From "Honor The Virtuous Nature" To "Follow The Path Of Inquiry"

Since the beginning of 20th Century, the modernization of Chinese traditional society has been one of the hot topics which draw Chinese academia attentions. There were certain inherent factors in the modernization process of Chinese society, and the whole modernization experience was intensively related to Chinese traditional society and academic thoughts. It is imperative to excavate the modern factors in Chinese traditional thoughts and cultures in studying the transformation of Chinese society. Due to the transformation of traditional society, the study style in the early Qing Dynasty experienced significant changes, which embodied Chinese social transformation. Hence, the study style in the early Qing Dynasty is an important point of penetration in the study of Chinese social transformation, and thorough explore of academic thoughts in Qing Dynasty is the necessary way to study the modern transformation of Chinese traditional academic.The study style of Qing Dynasty is different form Song and Ming. The philosophy of Song and Ming emphasized the "Honor the Virtuous Nature", while the philology of Qing was inclined to "Follow the Path of Inquiry". The transformations of study style from philosophy of Song and Ming to Qing are of great importance in Chinese academic history and the early Qing Dynasty is the "time hinge" in the switch of these two philosophies. The establishment of "Follow the Path of Inquiry" embodied the inner logic of transformation from traditional to modem academy. It is important to review the transformation of study style, so as to find out the logic in the evolution from "Honor the Virtuous Nature" to "Follow the Path of Inquiry", and the development tendency of study style in the past three hundred years.The spring-up of Zhu-zi studies is a distinguished feature of Qing Dynasty academic development, of which, the study of Mencius and Hsun-Tzu thoughts are especially full of periodical contents. However, there were no thorough discussion about the complicated relations between the study of Mencius and Hsun-Tzu thoughts and the transformation of study style. Mencius asserted the "Honor the Virtuous Nature" and Hsun-Tzu emphasized the "Follow the Path of Inquiry". It implied the upgrade of Hsun-Tzu and downgrade of Mencius in the academia of Qing Dynasty. The downgrade of Mencius means the growth of the Hsun-Tzu, which coincides with the inherent logic of transformation of study style.The previous studies of academic thoughts history focus on the individual thinkers and their works. These studies were mostly based on the individual cases, and failed to pay attention to the common characteristics of the thinkers'group in the same period and their deep roots. Therefore, this dissertation aims to link the study style with the Zeitgeist, by combining the studies of thoughts history and study style, to improve traditional study of thoughts history. By emphasizing the common characteristics of different scholars' academic arguments, it is to find out the internal links between these characteristics and the circumstance of periodical and academic development trends, and to highlight the periodical influence on the thinkers and their thoughts. This dissertation is to put the Mencius thoughts studies into the framework of studies style transformation from the "Honor the Virtuous Nature" to "Follow the Path of Inquiry". The main purpose is to analyze the link between Mencius thoughts studies and transformation of studies styie, and to review the inner logic of academic development from Song and Ming to Qing Dynasty. The emphasis is to study the establishment of "Follow the Path of Inquiry" in the early Qing Dynasty. It is based on the following two purposes. First, because the thinking tendency from pre-textual research reveals how the periodical circumstance influences on the changes of academic thoughts, it is easier to master the development track of study style. Second, through "process study", which highlights various kinds of factors and their interactions in the process of study style's formation, it helps to prevent the subjective assumption in the research of study style.This dissertation is composed of introduction, five chapters and conclusion.Chapter One mainly focuses on the academic backgrounds of Mencius thoughts studies in the early Qing Dynasty. Under the circumstance of "criticism of Li Xue", the scholars deliberately excavate the factor of "Shi Xue" in the Mencius thoughts studies, and express their own opinions by explaining the Mencius thoughts from new perspectives. The changes form "Xu" to "Shi" in the Mencius thoughts study were intensely related to the transformation of study style from "Honor the Virtuous Nature" to "Follow the Path of Inquiry".Chapter Two and Three reconstruct the Human Nature and Human Desire in the Mencius thoughts studies. The definitions and explanations of "Good" and "Evil" in the Human Nature in the early Qing Dynasty are different from the scholars of Song and Ming Dynasty. The emphasis of discussion about Human Nature in the early Qing Dynasty switched from dualism to monism, from subject moral to object knowledge. These differences and changes reflect the transformation of studies style. On the Human Desire, the scholars underline the internal moral self-discipline and external restraining factors. The emphasis of studies on Human Desire is the practice of moral concept and the role of traditional ritual. These changes reflect the influences of Hsun-Tzu thoughts on the Mencius studies of early Qing Dynasty.Chapter Four focuses on the factors of Hsun Tzu in the Mencius thoughts studies. By examining the common characteristic of Hsun Tzu in the Mencius thoughts studies of different scholars, it reveals that the arguments and methods of Hsun Tzu played an important role in the Mencius thoughts studies of early Qing Dynasty. This academic phenomenon illustrated the "Follow the Path of Inquiry" to form the mainstream of studies style in the Qing Dynasty.Chapter Five takes Dai Zhen and Jiao Xun as research cases to analyze the establishment of "Follow the Path of Inquiry". The study of Dai Zhen on Mencius thoughts linked the proceedings and the followings, represented the final formation of "Follow the Path of Inquiry", and began the process of resuscitate of Zhu-zi studies in late Qing Dynasty. The scholars of post-Dai Zhen succeeded the spirits and consummated the methods of Dai Zhen. Jiao Xun's Mencius thoughts studies were the practice of Dai Zhen's academic spirits and methods.Through research and analysis, this dissertation comes to the following constructive points:Firstly, the changes of social structure and periodical background influenced greatly on the social thoughts, and the transformation of the studies style had its profound social roots.Secondly, Qing Dynasty is one important stage in Chinese social transformation form the traditional to modern society, and the changes of studies style reflect the transformation of the social thoughts.Thirdly, by highlighting the importance of "process study", it makes the following innovation:the early Qing Dynasty is the critical phase in the transformation of study style from Philosophy of Song and Ming to Philology of Qing.