Between The People And Democracy

Huang Zongxi, one of influential thinkers at initial stage of Qing Dynasty and latter stage of Ming Dynasty,had brought the traditional people–based thoughts to unprecedented height. Analyzing the orientation of Huang's thoughts, researchers tend to start from angles of people-based thoughts,democracy and new people-based thoughts. Some argue that Huang's thoughts still fall within the traditional people-based thoughts and have not surmounted those under the categories of the Confucius since Mencius. Huang's new people-based thoughts can be said to be the summit of the traditional people-based thoughts, however they don't possess the nature of democracy. Some maintain that Huang's new people-based thoughts share similarity with modern democratic thoughts and in some sense have opened the door of the political institutional construction based on democracy. Some think that Huang's thoughts lie between people-based thoughts and democracy.This dissertation attempts to study Huang Zongxi's new people-based thoughts within the field of the system of heart studies,analyzes the reasons why his new people-based thoughts formed,probes into their origin,and expounds emphatically the pedigree of the heart studies of the important function that formed his people-based thoughts. On this basis,this dissertation carries on analysis from the angle of selfishness of human nature, and finally builds the logical system of Huang's new people-based thoughts in an all-round way. By employing comparisons within all times and in all lands,this dissertation pinpoints the historical status and the contemporary meaning of Huang's new people-based thoughts,and locates their disparity with the modern western democratic thoughts.To study the new people-based thoughts of Huang Zongxi under the modern contexts undoubtedly, will inspire us in building the socialist harmonious society in China.