"Establishing Standards to Clarify the Way":Zhang Zai's Li-based Theory and Its Tension
Zhangzai lays too much stress on"qi",Cheng and Zhu repeatedly expressed their dis-satisfaction with this.Modern scholars therefore classify Zhangzai's Neo-Confucianism as the"qi"-based theory,believing that it is fundamentally different from Cheng and Zhu's Neo-Confucianism.This may be suspected of over-interpretation,as it fails to take into account the subtleties of Cheng and Zhu's criticism and fails to address the inherent tension of Zhangzai's theory.The phrase"estab-lishing standards to clarify the way"by Chengzai not only affirms the theoretical foundation of Zhang-zai's thought from the perspective of"clarifying the way",but also makes subtle criticisms of Zhangzai from the perspective of"establishing standards".Taking this statement as a clue,it can be found that Zhang Zai's thought,while based on the principle-based theory,also had the potential to shift towards the"qi"-based theory due to his emphasis on"qi"leaving room for the"qi"-based theory in the history of Neo-Confucianism.
Zhang Zaiestablishing a standardclarify the way"li"-based theory
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