The Yuzi (鬻子) is attributed to Yuzi (鬻熊 — Yù Xióng), a legendary sage said to have lived during the late Shang and early Zhou dynasties and to have served as a counselor to King Wen of Zhou. Revered as an ancestor of the state of Chu and a transmitter of ancient wisdom, Yuzi occupies a unique position in the Chinese classical tradition — standing at the intersection of Taoist cosmology and Confucian political ethics.

Philosophically, the Yuzi belongs to the Huang-Lao Daoist tradition, which sought to ground political philosophy in the metaphysics of the Dao. Like the Wenzi and the Liezi, it presents a vision of the sage-king who governs not through force or cunning, but through inner virtue, non-contention, and attunement to the natural order. Its 14 chapters address the full range of classical governance — from the cosmological foundations of the Dao to the practical virtues of benevolence, righteousness, ritual, and music.

The text was preserved in the imperial bibliographies and has been studied by generations of Chinese scholars as an early synthesis of Taoist and Confucian thought. It remains one of the lesser-known gems of the classical canon, offering a distinctive perspective on the relationship between the Dao, virtue, and the art of rulership.