A Study Of Wang Fu 's Thought From The Perspective Of Confucianism And Taoism

Wang Fu was a famous political commentator and ideologist in the mid-later stage of theEastern Han Dynasty. Affected by particular history environment at the end of Han Dynasty,his theoretical perspectives and academic thoughts showed the ideological features ofintegrating Confucianism with Taoism and fusing Confucianism and Taoism together. Basedon the features and influences of, the paper targets the characteristic fusion of Confucianismand Taoism illustrated in Wang’s ideas, whose research includes the following contents:The introduction makes an explanation that the significance of the research topic is tomake a clarification that Wang stood in the Confucian position and to make an explorationabout how he consciously learnt from and absorbed Taoism to construct his theoreticalsystem through the case study of Wang, combining with the historical background of theideological trend of the fusion of Confucianism and Taoism in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.And it makes a summary of the research concerning Wang’s ideas and the fusion ofConfucianism and Taoism in the late Eastern Han Dynasty in academia during the past thirtyyears. Based on previous studies, the paper aims at making further analysis of the features ofWang’s ideas and its internal relations with the ideological trend of the fusion ofConfucianism and Taoism in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.Chapter one analyzes the foundation of the ideological features in a Treatise on theLatent Man, written by Wang Fu, from the historical background of the late Eastern HanDynasty. Facing the exacerbation of social and political crisis in the mid-later stage of theEastern Han Dynasty, a group of Confucians attacked current social situations by means ofwriting and propounding ideas and positively discussed social reform, which formed a trendof social criticism. The rotten politics with lack of rationalism made social status of theintellectuals decline and changed the atmosphere in government bodies, style of study andbehavioral pattern of the intellectuals as well. At this moment, the official Confucianismshowed the status quo of stagnation, trivial and theological, which was hard to meet thedemands in social reality. A group of masters who were proficient in Confucian classicsstudies got busy with breaking shackles Confucian classics studies, and consciously made fusion of New Text Confucianism and classical learning based on earlier texts with thesyncretism of various schools, among which Taoism became the main ideological resourcesfor them to draw lessons from and absorb. With the decrease of authority status of the officialclassics, Taoism which was previously in the undercurrent of various schools was graduallyappreciated and attached great importance. From the perspective of thoughts, the fusion ofConfucianism and Taoism became a trend of theoretical thought, with Taoism combing withConfucianism in view of nature and life. From the viewpoint of Wang’s ideological system,the fusion of Confucianism and Taoism became a major ideological feature of Wang’s ideas.The following parts will make specific analysis in philosophical and political view as well asthe outlook on life.From the perspective of philosophy, chapter two adopted Taoism to construct VitalityNoumenon Theory, inherited universe generation mode and natural development view ofTaoism, escaped the core of treating “Taoism” as origination in the universe and ranging fromintangible to tangible thoughts in Taoist school, absorbed the elements of Taoism-basedtheory and applied it to social ruling which was emphasized in Confucianism. When it comesto conception of heaven and man, it defined the properties in the nature of justice and sense ofrighteousness days. And it reexamined Human-nature Relation from the property of naturalnonaction, highlighting the role of people, and made standards of “uprighting his ownmorality” and “purity popular morale” for the Emperor, which was connected with Wang’spolitical thoughts.Chapter three, in the specific aspect of political thoughts, chose benevolent rule and therule of taking responsibilities to take control of the world affairs of Confucianism as the basekernel, and added Taoism into the ideological system to fill disadvantages and makeadjustments. The paper analyzed the ruling concept of the combination of taking socialresponsibilities and taking no social responsibilities in Confucianism, and expressed theappeal for the ideal monarch with the concept of “a learning both sound in theory andpractice” and “being close to and singing the praise of people”, making supplement aboutway of running the state by means of the “carrying on as before” principle, the “criminal law”as well as the “contingency thinking” in the thoughts of Huangdi and Laozi. Through rational analysis and discoveries of maladministration in reality, it can be seen that the skeptical andcritical spirit of Taoism and dialectic logic thinking patterns had impacts on him.Chapter four, as for the outlook on life, Wang practiced the outlook of being a hermitand saving the world in his whole life. Not only practicing the Taoist hermit inaction tranquilthoughts, he but also tied his heart to politics and his people all the time. When he wassecluding rural seclusion, he set “Latent Man” as his words. The scholars’ independentpersonality and critical spirit he remained showed his sticking to the self-worth and protestingagainst the secular. Although Wang secluded rural seclusion, he was chasing on the arrival of“sensible world”. It highlighted a Confucian social responsibility and morality play in hisbones that the consistent manner of spiritual aspirants to the people, the people’ssteadfastness and the reality care of establishing himself in society and tying hearts to thecommon people.The conclusion makes a summary of the ideological features of the fusion ofConfucianism and Taoism in Wang’s thoughts, and briefly summarizes the ideologicaltrend--the fusion of Confucianism and Taoism in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.