The Book of Great Peace and Harmony of Dualities 太平两同书

The original author of the book is uncredited.

According to the record in Volume 214 of Wenxian Tongkao (Comprehensive Examination of Literature) by Ma Duanlin, it was written by Luo Yin, a scholar at the end of the Tang Dynasty.

The original book consists of two volumes and is included in the Taiping (Great Peace) section of the Daozang (Daoist Canon).

The Book of Great Peace and Harmony of Dualities

Other existing versions include the Baoyantang Secret Collection edition and the Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries) edition. The book is divided into ten chapters: Nobility and Humility, Strength and Weakness, Gain and Loss, Respect and Contempt, Thickness and Thinness, Order and Chaos, Acquisition and Forfeiture, Truth and Falsehood, Identity and Difference, and Love and Hatred. Drawing on the doctrines of Laozi and Confucius, it elaborates on the relationship of relative unity between the above ten pairs of contradictions, so as to clarify the ways of governing a state and cultivating one’s moral character. It holds that nobility and humility, strength and weakness, and other opposites are mutually complementary and can be transformed into each other. If one can grasp the opportunity of their transformation and apply it to cultivating virtue, nurturing life, governing subordinates, appointing ministers, judging people and handling affairs, he can then become a ruler who abides by the Dao and achieve a governance of great peace. It also argues that Confucianism and Taoism share the same ultimate purport, hence the title "Liantong (Mutual Unity)". This book is relatively important philosophical thought material from the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties period.