Nan Huaijin南怀瑾（附）

Period

Modern

Dates

1918 — 2012

Role

Lecturer on National Learning (Guoxue)Lay PractitionerCultural Figure

Birthplace

Yueqing (present-day Yueqing, Wenzhou, Zhejiang)

Life

Nan Huaijin, a native of Yueqing, Zhejiang, was a well-known modern lecturer on Chinese classical learning (guoxue). In his early years he studied martial arts and Chan meditation in Sichuan under Yuan Huanxian, moved to Taiwan in 1949, and lectured for many years on the classics of Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism, spending his later years in Hong Kong and at the Taihu University in Suzhou. His lecture transcripts related to Daoist philosophy and religion include Laozi in His Own Words, The Zhuangzi Explained in Colloquial Language, Speculations on the Liezi, Daoism, Tantrism and Eastern Mysticism, My Reading of the Cantong qi, and Quiet Sitting, Cultivating the Dao, and Immortality, introducing Daoist thought and alchemical cultivation in a colloquial style that circulated very widely in Chinese-speaking societies. The academic world does not generally regard him as a scholar of Daoist studies, and his works are mostly popular lectures rather than scholarly research; this entry is included as an appendix to reflect his actual influence on the popular dissemination of knowledge about Daoism.

Contributions & Influence

• Popularized knowledge of Laozi, Zhuangzi and the Way of the Elixir through colloquial lectures, with wide influence
• Brought alchemical texts to a popular readership through lecture transcripts such as My Reading of the Cantong qi
• Spurred interest in Daoist culture among Chinese communities at home and abroad

Works

• Another Interpretation of Laozi
• Rambling Talks on the Zhuangzi
• My Explanation of the Cantong Qi
• Tao and Longevity: Mind-Body Transformation
• Daoism, Tantrism, and Eastern Mysticism