Wang Chuanshan's Academic Thought Research

This dissertation focuses on the study of the intellectual history with centre on Wang Chuanshan. It reviews the continuity and innovation of ancient Chinese intellectual history in the transition from Ming to Qing dynasty by analyzing specific topics and intellectual resources of Wang Chuanshan and clarifying the general condition of his thought.The fisrt step of research on the continuity and innovation of academic thought ought to study the inheritance and creation of the aim of the scholarly activity. Chuanshan accepts Confucian predecessors’basic concepts on Confucian Orthodoxy protection and maintenance and establishes vigorous and unique Confucian perceptions as his academic activity target. Firstly, Chuanshan’s Confucian Orthodoxy undergoes two stages which includes establishment and evolution. Emotion and intuition factors played the determining role in the first stage and the theoretical analysis played a main part in the second stage. Secondly, being accountable supervised by Confucian Othordoxy (means Loyalty) having close relationship to Chuanshan’s acamedic idea represents decisive effect from Confucian Othordoxy to Scholarship Orthodoxy. Thirdly, the Confucian Orthodoxy restriction to the perspective of idea could be seen through Chuanshan’s criticism to heterodoxy including Duddhism, Taoism, Yangming’s and the Western Philosophy. These are the the first chapter.The second, third and forth chapter cover Tian Tao theory, Mind-Nature and Humanism (Oriented) theory, which Chuanshan thinks that the Tian finally falls on the human being through the mind.The second chapter is about Wang Chuanshan’s Heaven theory including three parts which are Taixu and Qi, Tai Chi and Yin-Yang, Tao and Li. First, the topic of Taixu-Qi’s relationship is the premise of cosmology of Chuanshan which is developed from Zhang Zai’s philosophy. He veiws that the Taixu from its spatial but not the ontological angle. Second, the logical foundation of his philosophy is the topic of Tai Chi-Yin-Yang’s relationship which is most important in his Tian theory. Rather than Chuanshan insists that Tai-Chi is the accord of Yin and Yang, two opposite forms of Qi, rather than the point of view that Yin and Yang are given birth by the movement of Tai Chi. It is more favorable to ensure the moral principles of Confucianism because of that Yin and Yang are correspondence of Ren (benevolence) and Yi (rectitude) to maintain the purity of Confucianism. Meanwhile, It is also the origin of the principium of his theory of Zhouyi which is the basis he criticizes the heresy. However, it depends on irrational intuition how two different forms of Qi could unify. Namely, the unity of Tai Chi could not ensure the cognition and not be the foundation of science. Third, he distinguishes the Tao-ware and Li-Qi which were confused before, which is different from Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming.