Wang Bi

In this Chinese name, the family name is Wang.

Wang Bi (Chinese: 王弼; 226–249^[2]), courtesy name Fusi (Chinese: 輔嗣), was a Chinese philosopher and politician. During his brief career, he produced commentaries on the Tao Te Ching and I Ching which were highly influential in Chinese philosophy.^[3][4]

Wang Bi 王弼
Born	226 Shandong Province
Died	249 (aged 23)
Other names	Fusi (輔嗣)
Occupation(s)	Philosopher, politician
Father	Wang Ye (courtesy name Zhangxu)[1]

Wang Bi
Chinese	王弼
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wáng Bì Wade–Giles Wang2 Pi4 IPA [wǎŋ pî] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Wòhng Baht Jyutping Wong4 Bat6 IPA [wɔŋ˩ pɐt̚˨]

Life and background

Wang Bi's grandfather Wang Kai (王凯) was a clansman of Wang Can, one of the Seven Scholars of Jian'an, while Wang Kai's wife was a daughter of the warlord Liu Biao.^[5] After Wang Can's two sons were implicated in Wei Feng's rebellion in 219 and executed, Wang Bi's father Wang Ye was made Wang Can's heir;^[6] Wang Ye also inherited Wang Can's library of about 10000 volumes (including books from Cai Yong's collection). Wang Bi served as a minor bureaucrat in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. He died from an epidemic at the age of 23.^[7][8]

Wang Bi's most important works are commentaries on Laozi's Tao Te Ching and the I Ching. The text of the Tao Te Ching that appeared with his commentary was widely considered the best copy of this work until the discovery of the Han-era Mawangdui texts in 1973. He was a scholar of Xuanxue.

Writings

At least three works by Wang Bi are known: a commentary on Confucius' Analects, which survives only in quotations; commentaries on the I Ching and the Tao Te Ching, which not only have survived but have greatly influenced subsequent Chinese thought on those two classics.

His commentary on the I Ching has been translated into English by Richard John Lynn, The Classic of Changes (New York: Columbia University, 1994) ISBN 0-231-08295-9

Several translations into English have been made of his commentary of the Tao Te Ching:

• Ariane Rump, translator Commentary on the Lao Tzu by Wang Pi, Monographs of the Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy, No. 6 (Honolulu: University of Hawaii, 1979) ISBN 0-8248-0677-8
• Richard John Lynn, translator The Classic of the Way and Virtue; A New Translation of the Tao-te Ching of Laozi as Interpreted by Wang Bi (New York: Columbia University, 1999) ISBN 0-2311-0581-9
• Rudolf Wagner, translator. A Chinese Reading of the Daodejing: Wang Bi's Commentary on the Laozi with Critical Text and Translation (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2003) ISBN 0-791-45182-8

The German philosopher Kai Marchal wrote a literary essay about his experience of reading Wang Bi in times of global upheaval.^[9]

See also

• Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms