Wang Yan (256-311) was a scholar of the Western Jin period (265-316). He came from Linyi (modern Linyi, Shandong) and was a retainer of the heir apparent (taizi sheren), secretarial court gentleman (shangshu lang), gentleman attendant at the palace gate (huangmen shilang), Director of the Imperial Secretariat (shangshuling), and Defender-in-chief (taiwei).
Career
Wang Yan was a retainer of the heir apparent (taizi sheren), secretarial court gentleman (shangshu lang), gentleman attendant at the palace gate (huangmen shilang), Director of the Imperial Secretariat (shangshuling), and finally Defender-in-chief (taiwei). When the imperial house fell apart by internecine struggles, the Xiongnu leader Liu Yuan rose in rebellion and founded the Former Zhao Dynasty (304-329). At that moment Wang Yan was appointed Counselor-in-chief (zaixiang) and recommended the court to care for its own defense. Wang Yan was a highly respected member of the land-owning families and acted as their spokesman.
Views
Yan Wang focused on metaphysical notions of being and non-being. He dedicated himself to the teachings of the School of Mystery (xuanxue), a contemporary branch of intellectual Daoism that venerated the "voidness" (wu, i. e. the Dao) as the fundament of all things. The actual practice of the School of Mysteries was often a life of indulgence in pleasures, for free and easy wandering, and carelessness about political matters.
