Dai Zhen
Dai Zhen (1724-1777) was a significant Chinese philosopher and scholar known for his critical stance on neo-Confucianism. Born into a modest merchant family, he faced early challenges, including a speech delay, but excelled academically after beginning his studies at age ten. His education under the guidance of various scholars cultivated his deep interests in diverse fields, including astronomy, mathematics, and phonology. Dai Zhen's major contributions lie in his philosophical works, particularly his rejection of the metaphysical principles proposed by neo-Confucian thinkers, which he argued distorted classical Confucian teachings.
He emphasized an empirical understanding of the universe, proposing that human morality stems from natural desires rather than a transcendent "heavenly principle." His philosophy placed human experiences and needs at the forefront, advocating for individual rights and happiness, resembling the values of Renaissance humanism in Europe. Dai Zhen's ideas influenced a number of prominent Chinese thinkers and reformers, including Zhang Taiyan and Liang Qichao, who recognized his critique of the ruling ideologies of their times. His legacy continues to resonate in modern discussions of Chinese philosophy and social reform.
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Dai Zhen
Chinese philosopher
- Born: January 19, 1724
- Birthplace: Huining, Anhui Province, China
- Died: July 1, 1777
- Place of death: Beijing, China
Dai Zhen offered unprecedented and highly critical evaluations of Song-Ming neo-Confucianism by reinterpreting the classical, idealist Confucian philosophy, especially that of Mencius. In so doing, he elucidated his own philosophical ideas, which, above all, valued and validated human feelings, passions, and desires.
Early Life
Dai Zhen (day-zehn) came from a small merchant family with no scholarly tradition. It is said that he was unable to talk until the age of ten and only then did he begin to read and study Confucian classics (the Four Books, or the Four Classics, edited by Zhu Xi) under the guidance of a private tutor. Endowed with an unusually good memory and an inquisitive mind, he made rapid progress in learning. Doubtful and critical of what he was told by his teacher were the meanings of the words in the classics, he attempted to verify them himself. He often asked questions that puzzled the teacher. At the age of sixteen or so, Dai Zhen had already read most of the basic Confucian texts.
Roughly between 1742 and 1745, Dai Zhen was away from home, helping his father do business and also working as a tutor. During this time period, he traveled widely in southern China and came to know more about society, especially the lives of common people. In 1745, Dai Zhen returned to his hometown for full-time study under Jiang Yong (1681-1762), a scholar famous for his textual criticisms based on phonology. He extended his academic inquiry to astronomy, arithmetic, trigonometry, hydrography, and phonology. In 1751, Dai Zhen passed the civil service examination for the budding-talent degree (xiucai, equivalent of the bachelor’s degree). In 1754, he left for Beijing to escape being persecuted by a clansmen with whom he had become involved in a lawsuit.
Life’s Work
Between 1754 and 1757, Dai Zhen stayed in Beijing and acquainted himself with many distinguished scholars and scholar-officials, including Qian Daxin, Ji Yun, Wang Mingsheng, and Wang Anguo. He discussed scholarship, conducted academic research, and worked as a tutor for some of the sons of these scholars.
After 1757, Dai Zhen spent most of his life in Beijing and in Yangzhou, a prosperous commercial city in Jiangsu Province. In 1762, Dai Zhen passed the prefectural-level civil service examination and obtained the lifted-person degree (juren, equivalent of the master’s degree). In the next twelve years, Dai Zhen took but failed, six times, the metropolitan-level (national-level) examination for the presented-scholar degree (jinshi, equivalent of the doctorate), largely because of his nonconformist philosophical ideas. Given his erudition, however, a special imperial decree granted him a presented-scholar degree and appointed him an editor of the prestigious encyclopedic work, the Siku Quanshu (eighteenth century; complete collection of the four treasures). In addition to working on this project, Dai Zhen continued his scholarly research.
Dai Zhen had extensive knowledge of the humanities and the social and natural sciences, excelling in philology, phonology, and classic poetry. Not only did he annotate ancient works on astronomy, mathematics, biology, engineering, geography, and hydrography, he also wrote on some of these subjects and published extensively on ancient political institutions. Methodologically, he was a master of textual criticism, a method to help determine the authenticity of ancient texts as well as the texts’ authors.
Dai Zhen’s most important and inspiring scholarly achievements were in the field of philosophy. His major philosophical works include Yuan shan (1765; Tai Chen’s Yuan shan, 1969) and “Mengzi zi yi shu zheng (1777; Tai Chen on Mencius: Explorations in Words and Meaning, 1990). Dai Zhen continued the philosophical tradition (as represented by Wang Fuzhi) that stressed the material or empirical nature of the universe and human society. What is most striking about Dai Zhen’s philosophy is its categorical rejection of some fundamental ideas of the neo-Confucianism of the Song Dynasty. Dai Zhen revealed and denounced the distorted readings and interpretations of neo-Confucianists of early or classical Confucian writings.
