Liu An刘安

Style & Daoist names

King of Huainan, Huainanzi

Period

Western Han

Dates

-179 — -122

Role

Regional kingScholar of Huang–Lao learningPatron of the fangshi arts

Birthplace

Pei (present-day Pei county, Jiangsu, area)

Life

Liu An, a grandson of Emperor Gaozu of Han and son of Liu Chang, King Li of Huainan, inherited the title of King of Huainan in the sixteenth year of Emperor Wen's reign (164 BCE). Fond of reading and playing the qin, he gathered several thousand retainers and masters of esoteric arts, who together compiled the Huainan honglie (Huainanzi), consisting of twenty-one inner chapters, eight scrolls of middle chapters, and thirty-three outer chapters, of which only the inner chapters survive today. The work is centered on Daoist philosophy while blending in the schools of Yin-Yang, Confucianism and Legalism, and is regarded as the culminating work of Western Han Huang-Lao Daoist thought; its cosmogony and its theory of essence, qi and spirit had a significant influence on Daoist theory. Liu An was also fond of the immortality arts and alchemy, and produced the Zhenzhong hongbao yuanmi shu (Secret Book of the Pillow-Case Treasury), later regarded as an early record of the art of alchemy. In the first year of the Yuanshou era (122 BCE), when his plot to rebel was discovered, he committed suicide and his kingdom was abolished. The Biographies of Divine Immortals, however, claims that he obtained the arts of the Eight Elders and ascended to Heaven together with his entire household — the origin of the expression "even the chickens and dogs ascended to Heaven."

Contributions & Influence

• Directed the compilation of the Huainanzi, the culminating work of Western Han Huang-Lao thought
• Gathered masters of esoteric arts, advancing early alchemy and immortality arts
• The Huainanzi's cosmology and theory of life-nourishment became sources for Daoist theory

Works

• Huainanzi
• Huainan Wanbi Shu (Ten Thousand Infallible Arts of Huainan) (lost)
• Zhenzhong Hongbao Yuanmi Shu (Secret Book of the Vast Treasure at the Pillow) (lost)

Legends

According to legend, the Eight Elders came to his gate and taught him the art of alchemy; when the elixir was complete he ascended to Heaven in broad daylight, and even the chickens and dogs that licked the leftover elixir ascended with him (per the Biographies of Divine Immortals); this is legendary material and does not accord with the accounts in the Records of the Grand Historian and the Book of Han.