A Research On The Philosophy Of Zhang Dai

Zhang Dai inherited basic concepts of Yangming's theory of Mind and he established academic system on the basis of comprehending and elucidating Yangming-school' thoughts,it epitomize in the Encounter with the Four Books which be written to explain the Four Books that influenced by Yangming-Learning.In his opinion,in the original substance of the nature there is no distinction of good and evil,at the same time,is the ultimate good.The true passion is the soul.In the sense of original substance,nature is same as passion.Accordingly,he emphasized the value of passion to peddle individuals'dependence and freedom on the one hand,lay stress on following nature to moderation on the other hand,claim passion should consistent with nature.In Zhang Dai's theory,the liberation of passion can run parallel with the rigorous moralism,sincerity can balance the both two.He swam with the tide of ideological emancipation leading by Yangming-school,at the same time,he criticized the trend that overemphasizes emotion and desire which likely affected ethical ideas.Furthermore,he proposed criticisms and remedies to Yangming-school's deficiencies that neglecting effort(gongfu)and addicting to lectures.Zhang Dai' thoughts about inheriting and reflecting on Yangming-school and responding to Zhuism,representing the self-correcting of Yangming-school's theory when regards Zhang Dai as an ideologist.As a historian,Zhang Dai analyzed social and political influences of the diffusion of Yangming-school Learning.Zhang Dai's philosophical thought and theory could be considered one kind of typtical reflections of the ideological trend of the times about self-correcting of Yangming-school's theory and integrating two schools of Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan in a a new perspective.Zhang Dai lived in the Ming and Qing dynasties,his Encounter with the Four Books quoted amount of academic viewpoints of scholars in late Ming dynasty and preserved a great deal of ideological data of that period,as a result,it has high value of intellectual and philosophical history.Zhang Dai's philosophical thought inherited and reflected the characteristics of the late Ming times,such as the liberation of passion,the three religions into the same flow,advocating erudition,and so on,furthermore,he opposed mystery,advocated practical science,linked up Confucian Classics and historiography,advocated a value orientation of Statecraft which indicating the academic change at the beginning of the Qing dynasty.Zhang Dai is an Adherent,litterateur,historian,his philosophical thought supported his mentality and behavior as an Adherent,at the same time,provided profound ideological connotation to his literal and historical creations.The writer focus on Encounter with the Four Books,beyond the the commonly perspective of regarding Zhang Dai as a litterateur,historian,then,devoting the research to Zhang Dai's philosophical thoughts.The basic academic purpose of the research is reveal Zhang Dai's philosophical thoughts thoroughly in the unique context of the dynastic change of Ming and Qing dynasties,managed to present tension of his multiple identities,thus,finding the unity and integrity of his multivariate thoughts.