The Lost Orthodoxy: Yan Zun’s Interpretation of the Laozi and the Pre-Qin to Han Daoist Tradition

Prior to the Tang Dynasty, interpretations of the Laozi fell into two traditions: the Pre-Qin and Han tradition, represented by Yan Zun, and the Wei–Jin tradition, represented by Wang Bi. The commentaries on the Laozi in circulation today are influenced by metaphysics in emphasizing “non-being” (wu) as the substance of the Dao (dao). Yan Zun’s Laozi zhigui 老子指歸 (lit. “Purport of the Laozi”) is the oldest extant commentary. In his thought, Yan carries on the legacies of the Laozi and the Zhuangzi and serves as a precursor to later religious Daoism. Yan Zun established a triadic framework—comprising the Dao, Vacuity, and Spontaneity—that shaped Han and Tang Daoism. This reading inherits the Pre-Qin Daoist principle that takes Vacuity as its ontological root and yielding softness as its operative function, laying the theoretical foundation for religious Daoist thought in the Jin and Tang dynasties. Yan Zun’s interpretations of the Laozi frequently surprise modern scholars, yet his views align closely with the contents of the Mawangdui Laozi silk manuscripts (c. 168 BCE) and Peking University Western Han bamboo-slip Laozi (c. 150 BCE), which demonstrates his distinctive scholarly contribution and contemporary relevance.