This is an exceptionally thorough, clear, and well-structured account of an important early Chinese text that has been largely overlooked by most scholars because of doubts about its authenticity and difficulties with its textual integrity - issues now largely clarified by this study. The focus here is not only on what the 'he guan zi' says, but how things are said, and how language is used in argumentation.

Carine Defoort is Associate Professor in the Department of Oriental Studies, Sinology at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium.