MEONTOLOGY IN EARLY<i>XUANXUE</i>玄學 THOUGHT

Chai, David

doi:10.1111/j.1540-6253.2009.01566.x

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…It is through their interaction that things are born and transformed. Pei Wei sees, for the first time in Chinese thought, being and non‐being as ‘exclusionary opposites’ (Chai : 97). Pei counters traditional understandings of the relationship between being and non‐being by arguing that non‐being is an absolute nothing that cannot generate any thing or have any effectual function.…”

Section: Three Phases Of Wei‐jin Thoughtmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wei‐Jin PeriodXuanxue‘Neo‐Daoism’: Re‐working the Relationship Between Confucian and Daoist Themes

D’Ambrosio

2016

Philosophy Compass

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In recent years, philosophical ideas developed during the Wei‐Jin period, broadly referred to as xuanxue (玄學) in Chinese and ‘Neo‐Daoism’ or ‘Dark Learning’ in English, have been accorded increasing attention in academia. This article provides an introduction to some major thinkers of the Wei‐Jin period, addressing both their original writings and recent scholarly interpretations. The article aims to demonstrate that many Wei‐Jin period intellectuals formed their theories through reinterpreting the relationship between texts associated with Daoism and Confucianism. Thinkers of this period often attempted to show how these defining ‘schools’ of pre‐Qin Chinese thought did not propose theories that were fundamentally inconsistent, and that their ideas could be woven together as elements of a coherent view. This intellectual movement can thus be, and often has been, viewed as an attempt to integrate Daoism and Confucianism. However, a more nuanced reading demonstrates that these thinkers were reworking the relationship between what were seen as predominately Daoist or Confucian themes from their very foundation. Accordingly, the common description of Wei‐Jin thinkers as ‘(Neo‐)Daoist’ is decidedly incongruous.

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Section: Three Phases Of Wei‐jin Thoughtmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wei‐Jin PeriodXuanxue‘Neo‐Daoism’: Re‐working the Relationship Between Confucian and Daoist Themes

D’Ambrosio

2016

Philosophy Compass

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“… For an initial sketch of how such ontological nothingness operates in early‐medieval Chinese thought, see Chai .…”

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confidence: 99%

Daoism and Wu

Chai

2014

Philosophy Compass

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This paper introduces the concept of nothingness as used in classical Daoist philosophy, building upon contemporary scholarship by offering a uniquely phenomenological reading of the term. It will be argued that the Chinese word wu bears upon two planes of reality concurrently: as ontological nothingness and as ontic nonbeing. Presenting wu in this dyadic manner is essential if we wish to avoid equating it with Dao itself, as many have been wont to do; rather, wu is the mystery that perpetually veils Dao while serving as the root and counter-balance to being, and yet, Dao also imbues things with wu to the extant that their physical makeup and usefulness, or lack thereof, can be traced back to their source in Dao. This does not only mean that Daoist cosmogony and metaphysics are inherently informed by nothingness/ nonbeing instead of being/beings but that it works to unground all moral and epistemological norms in play, a feat no other school of thought in ancient China could accomplish.Daoism sees within the rawness of nature and the expanse of heaven a means by which to expound the life-world of the myriad things therein. It has been variously called a school of monism, mysticism, skepticism, relativism, and fatalism, but these terms miss the mark in that they only touch upon the corners of its thought, leaving the core unaccounted for. As Daoist philosophy is concerned about letting go and letting be so as to achieve cosmological harmony and ontological self-enrichment, one would expect to find great importance attached to the themes of quietude ( jing ) and vacuity (xu ). Indeed, there is much to be said for each of these, and yet, it falls upon an even more profound one to inform the Daoist enterprise -wu (nothingness/nonbeing). This paper will thus give an account of Daoist wu, arguing that it acts as the ontological facilitator for Dao's creativity while marking the absence of things ontically. Textual examples will be derived from the Daodejing, Zhuangzi, Liezi, and Wenzi.

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The Metaphysical Style and Structural Coherence of Names in Xuanxue

Rošker

2020

Dao Companions to Chinese Philosophy

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MEONTOLOGY IN EARLYXUANXUE玄學 THOUGHT

Cited by 7 publications

References 1 publication

Wei‐Jin PeriodXuanxue‘Neo‐Daoism’: Re‐working the Relationship Between Confucian and Daoist Themes

Wei‐Jin PeriodXuanxue‘Neo‐Daoism’: Re‐working the Relationship Between Confucian and Daoist Themes

Daoism and Wu

The Metaphysical Style and Structural Coherence of Names in Xuanxue

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