This dissertation consists of a philological and philosophical exploration of the Guiguzi. It establishes the sinological background of the text through a detailed contextual study and locates Guiguzi in the Chinese intellectual tradition. The research reveals that the Book of Master Guigu conceives a comprehensive "art of persuasion" by promoting an unassuaging efficacy within an early Daoist cosmological framework. Paperback Dissertation reprinted from the 2000 edition]