Research On Zhang Erqi’s Philosophical Thought

The late Ming and early Qing dynasty was a special historical period, because that the changes of state power initiated the reflection of academic thoughts. The reason of demise of the Ming dynasty was boiled down to the Yang-ming mind theories’ empty talk by Scholars, so they criticaled it fiercely.To correct the void style of studies, more people turned to Cheng-zhu neo-confucianism. At the same time, pragmatics study of classics and history was revitalized soundlessly which claimed Tao was based on classics. Under this background, Zhang Erqi was a adherents of a Ming dynasty who thought the fate of the state and the individual. He sincerely believed in Cheng-zhu neo-confucianism and advocated study of classics and history, so that he played a pioneering role in the revival of study of Confucian classics. But he was not constrained by study of classics and history. At the same time, he turned to the research of "Xing,Ming" and the relationship between Heaven and human, which was on behalf of significance in the ideological trend that Cheng-zhu neo-confucianism turned to Confucian classics.In this paper, Zhang Erqi’s philosophy thought is expounded on the whole. Firstly, in the aspect of ontology, Zhang Erqi proposed completely ontology of Qi which claimed Qi produced everything. On the relationship between Li and Qi, he claimed the view that Qi was ontology and Li was just regarded as Qi’s regular. This was in the fight against the Cheng-zhu neo-confucianism. Secondly, in the aspect of the relationship between Heaven and human, Zhang Erqi proposed objective theory of Heaven, which claimed Heaven and human established the contact via Qi and then he came up with the concept of "Shi" originally to instruct the ebb and flow between Heaven and human. In view of this, people should take a correct attitude of "Cheng" and "Yi" to the relationship between Heaven and human at the level of Gongfu. In actual operation, Zhang Erqi believed the key to the propriety. He put forward the innovative "the mean was propriety" and "six Confucian classics were all propriety". This was a connection and a specific foothold between his neo-confucianism and studies of Confucian classics thought.At last, this paper summarize Zhang Erqi’s status in the history of philosophy in China. This is mainly in three ways:Firstly, in the changes of history of the ontology of Qi, Zhang Erqi’s proposition promoted the reestablishing of ontology of Qi. Secondly, he put forward innovative theory of Heaven which thought that the objective Heaven was affected by the variable Shi. This theory believed that the Heaven was both known and unknown. All of this reconciled the contradictions between the Heaven and human and rationalized the relationship between them. Thirdly, this paper summarized the Zhang Erqi’s pioneering role of the propriety research in eary Qing dynasty and his transition function in the transformation process of Cheng-zhu neo-confucianism to Confucian classics. Generally speaking, the Zhang Erqi’s philosophical thought was a miniature of the zeitgeist. He was the Confucian representative in the thought transformation period, so studying his philosophical thought has great significance to the academic road of that period.