A Study On Zhangzai’s View Of Life And Death

The question of life and death is a theme that has endured for ages.In Chinese philosophy,the Confucian concept of life and death focuses on the present life with a frank attitude to the fortune of death or life,a sense of duty to death,and a quest for the immortality of the meaning of life.As an important continuation of Confucianism’s view of life and death,Zhang Zai’s view of life and death is,at the level of cosmic ontology,the gathering and dispersal of qi(气),which constantly flows in the qihua(气化)of life and death;at the level of life,he pursues the value goal and lofty ideal of establishing one’s mind and life,following the extinction of learning and opening up peace.The theory of qi is the core idea of Zhang Zai’s philosophy.In his formulation of qihua,Zhang first explains the existence and demise of everything in the universe as the result of the convergence and dispersion of qi respectively.The two attributes of qi,yin(阴)and yang(阳),are the driving force behind the creation of all things through mutual induction between heaven and earth,and are motivated by the encouragement of the"gods"and their own antagonistic elements.Based on the theory of qi,Zhang Zai explores the question of life and death.According to Zhang Zai’s division of the theory of qi,birth represents the beginning of the aggregation of qi into tangible objects,while death means the dissipation of tangible objects and their return to The process of death means the dissipation of the tangible object and its return to the taixu(太虚).Based on the cosmological interpretation of life and death as the aggregation and dispersion of qi,Zhang Zai points out that death is inevitable for human beings,and in this sense he further criticizes the Taoist concept of immortality and ascension to immortality.At the same time,he completes his critique of the Buddhist concept of the unreliable world by proving the reality of the world to confirm the reality of life.In addition,Zhang Zai rejects the world’s worship of the mysterious power of the afterlife and points out the need to focus on the present life.In the face of a finite life,Zhang Zai does not seek the blessings of the afterlife,as Buddhism does,but turns to the planning of a real life.The planning of the individual’s life in this world is divided into the planning of the individual’s own development and the responsibility of the group.For the development of the individual himself,Zhang Zai emphasizes the cultivation of the body and mind,highlighting the importance of returning the nature of qi to the nature of heaven and earth,and inheriting the Confucian concept of life and death,which states that death is the rest.In examining the relationship between the material self and the group,he looks at nature in the way of the father of the qian(乾)and the mother of the kun(坤),and he is concerned with others in the way of the human and the things,emphasizing the need for the scholar to take an active part in social responsibility and to fulfil the sacred mission entrusted to him by heaven.