Dai Zhen Quotes

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. The quotes below are attributed to Dai Zhen, organized by topic.

Dai Zhen on Freedom

“Atheists and the unchurched undervalue the extent to which they are getting a free ride on the social strength that religious-based virtue provides.”
Wall Street Journal , December 22, 2006, p. A12, "Wonder Land" column.
“A friend last weekend said he thought the story about the University of New Hampshire's website publishing a bias-free language guide, which declared that use of the word "American" is "problematic," was a hoax. Of course, it was real.”
The Joy of Madness" , The Wall Street Journal (17 September 2015), A13.

Dai Zhen on Happiness

“The Joy of Madness" , The Wall Street Journal (17 September 2015), A13.”
A friend last weekend said he thought the story about the University of New Hampshire's website publishing a bias-free language guide, which declared that use of the word "American" is "problematic," was a hoax. Of course, it was real.

Dai Zhen on Knowledge

Attributed to Dai Zhen:

“The Cheng-Zhu doctrine has read into the Mencius what is not there; we must read what is there.”
Attributed to Dai Zhen:

“Philology is not the rival of philosophy; it is the soil in which philosophy must root itself.”
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.”
“This is a footnote to our gay-marriage discussion. A woman in India last week married a snake . And it was done at a traditional Hindu ceremony attended by 2,000 people. Now, I would like to ask the proponents of gay marriage, which after all violates traditions going back through all of human history, to now absolutely positively guarantee that the next movement is not going to be allowing people to marry their pet horse, dog or cat. And you know what? Given the anything-goes culture we live in, I don't think they can deliver that guarantee.”
Henninger, D. (Commentator). (2006, June 10). Journal Editorial Report . New York: Fox News Channel .
“Henninger, D. (Commentator). (2006, June 10). Journal Editorial Report . New York: Fox News Channel .”
This is a footnote to our gay-marriage discussion. A woman in India last week married a snake . And it was done at a traditional Hindu ceremony attended by 2,000 people. Now, I would like to ask the proponents of gay marriage, which after all violates traditions going back through all of human history, to now absolutely positively guarantee that the next movement is not going to be allowing people
“Wall Street Journal , December 22, 2006, p. A12, "Wonder Land" column.”
Atheists and the unchurched undervalue the extent to which they are getting a free ride on the social strength that religious-based virtue provides.
“Which would you like sitting in the oval office dealing with it (a major crisis)? Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, John Edwards, Geraldine Ferraro, Jimmy Carter, … or Sarah Palin? Personally, I would pick Palin.”
Wall Street Journal , October 23, 2008, interview with Kelsey Hubbard.
“Wall Street Journal , October 23, 2008, interview with Kelsey Hubbard.”
Which would you like sitting in the oval office dealing with it (a major crisis)? Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, John Edwards, Geraldine Ferraro, Jimmy Carter, … or Sarah Palin? Personally, I would pick Palin.

Read all Dai Zhen quotes on Knowledge

Dai Zhen on Virtue

Attributed to Dai Zhen:

“Principle is what is found in feelings rightly directed; it is not opposed to them.”
Attributed to Dai Zhen:

“To suppress the feelings in the name of principle is to destroy the body of the moral life.”