Abstract

In 139 BC, Liu An presented the Huainanzi to Emperor Wu. Nowadays, most Western scholars believe that the Huainanzi has a “root-branches” bipartite structure. However, given that the author of the "Yao Lue" chapter (probably Liu An himself) asks the readers to read the Huainanzi from the beginning to its end in a successive order, and given that the text is designed in such a way as to prevent readers from “departing from the root and moving closer to the branches” (離本就末), it would be self-contradictory if any “branch” chapters are placed towards the end of the Huainanzi. This thesis examines the postface of the Huainanzi (Chapter 21, “Yaolue” [An Overview of the Essentials]) in detail. Based on the internal evidence, it is argued that the Huainanzi has a “root-branches-great root” tripartite structure. Chapters 1-8 of the Huainanzi belong to the “root” and discuss “the patterns of Heaven and Earth” (天地 之理). Chapters 9-18 belong to the “branches” and discuss “the affairs of the human realm” (人間之事). Chapters 19 and 20 together form the “great root” (大本) and are devoted to the discussion of “the way of emperors and kings”. (帝王之道) Since the Huainanzi is “the book of Liu Clan”(劉氏之書), chapters 19 and 20, which outline the way of emperors and kings, are evidently the most important and authoritative chapters. 目前西方學者多以為《淮南》二十篇由「本∕道」和「末∕事」兩部分組成，此說幾成定論。然而，《淮南》後序〈要略〉既然一方面要求讀者順序閱讀《淮南》二十篇，同時明確指出不欲讀者「離本就末」，然則《淮南》二十篇就不可能只由「本∕道」和「末∕事」兩部分組成。本論文通過分析〈要略〉文義，抉發篇中內證，指出《淮南》二十篇實由「本∕道」、「末∕事」以及「大本∕大道」三部分組成。第一部分由開首八篇組成，其論述主題為「天地之理」。第二部分則由第九篇到第十八篇組成，其主題為「人間之事」。第三組的地位最高，由第十九篇〈脩務〉和第二十篇〈泰族〉組成，其主題為「帝王之道」。而〈要略〉指出《淮南》乃「劉氏之書」，「劉氏之書」者，皇族之書、帝王之書也。由此可知闡述「帝王之道」的兩篇實為《淮南》之重心大本。