 Xuanxue aimed at unlocking the mystery of Dao, and in so doing came to define the early medieval Chinese intellectual scene. However, it was not a partisan “Daoist” school. As such, the label “Neo-Daoism” is ambiguous and should be treated with care, though it may be convenient and widely used. Xuanxue harbored a wide range of views. The concept of Dao provided a focus, but it invited diverse interpretation. Xuanxue arose during a time of political turmoil after the fall of the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E.–220 C.E.), when leading intellectuals of the succeeding Wei (220–265) and Jin (265–420) dynasties interrogated tradition afresh, so as to arrive at a new blueprint for order. This occasioned intense debates and set new directions for the development of Chinese philosophy. The discussion that follows will set out briefly the context in which Neo-Daoism made its mark, and introduce some of its major figures and debates. 