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Wang Chuan-shan Zhang Meng Note That The "philosophy,

Posted on:2012-03-21Degree:DoctorType:Dissertation
Country:ChinaCandidate:W K MiFull Text:PDF
GTID:1115330335471999Subject:Chinese philosophy
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
The book, Chang Tze Cheng Meng Chu, is the final philosophical writing of Wang Chuan-shan and the conclusion of thinking about Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism all his life. The first draft of Chang Tze Cheng Meng Chu was finished in his sixty-seven(1685) and revised in his seventy-two(1690). Wang Chuan-shan elaborated profoundly the problems about the metaphysics, the human nature, self cultivation, life and death in this boook. And he also strongly criticized the doctrine of Buddhism, Taoism and Yang-ming school. At last, Chuan-shan drew a conclusion that Chang Tsai was the "Zheng Xue" of Confucianism which carried on Kong-Meng's thought and corrected the mistakes of the other scholars and built the right direction for knowledge and morality.However, because the time and the problems were different between Chang Tsai and Wang Chuan-shan, their thought were also different. For Chang Tsai, how to revive Confucianism and resist Buddhism and Taoism was his work. But for Wang Chuan-shan, how to rebuild the orthodox of Confucianism for better developing in a new historic-political conditions was his thinking.So, on contrary to paying great attention to the noumenon for Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism, Chuan-shan thought this would cause value "substance" (or the nature) and disdain "function" (or Ch'i), even to suppress Ch'i. He pointed out that was not heavenly laws. The real heavenly laws was "the ultimate harmony", namely, "harmony of Ying and Yang", "harmony of Li(Shen) and Ch'i". Ch'i was the only substance in the universe. Li(Shen) was the reason of Ch'i, but it was not another substance. "The ultimate harmony" was the identity of Li-Ch'i and of Ti-Yung which was the true state of heavenly laws. But it did not mean Li-Ch'i and Ti-Yung were "The One". Ch'i constituted the world and guaranteed the reality of Li. Li was showed and realized in Ch'i through regulated the movement of Ch'i that made the world look like the order.On the theory of the human nature,Chuan-shan criticized the division of "the heaven-nature" and "the nature of the ch'i-constitution" sternly, which was to show distinctly the transcendence of Li and the limitation of Ch'i for the cultivation and the moral life. He thought "the nature of the ch'i-constitution" was the desire, different from "Cai". It was also the content of the human nature and should keep the harmony with Li. But "Cai" was not the source of the evil. So, the moral cultivation did not overcome the desire and "transforming one's physical nature". The cultivation was to "keep Li(Shen) into the mind and put the transcendental goodness of human nature into practice". In another words, the purpose of the cultivation was to "achieving the ultimate harmony"In the book of Chang Tze Cheng Meng Chu, Chuan-shan discussed the question of life and death. He stressed life and death was only the movement of Ch'i and the eternal law of nature. Nobody can change the procession. However, the goodness and the evil did not scatter and disappear with the dead. It would become a kind of ch'i that influence the world and the people. So, the people should try hard to do good and reject evil in order to return Li and Ch'i being gifted to Heaven.Besides, Chuan-shan discussed the two articles of Xi Ming and Dong Ming. He believed that Xi Ming explained the doctrine on "the entity of parents and Heaven" that tried to tell the people fulfil their filial duty to their parents. About Dong Ming, Chuan-shan showed difference in the content and the purpose of the article with the traditional views. In a word, the rise of the importance of Dong Ming from the Song dynasty to the Ming-Qing dynasty showed the emphasis on the cultivation.In the end, it is concerned chiefly with a comparison of the thought of Wang Chuan-shan and Chang Tsai that points out the distinction between them.
Keywords/Search Tags:Chang Tze Cheng Meng Chu, harmony of Ying and Yang, harmony of Shen and Ch'i, the nature of the ch'i-constitution, keep Shen(Li) into the mind and put the transcendental goodness of human nature into practice
PDF Full Text Request
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