 sections (Wen-Tzu, introduction).

Scholars

Early on scholars questioned its authenticity as a Daoist text because it contained Confucian, Legalist, and Mohist philosophies. In fact, approximately 75% of its comes from the Huainanzi an ancient court text on leadership. In addition, it has undergone major revisions over the centuries. For these reasons many scholars have rejected it as a Daoist text (Creativity and Intertextuality, pages 2-3, 113).

In the following summaries of the Received Wenzi, I focus on two chapters that have much Daoist Content:

Dingzhou Wenzi

The Dingzhou Wenzi was discovered in 1973 in Dingzhou, China. It included 277 bamboo fragments, had at least two parts, and was divided into nine chapters including “Sageness and Wisdom” and “The Enlightened King.” It was organized around a series of questions between King Ping and his advisor Wenzi. It included themes such as the Dao, flexibility, wu wei, leadership, and virtue.

Scholars

Scholars believe it has had less revisions than the Received Wenzi and does not include material from the Huaininanzi. While 94 of its bamboo fragments have parallels in the Received Wenzi it was heavily influenced by the Daoist text Liezi (Creativity and Intertextuality, pages 8, 32, 61-65, 81, and 84; Creation and Manipulation, pages 23 and 25).

In the following summaries I focus on its Daoist themes of the Dao, compassion, flexibility, wu wei, and leadership. I will also outline how its views on virtue incorporates Confucian thought.

Resources

The Wenzi: Creativity and Intertextuality in Early Chinese Philosophy (Studies in the History of Chinese Texts, 9), Paul Van Els, Brill Academic Publisher, 2018.

Els, P. van. (2006, May 29). The Wenzi: creation and manipulation of a Chinese
philosophical text, Paul Van Els, 2006.

Wen-Tzu, Understanding the Mysteries, Thomas Cleary, Translator. 1991.