Venerating Virtue and Seeking Learning Through the Dao: A Study of Wu Cheng's Philosophical Thought

Author: Fang Xudong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: This book is a systematic study of the philosophical thought of the Yuan Dynasty Confucian scholar Wu Cheng. The author adopts a research method that combines textual analysis with modern interpretation, placing Wu Cheng within the broader historical context of the New Confucianism of the Song Dynasty. Following the cognitive framework of the Way as the unity of the mind and nature—learning—application, the book examines and organizes propositions and doctrines such as "the principle precedes substance," the theory of the Taiji, "the principle and its differentiation," the theory of human nature, the mind school, learning for breadth, the essence and sequence of learning, the methods of learning, and the methods of self-cultivation. Through this, it comprehensively elucidates the theoretical system of Wu Cheng's philosophical thought, highlighting and revealing its fundamental characteristics and historical significance. From the perspective of the problem awareness, the concept of the Way, and the cultivation methods reflected in Wu Cheng's philosophy, as well as his overall academic direction and scope, Wu Cheng is not a compromiser between Zhu Xi and Lu Ji, but primarily an inheritor of Zhu Xi's thought and should be termed "post-Zhu Xi studies." Theoretically, Wu Cheng was the first to propose the proposition "the principle exists within substance" in the history of Chinese philosophy. In the history of the mind school, Wu Cheng's views represent an inheritance of the entire Song Dynasty Confucianism, not just Lu Jiuyuan's mind school. In terms of learning methods, Wu Cheng's vast academic framework and the idea of prioritizing the pursuit of knowledge through understanding the principle fully embody the path of "seeking learning through inquiry" re-emphasized by Zhu Xi. Moreover, Wu Cheng's emphasis on reverence as the foundation of knowing and acting reflects his understanding of "revering moral nature" as having inherited the tradition of reverence more deeply from the Cheng-Zhu school.