Zheng Qiao: A Critical Biography (89)

Author: Xu Youfu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-12-01
Features: Zheng Qiao did not take the imperial examinations and engaged in academic research after graduation, achieving significant results in fields such as Confucian classics, rites and music, linguistics, natural sciences, textual criticism, and historiography. Zheng Qiao possessed a strong critical spirit; he rejected the "aesthetic-censure view" of the Po Sequence, opposed the "praise-and-censure theory" in Spring and Autumn Annals studies, and pointed out that the Five Elements theory of fate and fortune was "a deception of heaven." His academic purpose was to eliminate falsehood and cut off superstition. Zheng Qiao maintained a rigorous scientific attitude; he not only strove to read all books in the world but also placed great emphasis on inscriptions and maps, advocated social investigation, and advocated the combination of theory and practice, putting these principles into practice himself. In his academic pursuits, he paid attention to bibliographies, valued textual criticism, and excelled in analysis and induction. Zheng Qiao had a distinct "synthesis" philosophy; he integrated academic knowledge from all over the world to form his own unique views, compiling his lifelong research into the Comprehensive Annals (), establishing an enduring monument for himself. At the end of the book, the appendices Zheng Qiao's Concise Genealogy and A Study of Zheng Qiao's Works systematically and clearly reflect Zheng Qiao's life journey and academic achievements.