Sun Cho’s World Of Thought

Sun Cho was a philosopher of Neo-Taoism and a metaphysical poet in the Eastern Jin dynasty.This article analyzes Sun Cho’s world of thought from various dimensions such as his parentage,life,writing,and his circle of friends and acquaintances.The first part is conducted to introduce the parentage and life of Sun Cho.He was the scion of the Suns of Chung-tu,the family that had provided noted scholars in the area of Confucianism and Neo-Taoism.His official career could reflect the struggle for power among those aristocratic families,and he had social associations with talented scholars in the era of Yong-he.The second part is about Sun Cho’s natural view and the concept of officialdom and seclusion.Sun Cho believed in the philosophy of Laotse and Chuangtse and tended to live a reclusive life in his youth.However,when he began working in officialdom,he held the opinion that “For one who embodies the Mysterious and understands the Remote,living in the world or remaining in retirement amount to the same thing”.The precondition,embodying the Mysterious and understanding the Remote,means that one can reach the realm of void-quietness via the realization of the Mysterious and the Remote,based on which officialdom and seclusion can be reconciled.Sun’s solution of the contradiction between officialdom and seclusion differed from "whether to work in officialdom or not is determined by one’s nature " and "whether to work in officialdom or not is determined by one’s own time".The source of his idea was "Matter as Such",that is,understanding the mental stage of the Sage.Sun Cho combined abstract thoughts of Taoism and concrete landscape,elucidated the concept of Neo-Taoism while depicting the scenery,and highlighted his nature view,that is,"Blending the myriad signs in mystic contemplation.Unwares,I am identified with the Self-so." The subject of the third part is that Sun Cho wandered around Neo-Taoism and the order of rituals.There are several official documents about the set of etiquette and mourning apparel in the Sun’s anthology.Sun Cho agreed that "norm is based on nature",as well as the thought initiated by Wang Su that " etiquette is established by nature emotion".Sun Cho’s working,The Analects of Confucius Variorum,showed that Sun expressed his family tradition on the study of Confucian classic,while his method of annotation was unconsciously and deeply influenced by Neo-Taoism.The last part illustrates the relationship between Sun Cho and Buddhism in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.Sun was one of talented scholars who got to know the theory of Buddhism earlier.He attended the Sutra lecture held by Zhi Dun,passed judgement on those prominent monks,and wrote Yu-Tao-Lun(A Clarification of the Way)to defend Buddhism against allegations like the taking of life,the rejection of filial piety,and the idea of retribution.Sun Cho’s life and his theory could be treated as the epitome of intellectual history in the initial stage of the Eastern Jin era: the reflection and progress of Neo-Taoism,the collision and compromise between Confucianism and Taoism in attitude towards living and ideal personality,the interaction of Buddhism and Neo-Taoism in Eastern Jin Dynasty.