Warring States and Jin Thought Theory

Author: Liu Da Jie
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-12-01
Features: Sima Qian believed that "the past and the present are one," and thus "he wanted to explore the relationship between heaven and man, connect the changes of past and present, and create a unified voice" (from his letter to Young Master Qiang). To value the ancient and despise the modern, or to cling to the old without assimilation, is not the way of a true scholar. Any valuable history must be rooted in the present, starts with the past, and looks toward the future. Mr. Liu's On Wei-Jin Thought is no exception; it starts with the Wei-Jin period but is grounded in the contemporary era, filled with the spirit of the times. The issues he discusses and the attitudes he takes—whether consciously or subconsciously—reflect his position and perspective as a figure of his time. The contemporary awareness that permeates the book is most evident in areas such as free thought, subjectivity, literary concepts, and national spirit. These new ideas constitute the era's character of this book.