Dai Zhen 1724 – 1777
Dai Zhen (1724 – 1777) was a Chinese philosopher of the Modern era, associated with Confucianism.
Dai Zhen was a Chinese Confucian philosopher and philologist of the High Qing period, the most influential figure of the school of evidential research, or kaozheng, that dominated eighteenth-century Chinese intellectual life. His Evidential Study of the Meaning and Terms of the Mencius and An Inquiry into Goodness mounted a sustained critique of the metaphysical Neo-Confucianism of Zhu Xi from the standpoint of close philological reading of the classical texts, arguing that the Cheng-Zhu doctrine of principle as opposed to human feelings is alien to the classical Confucian sources. His careful reading reshaped subsequent Chinese Confucian thought.
Key facts
- Nationality
- Chinese
- Era
- Modern
- Movements
- Confucianism
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Dai Zhen:
“Principle is what is found in feelings rightly directed; it is not opposed to them.”
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Attributed to Dai Zhen:
“The Cheng-Zhu doctrine has read into the Mencius what is not there; we must read what is there.”
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Attributed to Dai Zhen:
“Philology is not the rival of philosophy; it is the soil in which philosophy must root itself.”
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Attributed to Dai Zhen:
“To suppress the feelings in the name of principle is to destroy the body of the moral life.”
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Attributed to Dai Zhen:
“The classics are not the tomb of the sages; they are the soil from which the present generation must again grow.”
Frequently asked about Dai Zhen
- When did Dai Zhen live?
- Dai Zhen was born in 1724 and died in 1777.
- Where was Dai Zhen from?
- Dai Zhen was a Chinese philosopher of the Modern era.
- What philosophical movements is Dai Zhen associated with?
- Dai Zhen was associated with Confucianism.
- What was Dai Zhen known for?
- Dai Zhen was a Chinese Confucian philosopher and philologist of the High Qing period, the most influential figure of the school of evidential research, or kaozheng, that dominated eighteenth-century Chinese intellectual life.
- How many quotes are attributed to Dai Zhen?
- There are 13 attributed quotations from Dai Zhen in the 1001Philosophers collection, organized by topic.