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

Abstract

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.

Taoist Philosophy in Chinese Science Fiction: A Comparison between Zhuangzi and Broken Stars

“…Kohn, 2014, p.106) In terms of 开光 Kaiguang 'Coming of the Light' composed by 陈楸 帆 Chen Qiufan, it concerns apprehension, dynamism and absurdity of life (Liu, 2019, p.397) and is acclaimed as a cyberpunk work with Chinese characteristics and realistic elements such as religious practices, entrepreneurial drives and marketing strategies (Chao, 2015). Chen Qiufan's writing is featured by integration of high technology and abstruse witchcraft as well as coexistence of science and the so-called 玄学 Xuanxue 'Neo-Daoism; Dark Learning' that implies obscureness, insubstantiality and arcaneness (Chan, 2010;D'Ambrosio, 2016;Lynn, 2016). For instance, in his chef-d'oeuvre Waste Tide, 'the pinnacle of near-future SF writing' (Liu, 2019, p.397), Chen Qiufan depicts superstitious rites in his hometown, China's Chaoshan region, in a cyberpunk manner, which illuminates the similitude between science fiction and mythology and enriches his writing with religious representation (Dong, 2020;Yu, 2021).…”

The Ethics of Contingency: An Alternative (to) Morality in the Analects

“…2 This style of philosophizing was already exceedingly evident in the Wei-Jin period, when scholars such as Wang Bi 王弼 (d. 249) and Guo Xiang 郭象 (d. 312) drew broadly on the Analects, Laozi and Zhuangzi to both comment on these texts and develop their own philosophical understandings; see Tang (1957), D'Ambrosio (2016. Li Zehou 李澤厚 (d. 2021) describes jing-quan 經權or du 度-based styles of philosophizing, in reference not only to Chinese thought in general but also the Confucian tradition in particular, in many of his works; see Li (1998Li ( , 2014.…”

Confucianism and Daoism: On the relationship between theAnalects,Laozi, andZhuangzi, Part I

“…In several places Kongzi admonishes those who act appropriately but do not have the proper thoughts and feelings (2.7, 17.13, and 17.22). Indeed, there is an argument to be made—(as found in Wang Fu 王符 [85–163] and Xu Gan 徐干 [170–217]; see also [D'Ambrosio, 2016])—that Kongzi is more concerned about people who act morally, but do not have the corresponding thoughts and feelings, than about those who simply act inappropriately. The correspondence required for zhengming is thus a dual correspondence: one's external behavior must correspond to the name, but so too must their inner thoughts and feelings.…”