Title

A Re-Evaluation of Chen Baisha's Learning of Nature

Author

Simon Man Ho Wong

Genre

Article  

Pages

599-634

Download

PDF

Language

Chinese

Key words

Chen Baisha, nature, sitting meditation, void

Abstract

  Huang Zongxi's commentary on the great Ming Confucian scholar Chen

Baisha and his learning of nature is well-known; Liu Jishan's, on the other

hand, has received less attention from scholars. This article first examines

Huang Zongxi's commentary and points out its weaknesses. Second, through

examining Liu Jishan's criticism of Chen Baisha, we reveal the limitations of

Chen's theory. Finally, the article discusses other comments on Chen's

theory from both ancient and modern scholarship. We conclude that Liu

Jishan's critique is as important as Huang Zongxi's in the evaluation of Chen

Bai-sha's learning of nature.