 In this context, a first wave of Xuanxue philosophers arrived on the scene. They were the brightest of their age, many of whom hailed from distinguished families who had held high office for generations. They were concerned with restoring unity and harmony to the land, not by repudiating the teachings of the sages but by interpreting them anew. They discerned that the great teachers of old such as Confucius and Laozi shared a profound understanding of Dao, and for this reason, the highly partisan approach of Han Confucianism could not but lead to grave misunderstanding of the sage enterprise. In response, they devised new commentarial strategies and fashioned new genres of philosophical discourse, especially the lun, critical discussions, essays or disquisitions that focus on particular topics, which often elicited refutations and in turn, rejoinders. Some examples of this will be discussed in the sections that follow.