A New Study On Tai Chen's Meng Tzu Tzu-i Shu-cheng

Meng Tzu tzu-i shu-cheng(Commentary on the Meanings of Terms in the Book of Mencius,hereinafter referred to as Shu-cheng),which is the most important work of Tai Chen's life bears Tai Chen's pursuit of the Confucian Tao.In this paper,Tai Chen and his Shu-cheng are placed under the historical context and theoretical perspective of Confucianism,and they are discussed in four aspects: background,content,purpose and significance.Firstly talk about the background of Shu-cheng.Tai Chen was influenced by the new style of Confucianism since the early Qing Dynasty,especially inherited the spiritual tenet of Gu Yanwu's"Neo-Confucianism,Confucian Classics",that is,to seek Li(?)according to the Jing(?)and to incorporate Neo-Confucianism into Confucian Classics.In the Qing Dynasty,there was a so-called Han-Song Controversy(????),which was originally only within the scope of Confucian classics.It represented the two different approaches of the sects Han Xue and Song Xue.Later,it gradually evolved into a common view of the textual criticism(??)and Yi Li(??).But no matter in which sense,Tai Chen has never fallen into the Han-Song Controversy,and the so-called Respecting Han and Anti-Song has not existed in his later years.Compared with the Han-Song Controversy,the Discrimination of Confucianism and Buddhism is the real concern of Tai Chen and his Shu-cheng.Shilin(??)Buddhism was a undercurrent that emerged during Qianlong's reign.Representative Peng Shaosheng once discussed the issue of Confucianism and Buddhism with Tai Chen.Tai Chen's Discrimination of Confucianism and Buddhism can be divided into three levels:one is to correct the loss of Lu and Wang;the other is to refute Daoism and Buddhism;the third is to distinguish the boundary between Confucianism and Buddhism.Secondly discuss the content of Shu-cheng.Tai Chen has broken and established in Shu-cheng,which not only criticizes and corrects some theoretical errors of Cheng-Zhu(??)Neo-Confucianism,but also puts forward many of his own views through Commentary on the Meanings of Terms.In the relationship between Tai Chen and the Neo-Confucianism in the later years,through the text analysis with Shu-cheng as the core,it can be found that the traditional anti-Neo-Confucianism theory needs to be supplemented or amended.Such as:Tai Chen treats Cheng-Zhu and Lu-Wang are different;Tai Chen's criticism of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism is only for the words,but always respects the people;The relationship between Tai Chen and Cheng-Zhu is opposite and actually the same.On the other hand,Tai Chen's anti-Neo-Confucianism is based on academic criticism,but its critical goal ultimately points to social reality.It is particularly evident in the Shu-cheng,which is mainly manifested in:First,Tai Chen's intention to highlight the greatest harm of Neo-Confucianism is to harm the people.Second,Tai Chen's criticism is directed at the ruler of today.In Shu-cheng,Tai Chen's theoretical logic of people's heart as the intermediate link is not only a bridge between theory and reality,but also an important theoretical basis for his anti-Neo-Confucianism.Then talk about the purpose of Shu-cheng.The core of the purpose of Shu-cheng is to seeking Tao and return to the primitive Confucian tradition represented by the Six Classics,Confucius and Mencius.The title of Shu-cheng highlights Mencius is Tai Chen's intention,and Shu-cheng respects Mencius mainly has three reasons:The first is the main classic discourse basis used by Tai Chen;the second is the predecessor of Confucianism in Tai Chen's construction;the third is the academic master of Tai Chen.On the issue of the purpose of seaking Tao in Shu-cheng,because Tai Chen admits that Jing is the carrier of Tao,the Tao can only be treated as the basic way,and the word is used as a basic way.The method of solving the scriptures has become the basic method of seeking Tao.Shu-cheng divides Tao into Tian-Tao(??)and Ren-Tao(??),and then uses Xing(?)as the intermediary between the two.However,Tai Chen's Tao can be roughly divided into two levels:one is Tao similar to Original,and the other is Tao similar to Truth.In the latter sense,it is the purpose of Shu-cheng.Moreover,there are two other orientations in the Tao pursued by Tai Chen:one is the theoretical Yuan-Ru(??)orientation,and the other is the realistic Jing-Shi(??)orientation.Finally,the significance of Shu-cheng is discussed.Tai Chen's Shu-cheng has not only the value of criticism but also the meaning of construction in the history of Confucianism.It has achieved conservative and innovation of Confucianism in the aspects of Shengsheng(??),Minben(??)and Jiaohua(??),which is the main ideological contribution of Shu-cheng.Since modern times,the theoretical content in Shu-cheng has become the basis of various Tai Chen's philosophy.From the perspective of the modern academic value of Shu-cheng,if you want to develop some kind modern philosophy on the basis of Tai's Theory,emotional philosophy(or desire philosophy)and linguistic philosophy can represent two potential theoretical directions.