Heshang Gong (also Ho-Shang Kung) is the reputed author of one of the earliest commentaries on the Tao Te Ching of Laozi to survive to modern times, which is dated to the latter part of the Han dynasty.
Little is known about the life of Heshang Gong; however the impact of his writing is extensive in regards to the understanding and translation of the Dao De Jing, and is considered one of the earliest proponents of Taoist meditative practices which cultivate the “three treasures” of vitality, energy, and spirit, and the "dual cultivation" of spiritual nature (Chinese: 性; pinyin: xìng) and life-and-destiny (Chinese: 命; pinyin: mìng).
Heshang Gong's name is only known as the epithet Riverside Elder (Chinese: 河上公; pinyin: héshàng gōng), being an early form of anshang 岸上, meaning on the bank or shore.
"[2] Heshang Gong provides what Kohn calls the "first evidence for Taoist meditation" and "proposes a concentrative focus on the breath for harmonization with the Tao.
"[5] Most of the subtitles of each chapter of Yang Jwing Ming's English translation of the Tao Te Ching were borrowed from Heshang Gong's commentary.