Who is Pan Ni 潘尼

Pan Ni
(246–311) A litterateur and Taoist of the Western Jin Dynasty, styled Zhengshu, and a native of Zhongmou in Xingyang (now part of Henan Province). He showed literary talent and learning from a young age, and was equally famous in literature as his uncle Pan Yue.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Jin, he served as a Doctor of the Grand Ancestral Temple and Magistrate of Gaolu. During the reign of Emperor Hui, he held positions such as a Retainer of the Crown Prince, a Yellow Gate Attendant, and a Cavalier Inquisitor, and was granted the title of Duke of Anchang. During the reign of Emperor Huai, he served as Minister of the Grand Ancestral Temple.

In philosophy, he put forward the theory of "An Shen" (securing one's person), transforming Laozi's philosophical ideas into a technique for securing and protecting one's person. He believed that the highest task lies in securing and protecting oneself. He regarded desires as the root of social unrest, and argued that to secure and protect one's person, one must adhere to Laozi's principles of few desires and non-competition. He said: "The onset of worries and hardships must arise from selfishness and be triggered by desires.... If selfishness is not curbed, can there be no strife? When everyone is selfish and every family has desires, numerous desires will contend, and various selfish motives will attack each other. Contention is the seed of chaos; attack is the source of resentment. Once resentment and chaos are formed, harm will follow. How can one not fear this?" (Pan Taichang Ji·On Securing One's Person).

He further believed that the basic way to secure and protect one's person is to declare war on one's own desires: to stay far away from glory and profit, to not retaliate when offended, to be content with living in a thatched hut, wearing rough clothes, eating wild vegetables, rolling in mud, farming and feeding oneself, and even "casting aside thoughts, hiding talents, forgetting courage, discarding physical forms, appearing incompetent, and seeming unaspiring," living a muddled life (ibid.).

He took Laozi and Zhuangzi's thoughts as the ideological foundation for securing and protecting one's person, and regarded detachment from reality, especially from contradictions in social life, as the basic guarantee for securing and protecting oneself. He fantasized about a realm without desires or disputes, believing that only such a realm is the ideal for securing and protecting one's person. He said: "If today's scholars can truly let go of selfishness, block the pursuit of desires, cut off the source of contention, discard the attitude of boasting, act in the path of ultimate harmony when active, enter the gate of great conformity when still, soar in the vast universe when peaceful, or sink into the profound darkness when adverse, then evil qi cannot violate their principles, external things cannot disturb their spirit, joy and sorrow cannot shake their resolve, and life and death cannot alter their true nature" (ibid.).

To further secure and protect one's person, he advocated conservatism, retreat, and isolation from the world, asserting: "Taking nature as the craftsman, heaven and earth as the pottery wheel, fame and position as dregs, power and profit as dust; cultivating the inner self without decorating the outer, seeking from oneself without relying on others, serving superiors with loyalty and respect, attending to relatives with love and reverence—this can govern one's own person, rule all people, handle wealth and honor, endure poverty and lowliness, and remain unchanged through prosperity and decline. Then, one can roughly be said to have secured one's person" (ibid.).

In addition, he applied Laozi and Zhuangzi's thoughts to the political field, advocating governance through non-action. He said: "The highest ruler is nameless; the people below know he exists. When benevolence and righteousness do not exist, people return to filial piety and kindness. Without action or adherence, what desires or thoughts can there be? When loyalty and trust are thin, rituals and punishments indeed multiply" (ibid.).

He believed that benevolence and righteousness are incompatible with filial piety and kindness, and loyalty and trust are incompatible with rituals and punishments.

Pan Ni has a biography in Volume 55 of The Book of Jin. He originally had a collected works, which is now lost. Scholars of the Ming Dynasty compiled Pan Taichang Ji (Collected Works of Pan the Minister of the Grand Ancestral Temple).