The True Orphan Of Confucianism:A Study Of Qian Chengzhi’s Thought On Zhuang Studies

Qian Chengzhi’s "Seven Commentaries on Zhuangzi" is an important text in the Zhuangology of the relics of the Ming and Qing dynasties,and is also an important result of the topic of "Zhuangzi in Confucianism" in the Ming and Qing dynasties.As a relic,Qian Chengzhi,because of his own encounter,agrees with and brings into play the "orphan theory"of Zhuangzi as "the true orphan of Yao and Confucius" proposed by Jue Long Dao Sheng,and believes that Zhuangzi is the true successor of Confucianism.Qian Chengzhi’s "orphan theory" is characterized by two things:first,Qian Chengzhi believes that Zhuangzi inherited the basic spirit of Zhou Yi,which is "only adapted to change",and that the "Seven Commentaries on Zhuangzi" was written to complement Zhou Yi;second,Qian Chengzhi believes that Zhuangzi passed on to Zi Xia Secondly,Qian Chengzhi believes that Zhuangzi passed on to Zi Xia the science of "after rites",the substance of which is the way of the inner sage and the outer king.This is manifested in the seven chapters of the Inner Chapters as the structure of the chapters from "The Journey of the Free and Easy" to "The King of the Emperor".The "You" is the realm of the sage,while the work of becoming a sage is generally reflected in the inner seven chapters,such as "The Treatise on Qiwu," "The Master of Health," "The Virtue of Chonfu," and "The Great Master," etc.Heart fasting,practicing form,and sitting in oblivion are all different forms of the work of becoming a sage.These types of work are essentially the same as the work theory of Confucianism or Song-Ming theory,and are evidence that Zhuangzi was a member of the Confucian school.In the chapter "The Great Master",Qian Chengzhi argues that it is not the real person but the sage who is the great master,represented by Confucius and Yan Hui.The status of the Great Patriarch is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the emperor,and the Great Patriarch is the inner sage,while the emperor should be the outer king.The value of the inner sage is independent and self-sufficient,and should be the emperor and should be the phial with the same freedom.Zhuangzi had seen the unavailability of his time,so although he expressed his inner-sage and outer-king studies in the Seventh Psalm,and he himself was a great talent for the world,Zhuangzi could only choose not to use it.The realm of Zhuangzi’s free and easy travel should be the freedom of the phi,which is also the realm of existence pursued by Qian Chengzhi himself.The thought of Zhuangzi presented in Qian Chengzhi’s "Seven Commentaries on Zhuangzi" is a reflection of his special mentality as a relic thinker.It is based on the perspective of the relics that Qian Chengzhi has made a unique Confucian interpretation of Zhuangzi’s thought,which has made "The Seven Commentaries on Zhuangzi" an inescapable work in the history of Zhuangzi.