Huang–Lao (Chinese, ‘School of the Yellow Emperor and Lao Tzu’), an eclectic school (c. third century B.C.) purportedly based on the teachings of the mythic Yellow Emperor and Lao Tzu, advocating a kind of Realpolitik Taoism stressing reliance on methods of ruling (e.g., rewards and punishments) and the power of political and social structures. Huang–Lao sought to establish a perfectly organized state, which tzu jan (naturally) runs smoothly, in which the ruler reigns (not rules) through wu wei (non-action). Huang–Lao’s mystical side concerns its claim that only the ruler can attain the unifying vision needed for such organization and that this vision is achieved through the practice of stillness and hsü (tenuousness). P.J.I.