Sima Tan and the Invention of Daoism, "Legalism," "et cetera" Author(s): Kidder Smith and Sima Tan Source: The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 62, No. 1 (Feb., 2003), pp. 129-156 Published by: Association for Asian Studies Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3096138 Accessed: 06-01-2016 12:20 UTC Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/ info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. Association for Asian Studies and Cambridge University Press are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of Asian Studies. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 195.113.0.105 on Wed, 06 Jan 2016 12:20:29 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Sima Tan and the Invention of Daoism, "Legalism,"et cetera KIDDER SMITH H ERE'S A SHORT VERSION: The "-ism" we invoke when we posit things like "Daoism" was glimpsed for the first time by Sima Tan-J,J--, a(d. 110 B.C.E.), lord grand astrologer (taishigongJ; _j_) to the Han court. His essay "Yaozhi"g^ (Essential points), included in the final chapter of his son Sima Qian's Taishigong,' analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of six approaches to governance: Yinyang =%|, Ru f (known to us as Confucians), Mo , (the Mohists), Fajia ~j * (called Legalists), Mingjia ; V (called Sophists), and Daojia I * (or Daode X {f , the supposed Daoists).