| As a great writer and poet of his time, Su Dong-po (Su Shi's courtesy name) had been studied and appreciated by many scholars from the literal rather than philosophical angle. As a result, the emphasis on Su Shi's poems and prose were particularly paid with abundant achievements while less importance was attached to his thought concerning human nature and moral principles. Most scholars think that Su Shi commentated Zhouyi by principles of Daoism and Buddhism. Yet, they just gave rough comments in no detail. So I try my best to expound and unfold Su Shi's real thought by the thesis.In the first Part, I introduce Su Shi's unique disposition of perseverance and broad-mindedness as well as his thought synthesizing Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. For the authorship of Dong-po Yi Zhuan (Dong-po's Commentaries on Yi), some scholars insist that it was collaborated by the Three Sus (Su Xun, Su Shi, and Su Zhe) but not by Sushi himself, some attributed it only to Su Shi. By a textual research, I ascertain the authorship of Su Shi himself. With respect to the hermeneutic method in interpreting Ti (the Book of Change), Wang Bi insisted hexagram indicates timeliness and line (of a hexagram) is implicated with the meaning of change, while Su Shi adheres hexagram embodies nature with the lines revealing emotions. Actually, nature is consistent with the emotion.The second part discusses the philosophical connotations conceived in Dong-po's Yi Zhuan. Some scholars (such as Yu Dun-kang) think that Wang Bi commentated Zhouyi by Lao zi's view and Sushi by Zhuang zrs thought, and others contend that Su Shi absorbed thoughts from Buddhism and Daoism. With argumentation about Sushi's thought embraced in his commentaries on Yi, I agree with the later. In general, Su Shi incorporated Confucian spirit of ceaseless self-nerving and broad virtue, Buddhism, and Daoism into one in his interpretation, standing out of the thinkers of the Northern Song Dynasty. In respect of the cosmic producing mode, Su Shi raised a mode of "Dao (Way)-water-things" with Yin and Yang alternating as was expounded in the Qua-qi theory (a theory explicating the correspondence between the seasonal points and hexagrams). So far as human nature is concerned, he upholds human nature is endowed from and a manifestation of the Dao. In contrast with the neo-Confucianists' view of human nature being the idea, Shu Shi maintains that emotion is a spontaneousexhibition of the nature. In addition, he takes the quality of water as the character of his ideal personality and aspires to become an internally strong and externally weak figure uniting perseverance and free will into one.Part three elucidates the modern significance of Su Shi's thought. His idea on the correlation .between nature and emotion completely affirms the accomplishment of man's uniqueness. His separation between obligation and benefit emphasizes the accomplishment of the public interest is the realization of individual values. Obligation dwells in benefit and vice versa. Su Shi's thought of "by the people" develops from Mencius" thought of regarding the people as the fundaments of the state, and additionally he raises the thought of freedom of that the people ought to be free in making their determination. Harmony is inherent in the unity of heaven and human in ancient Chinese philosophy. Sushi's thought of harmony may be beneficial to dealing with the relationship between the human and nature, inter human, and so on. |
PDF Full Text Request