Neo-Confucianism centered on the concept of li (principle or heavenly principle). Li, held to be something metaphysical and universal, originated from heaven and produced and dominated all material things (qi). Thus, material things (qi) were believed to be inferior to li. Also, li was believed to be present in humans and to constitute the rational part of human nature, which was good and should be preserved. Feelings and desires—the irrational—were considered evil and in need of suppression or elimination. This view was best embodied in the notorious neo-Confucian statement, “preserve the heavenly principle and eliminate human desires.”
Dai Zhen completely rejected this neo-Confucian perception of li. He believed that things in the universe were produced not by li but from the interaction between the two substantial forces called yin and yang. In fact, Dai Zhen did not believe in the existence of a universal and transcendental li. He did adopt the term li, but he used it to refer to patterns (or principles) of concrete things (and affairs). His conceptualization of li was highly individualistic and empirical. Li did not come from outside (for example, from heaven) but existed in concrete things, and each different thing had a different li, which explained the variety of things in the universe. Also, Dai Zhen’s li was open to human understanding.
For Dai Zhen, humans, like all other things, are products of the natural interaction between yin and yang. Humans are unique (in comparison with animals) because they are moral beings. Human morality, which could be understood as li, was predicated on or existed in human desires (for food, clothes, music, sex, and so forth). Humans would need no concept of morality had they no desires. These desires were part of human nature, stemming from the natural need of humans to sustain life. It is necessary and natural for humans to satisfy their desires. However, in attempting to satisfy one’s own desires, an individual must follow certain moral principles, such as benevolence and righteousness, to avoid doing harm to others. These moral principles (li) should be used to regulate rather than replace or eliminate desires.
Dai Zhen pointed out that the “heavenly principle” in neo-Confucianism was not a universal truth, but instead was developed through the personal opinions of those who endorsed it. Neo-Confucian philosophers invented the notion of heavenly principle and then imposed it upon others, especially the common people, depriving them of their right to seek their personal interests; the principle also protected the vested interests and power of the elite.
Significance
Dai Zhen was the first philosopher who systematically and straightforwardly criticized and rejected neo-Confucianism. Since neo-Confucianism had long been adopted as the state ideology and used by the rulers to justify their rule, its rejection represented a challenge to and negation of the existing political order.
Dai Zhen can be considered a modern Chinese Humanist, comparable to the Humanists of Renaissance Europe, given that he placed humans at the center of his philosophy and that he acknowledged and affirmed the rights and efforts of individuals to seek personal happiness and, particularly, to fulfill their personal feelings and desires.
Dai Zhen’s philosophy has had a significant influence on Chinese scholars and political activists in later generations. For example, Zhang Taiyan (1868-1936), a scholar, reformer, and revolutionary, had high regard for Dai Zhen and borrowed his ideas in denouncing the monarchical system and in preparing public opinions for the anti-Qing revolution. Liang Qichao (1873-1929), a reformer and an accomplished scholar, believed that Dai Zhen’s thoughts represented a new direction in the development of Chinese culture. Many of Liang’s philosophical ideas echoed those of Dai Zhen. Hu Shi and Lu Xun, two principal leaders of the May Fourth movement (1919), were all admirers of Dai Zhen, drawing inspiration from him to reevaluate traditional Chinese culture.
Bibliography
Chan, Alan K. L., ed. Mencius: Contexts and Interpretations. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2002. Includes the chapter “Mencius, Xunzi, and Dai Zhen: A Study of the Mengzi zi yi shu zheng,” which examines Dai Zhen’s commentary on Mencius and his philosophy of human nature.
Cheng, Chung-ying. Tai Chen’s Inquiry into Goodness. Honolulu: East-West Center Press, 1971. A study of Dai Zhen’s philosophical treatise On Original Goodness.
Dai Zhen. A Complete Collection of Dai Zhen’s Works. Beijing: Qinghua University Press, 1991. Contains Dai Zhen’s extant writings.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Tai Chen on Mencius: Explorations in Words and Meaning. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1990. An updated translation of Dai Zhen’s work on Mencius, with a critical introduction by Ann-ping Chin and Mansfield Freeman.
Ewell, John Woodruff, Jr. Re-inventing the Way: Dai Zhen’s “Evidential Commentary on the Meanings of Terms in Mencius (1777).” Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, 1990. An analysis of Dai Zhen’s interpretations of Mencius’s philosophy. Includes bibliographical references.
Ivanhoe, Philip J., ed. Chinese Language, Thought, and Culture: Nivison and His Critics. Chicago: Open Court Press, 1996. A collection on Chinese philosophy, with a chapter on Dai Zhen and contemporary intellectual debate.
Meng, Peiyuan. The Evolution of Neo-Confucianism: From Zhu Xi to Wang Fuzhi and Dai Zhen. Taibei: Wenjin Press, 1990. Contains a chapter on Dai Zhen’s philosophy.
Xu Sumin. Dai Zhen and Chinese Culture. Guiyang: Guizhou People’s Press, 2000. An examination of Dai Zhen’s philosophy and its influence on Chinese culture.