素书 The Primal Code

"内容简介

Brief Introduction

《素书》相传为秦末黄石公作。民间视为奇书、天书。《素书》以道家思想为宗旨，集儒、法、兵的思想发挥道的作用及功能，同时以道、德、仁、义、礼为立身治国的根本、揆度宇宙万物自然运化的理数，以此认识事物，对应事物、处理事物的智能之作。

The Primal Code: Taoist Strategies For Leadership And Life is traditionally attributed to Huang Shigong of the late Qin dynasty. Revered as an esoteric masterpiece, it synthesizes Taoist principles with Confucian, Legalist, and military philosophies, framing Tao, virtue, benevolence, justice, and ritual as cornerstones of governance and cosmic harmony.

传说黄石公三试张良，而后把此书授予张良。张良凭借此书，助刘邦定江山。书里凝练了道家、儒家、法家、兵家等多家思想精华，对人性的分析、事态的把握、利害的剖析都非常深刻。上至尧、舜、禹、周文王、周公，下至孔子、老子的思想都没有超出此书的范围。

Legend claims Huang Shigong tested Zhang Liang three times before bestowing this text. Zhang later used its strategic insights to help Liu Bang found the Han dynasty. The work distills wisdom from multiple schools of thought, offering razor-sharp analyses of human behavior and power dynamics. Its scope spans governance theories from Emperor Yao to Laozi, positioning it as an unmatched compendium of classical Chinese statecraft.

作者简介

Author Introduction

黄石公，约前292年-前195年，秦末时人，后得道成仙，被道教纳入神谱。据传黄石公是秦末汉初的五大隐士之一，排名第五。《史记·留侯世家》称其避秦世之乱，隐居东海下邳。其时张良因谋刺秦始皇不果，亡匿下邳。于下邳桥上遇到黄石公。黄石公三试张良后，授与《素书》。张良后来以黄石公所授兵书助汉高祖刘邦夺得天下，并于十三年后，在济北谷城下找到了黄石，取而葆祠之。后世流传有黄石公《素书》和《黄石公三略》。

Huang Shigong (circa 292-195 BCE), a late Qin dynasty figure later revered as an immortal and deified in the Taoist pantheon, was counted among the Five Great Recluses of the Qin-Han transition period, ranked fifth. Records of the Grand Historian: Hereditary House of Marquis Liu notes that he retreated to Xiapi in the eastern coastal region to escape Qin's political chaos. It was there that Zhang Liang, hiding in Xiapi after his failed assassination attempt on Qin Shi Huang, encountered Huang Shigong on a bridge. After subjecting Zhang to three trials, Huang Shigong gifted him The Primal Code. Zhang later used its strategies to aid Liu Bang in founding the Han dynasty. Thirteen years afterward, Zhang discovered a yellow stone at the foot of Gucheng Mountain in Jibei, which he enshrined as a sacred relic. Huang Shigong's legacy endures through texts like The Primal Code and Three Strategies of Huang Shigong.