ABSTRACT
The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic (Huangdi neijing 黃帝內經) is often cited as the most canonical of all East Asian medical texts, but when and how did this authority arise? Textual canons do not coalesce spontaneously and the authority invested in texts is never self-evident. Textual authority comes in many flavours and the canons that claim to codify it form through complex historical processes, are shaped by specific institutions, technologies, and practices, and serve the interests of particular social groups. This chapter examines the various types of authority and canonicity that were claimed for the Inner Classic and the many ways those claims were made from the Han (206 BCE–220 CE) through the Song (960–1271) periods. It concludes by suggesting ways in which the history of the Inner Classic’s canonicity contributes to our understanding of the process of canonisation more generally.
