Huan Tan
Huan Tan (c. 43BC– AD28), courtesy name Junshan, was a Chinese philosopher, poet, and politician of the Western Han, Xin and Eastern Han dynasties.
Huan Tan
- Born
- 40
- Died
- 32
- Nationality
- China
- Occupation
- poet · philosopher · politician
- Languages
- Chinese
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Documentary summary
Huan Tan (c. 43BC– AD28), courtesy name Junshan, was a Chinese philosopher, poet, and politician of the Western Han, Xin and Eastern Han dynasties.
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gnd · 119100819 · wikidata · Q1131375 · wikipedia · Huan Tan
In this article
Life
Life
Huan worked as an official under the administrations of Emperor Ai of Han (r ruled.27–1BC), Wang Mang (r ruled.AD9–23), the Gengshi Emperor (r ruled.23–25), and Emperor Guangwu of Han (r ruled.25–57), respectively. Huan was a close associate of the court astronomer and mathematician Liu Xin, as well as the author and poet Yang Xiong.
Works
Works
In addition to his many rhapsodies, essays, and memorials, Huan's major work was the Xinlun (新论) or New Discussions, which was admired by Emperor Guangwu despite Huan Tan's besmirched reputation for having closely associated himself with the regime of the usurper Wang Mang. His Xinlun is also the earliest text to describe the trip hammer device powered by hydraulics (i.e., a waterwheel), which was used to pound and decorticate grain.
Legacy
Huan's mode of philosophical thought belonged to an Old Text realist tradition. He drew explicitly on Legalism in his writings on government, saying that in certain historical epochs harsher punishments are needed. He was supported by other contemporaries such as the naturalist and mechanistic philosopher Wang Chong (27–c. 100), the latter who Crespigny states was probably heavily influenced by Huan Tan. Huan Tan is reported by Yu Yingshi (1930–2021) to uphold self-contradictory views on immortality. On one hand, he is quoted to say that "the way of immortals" is a fabrication of the lovers for the strange; on the other, however, he was reported to admit the practice as genuine and efficient. Possible explanation lies in the fact that the Xinlun was a later compilation which might have confused his own statements with the quotations of his opponents.
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1131375: Huan Tan
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Huan Tan”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 119100819, Huan, Tan.
General reference · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.harvp Crespigny 2007 p=338 .
Bibliography printed in the source article · 7
- Crespigny, Rafe de. A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD). Koninklijke Brill. 2007. 978-90-04-15605-0.
- Csikszentmihalyi, Mark. Readings in Han Chinese Thought. 2006.
- Knechtges, David R. Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature: A Reference Guide, Pt. I. Brill. 390–96. 2010. 978-90-04-19127-3.
- Needham, Joseph. Science and Civilization in China, Vol. 4: Physics and Physical Technology, Pt. II: Mechanical Engineering. Cambridge University Press. 1986.
- Yu, Yingshi. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. 25. 1965.
- Huan Tan in: Loewe, Michael, A Biographical Dictionary of the Qin, Former Han and Xin Periods (221 BC - AD 24), Leiden (Brill) 2000, , pp. 164–165.
- "Hsin-Lun (New Treatise) and Other Writings by Huan T'an (43 B.C. - 28 A.D.)" Timoteus Pokora Michigan Papers in Chinese Studies NO.20 1975 Ann Arbor, Center for Chinese Studies The University of Michigan
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q1131375: Huan TanWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witnessauthority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 119100819, Huan, Tan.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
38,582 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Hu ZhiyuAuthor
- Hu ZongAuthor
- Hua MulanAuthor
- Hua YanAuthor
- Huang ChaoAuthor
- Huang ChongguAuthor
- Huang Chun-mingAuthor
- Huang EntongAuthor
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