Taixuanjing

work by Yang Xiong

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July 14, 2026

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The Taixuanjing (Classic of the Supremely Profound Principle) is a philosophical work by Yang Xiong, a Chinese poet and philosopher who lived from approximately 53 BCE to 18 CE. Influenced by both Confucianism and Daoism, Yang Xiong viewed human nature as a mix of good and evil. The Taixuanjing consists of 15 essays that imitate the structure of the Confucian classic Yijing (I-Ching). This work is one of Yang Xiong's chief philosophical contributions, alongside his Fayan ("Model Sayings").1

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Yang Xiong
…Fayan (“Model Sayings”) and the Taixuanjing (“Classic of the Supremely Profound Principle”), 15 essays that imitate the form of the Confucian classic Yijing (I-Ching; “Classic of Changes”).
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…Fayan (“Model Sayings”) and the Taixuanjing (“Classic of the Supremely Profound Principle”), 15 essays that imitate the form of the Confucian classic Yijing (I-Ching; “Classic of Changes”).
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Confucianism
Dong Zhongshu: The Confucian visionary
…of the Analects, and the Taixuan jing (“Classic of the Supremely Profound Principle”), a cosmological speculation in the style of the Yijing, presented an alternative worldview. That school, claiming its own recensions of authentic classical texts allegedly rediscovered during the Han period and written in an “old” script before the…
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…of the Analects, and the Taixuan jing (“Classic of the Supremely Profound Principle”), a cosmological speculation in the style of the Yijing, presented an alternative worldview. That school, claiming its own recensions of authentic classical texts allegedly rediscovered during the Han period and written in an “old” script before the…
Read More