Painting the Formless and Strumming the Soundless: Yang Xiong's Taixuan jing as Expression of the Absolute

Abstract

This dissertation is a study of Yang Xiong’s (53 BCE–18 CE) Taixuan jing that attempts to incorporate philological methods with philosophical insights by situating the text within the intellectual and historical context of the late Eastern Han. Secondarily, it is a response to the modern suggestion that the Taixuan jing paved the way for Wei-Jin xuanxue movement, and thus seeks to probe the limits of the extent of this claim with an investigation into Yang Xiong’s mentor Zhuang Zun (83 BCE–ca. 6 CE) and the Jingzhou school established under the auspices of Liu Biao (144-208). While most studies have taken the Taixuan jing as an imitation of the Zhou yi, I have argued that if we are to truly understand Yang Xiong’s project we must break free of this preconception and look at it in its own right. That is, the Taixuan is not merely an imitation of the Zhou yi, but that of a higher, transcendental truth which I have called the “absolute” that is expressed through image, parallel prose, and verse. In §1 I will set forth the philosophical background by looking at the concept of mimēsis as it had evolved in meaning by the time of Plato; the historical and intellectual background that prompted this study; and a philological analysis of the usages of the word xuan. In §2 I will introduce Zhuang Zun and his only extant text, the Laozi zhigui, and discuss the concepts of xuanmo (profound quietude) and xuande (profound virtue) that may have informed Yang Xiong’s intellectual endeavors. In §3 I will look at the historical times of Yang Xiong and trace a trajectory in the development of his thought through from his early and late fu to his more philosophical texts, the Fa yan and Taixuan. §4 is devoted to the Taixuan itself where I look at passages from the text that embody the three forms of expressions of the absolute (image, prose, and verse). Finally, in §5 I attempt to bring together the threads that may or may not connect Zhuang Zun, Yang Xiong, and their relation to xuanxue. A fully annotated translation of the “Preface” and “Li” commentary of the Taixuan jing is provided in the Appendices.