The attempt to understand just what is meant by a philosophical jia 家[often translated as"school"]is centered around an understanding of the efforts of Sima Tan in his essay,Liujia Yaozhi 六家要旨.The attempts to understand the exact purpose of Sima Tan’s Yaozhi essay have been ongoing for over a century,split between whether Sima Tan is accurately describing real groups,or inventing ahistorical associations.Most recently and persuasively,Kidder Smith has argued that Sima Tan not only is naming several of the jia himself,but that he entirely invents Daoism as a category,and that Tan’s concept of a Daodejia/Daoji 道德家/道家 is separate from the movement identified as Huanglao黄老 and any potential predecessor associations.This is to also indirectly propose that Sima Tan is,in some way,intentionally distorting the philosophical reality of his own day.This paper,however,proposes an alternative view to that of Smith.This alternative is based in re-evaluating Sima Qian’s personal philosophical depth,and re-examining the traditional sidelining of the curious text of the Yinwenzi.When these are factored into the debate,Sima Tan’s efforts are no longer to be taken as invention or distortion,but rather,as a conscious effort to evaluate the worth of various philosophical systems and groups.The purpo’se of this,as will be seen below,is to provide the contemporary rulership with the fundamental tools necessary for administration of a complex intellectual landscape.