Guanzi (text)

The Guanzi is an ancient Chinese political and philosophical text. At over 135,000 characters long, the Guanzi is one of the longest early Chinese philosophical texts. This anonymously written foundational text covers broad subject matter, notably including price regulation of commodities via the concept of "light and heavy" (轻重). Despite its later dating, it is arguably one of the most representative texts of the concepts of political economy that developed during the Spring and Autumn period.

Dating
The Guanzi is named for and traditionally attributed to the 7th century BCE philosopher and statesman Guan Zhong, who served as Prime Minister to Duke Huan of Qi. It was, however, written by several anonymous authors. While the precise date of creation remains subject to historical debate, it is "arguably a much later expression of ideas in the direction of the Han Feizi". Its first reference appears in the Han Feizi. With Han Fei reputedly dying in 233 BC, it theoretically "took shape" in earlier form around 250 BCE. However, none of its existing chapters would appear to predate the first century BCE, so that much of it would have been compiled after the Han Feizi.

The Han dynasty scholar Liu Xiang edited the received Guanzi text circa 26 BCE. It contains a wide variety of material from many different authors over several successive centuries, largely associated with the 4th century BCE Jixia Academy in the Qi capital of Linzi. The Ming dynasty agricultural scientist Xu Guangqi frequently cited the Guanzi and the Xunzi.

Late Daoist reception
The Guanzi was still listed as Daoist in the Book of Han's Journal of Literature Chapter 30, which lists texts like Shen Buhai, Shen Dao and Han Feizi as 'Legalist'. The Guanzi was not listed as 'Legalist' until the Book of Sui's Journal of Writings. The Guanzi contains chapters like "Straight Thinking" and "Pure Heart" (chuan 13, essays 36-38; "Hsin Shu" parts one and two, and "Pai Hsin"). K. C. Hsiao took these as "clarifications of the Huang-Lao tenets."

Content
As is typical of an ancient Chinese text, the organization of the Guanzi has been altered over time, the chronology and significance of which is not all that clear. Covering a wide variety of subjects, ranging from detailed economic discussions to overviews of local soil topography, many chapters include Confucian values as a necessity for the state, expressing a blend of what may be considered Legalistic, Confucian, and Daoistic philosophy that has been termed "Huang-Lao". The first reference to the collection appears in the more Daostic Huainanzi, of the early Han dynasty, and Han bibliographies listed the text as Daoist.

Yin-yang and five phase ideas play a more important role in later chapters. Its Neiye ("Inner Enterprise/Training") has a potential influence for the Zhuangzi,  and has the oldest recorded descriptions of Daoist meditation techniques.

When you enlarge your mind and let go of it, When you relax your [qi 氣] vital breath and expand it, When your body is calm and unmoving: And you can maintain the One and discard the myriad disturbances. You will see profit and not be enticed by it, You will see harm and not be frightened by it. Relaxed and unwound, yet acutely sensitive, In solitude you delight in your own person. This is called "revolving the vital breath": Your thoughts and deeds seem heavenly. (24, tr. Roth 1999:92)

Most chapters of the text deal with government and the art of rulership. Considering their tone generally less strident than in the classic Legalist work, the Book of Lord Shang (Shang jun shu 商君書), translator W. Allyn Rickett dissents from the traditional Confucian view of the texts as Legalist, judging them to "present a point of view much closer to that of the realistic Confucian, Xunzi than either the highly idealistic Confucianism of Mencius or the Draconian Legalism advocated by Shang Yang." The Guanzi shares with other "Legalist" texts the view that power is independent of morality, emphasizing techniques (Shu), but advocates "law" (Fa) as an adjunct to Confucian Li.

Economic and financial insight in the Guanzi
Several chapters of the Guanzi address what modern language would call economic and monetary issues. It is a core text on the matter of price stabilization from the ancient Chinese perspective. The economic policies discussed focus on insulating peasants from fluctuations in the context of then-recently developed market forces and to increase commercialization while benefitting the state. “[T]his approach to economic policy suggested that the state should unleash and harness market forces in order to promote wealth for the state and the people.”

The "state savings" (國蓄) chapter has been described as the first-ever exposition of the quantity theory of money, and the "light and heavy" (轻重) chapter as the first clear articulation of the law of supply and demand:

"Now, the price of grain is heavy in our state and light in the world at large. Then the other lords’ goods will spontaneously leak out like water from a spring flowing downhill. Hence, if goods are heavy, they will come; if light they will go."In the Guanzi's usage of "heavy," and "light," the former connotes something that is expensive or important while the latter connotes inexpensive or unimportant. In this view, "all economic phenomena can only be understood relationally; things can be heavy or light only in relation to other things."