Abstract

The title of Gao Xinhua's 高新華 work contains two somewhat distinct elements: "Huang-Lao thought" (huanglao sixiang 黃老思想) and "Warring States to Early Han" (zhanguo zhi Han chu 戰國至漢初). They are distinct insofar as "Huang-Lao" takes on a different meaning when described based on the works of political philosophy--the task of roughly the first half of the book--and when traced through history in the thought of the political elite, as is the focus of the second half. Of course, they are not entirely distinct and to some extent the historical Huang-Lao is a manifestation of the philosophical works. As Gao shows, however, the relationship between the two is far from simple. The book consists of an Introduction, four chapters--each containing three to five sections--and a short Conclusion.