Huainan wanbi shu 淮南萬畢術

Huainan wanbi shu 淮南萬畢術 is a fragmentarily surviving book written by Liu An 劉安 (179-122 BCE) of the Former Han period 前漢 (206 BCE-8 CE) who is much more famous for his philosophical compendium Huainanzi 淮南子.

While the latter was called the "inner book" (neishu 內書) of Liu An, of his many "outer books", only the Wanbishu survives. Another book of his, the "central chapters" (zhongpian 中篇) of 8 juan length, dealt with immortals and the technique to create gold and silver (huangbai zhi shu 黃白之術). The book Yuanbishu 苑祕書 mentioned in the Hanshu 漢書 (36 Chu Yuanwang zhuan 楚元王傳) is quite probable identical with the Wanbishu. The Jin-period 晉 (265-420) master Ge Hong 葛洪 (283-343 or 363) remarked the three chapters of the Wanbishu dealt with the "way of transformation" (bianhua zhi dao 變化之道). During the Liang period 梁 (502-557), two similar books of Liu An were known, namely Huainan wanbi jing 淮南萬畢經, and Huainan bianhua shu 淮南變化術. Tang-period 唐 (618-907) book catalogues only list the Huainan wanshu shu, with a length of 1 juan. It was still circulating in the Song period 宋 (960-1279), but only fragments remained thereafter. Some commentaries are also surviving, for example, that by Gao You 高誘 (d. 212 CE) of the Han period. Liu An assembled several hundred retainers, among which also adherents of Mohism with its special focus on practical skills and techniques (see Mozi). They might have contributed to some parts of the Wanbishu.

The fragments show that Liu An's book dealt with alchemical matters, like the creation of gold, but also included aspects like astronomy, calendric calculation, and magic. The Ming-period 明 (1368-1644) scholar Fang Yizhi 方以智 (1611–1671) interpreted the title as meaning "the ten thousand things are fully explained in this book" (wan fa bi yu ci 萬法畢於此). Even if many aspects of the book belong to the realm of superstition, there are also valuable insights into physics.

The phrase "thunder from a bronze jug" (tongweng lei ming 銅甕雷鳴) describes how hot water sealed tightly in a bronze jar and deposited in a well produces a thunder-like sound. Another fragment describes how sunlight bundled in a mirror can make fire. Magnetism is also mentioned in several pieces of text, as well as air buoyancy, the surface tension of water, certain features of water surface in relation to the freezing point, and techniques to make ice in summer. Not all statements can be interpreted logically, like the proposition that "wormwood fire makes fledglings fly" (ai huo ling jizi fei 艾火令雞子飛).

There exist different collections of fragments with different lengths, from the Shuofu 說郛 version to the collections of Sun Fengyi 孫馮翼 (Wenjingtang congshu 問經堂叢書), Ding Yan 丁晏 (1794–1875; Xuxiu siku quanshu 續修四庫全書), Wang Xianqian 王先謙 (1842–1918) and Miao Quansun 繆荃孫 (1844–1919; Nanjing Shuyuan congshu 南菁書院叢書), Huang Shi 黃奭 (1809–1853; Hanxuetang congshu 漢學堂叢書), Wang Renjun 王仁俊 (1866–1913; Yuhan shanfang jiyi shu bubian 玉函山房輯佚書補編), Mao Panlin 茆泮林 (d. 1845) and Ye Dehui 葉德輝 (1864–1927; Ziyuan Xiansheng quanshu 郋園先生全書). Various versions of the text also found entrance into the series Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編, Shi zhong gu yishu 十種古逸書, Longxi Jingshe congshu 龍谿精舍叢書, Huangshi yishu kao 黃氏遺書考 and Guangutang suozhu shu 觀古堂所著書.