Three Theses of Wang Fu Chi’s Philosophy on Ruling:Principally on the Analysis of Lao Tsu Yan and Commentary of Zhang Zai’s Zheng Meng

This article deals with the internal context of Wang Fu Chi’s political philosophy, principally based on the analysis of his books Lao Tsu Yan and Commentary of Zhang Zai’s Zheng Meng. There are three parts in this dissertation. The discussion of Dao or YingYang (陰陽) constitutes the first part and the relationship among Dao (the great origin), Li (the great rule) and Qi (the vital energy) is also discussed. The second part unfolds the discussions among nature, desire and cultivation. The last part focuses on the discussions of political roles, political cultivation and the ideal of non-action that offers a kind of platform on which tri-religions may occur to dialogue.
Wang Fu Chi contained in inheriting and developing the thought of Zhang Zai, criticizing the ideas of “Buddhism’s Sheng-Mie” (生滅) and “Daoism’s You-Wu” (有無), and instead, he focused on promoting the thinking of You-Ming (幽明) and Yin-Xian (隱顯) in Zhang Zai’s “Zheng-Meng”, to clarify and interpret the real implication of Dao and Li. Therefore, he methodologically advocated a practical perspective to review the connection between metaphysics and daily life. Through the concepts of substance and functions, he explained how it is possible that the principle of “Oneness and Manifoldness’ works and makes the sacred and the secular being one.
Following the developmental viewpoint, he affirmed the legitimacy of change and clarified that the union of changes will lead to permanence. Under the framework of Li and Qi, the combination of good nature, good cultivation and good governance constitutes the core of Wang Fu Chi’s philosophy on ruling.