Guanzi is the ana of different schools of thought in the Warring States Period (475-221BC), including views of Legalists, Confucians, Taoists, Yin-yangists, Logicians, Militarists and Agriculturists. It is said that the book was produced by Guan Zhong, who lived in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC).
The existing Guanzi, compiled by Liu Xiang of the Western Han Dynasty, now only has 76 chapters, while it originally had 86 chapters. Its contents were classified into eight categories.
Liu Xiang(right)
Before Liu Xiang compiled this book, some people such as Han Fei, Jia Yi, Sima Qian thought that it had a clou that nomocracy should be accompanied by moral education and ceremony is as important as law. Therefore, it was conjectured that the scholars of Qi State used the name of Guanzi to put forward a new theory, taking their state's condition into account. Guanzi contains abundant history information, which is of great research value in historiography.
Master Guan
Guanzi Jiaozheng(Guanzi with Amendments), written by Dai Wang of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), has great reference value. Guanzi Jijiao(Collection of Guangzi Works), written by Guo Moruo, Wen Yiduo, etc, compiled achievements of the predecessors, making it convenient for usage and study.
