The Confucian and Daoist Philosophical Tendency of Tai Xuan Author: Shu-Fun Fung(Department of Chinese, The Hong Kong Institute of Education)

Vol.&No.：Vol. 56, No. 1
Date：March 2011
Pages：21-51
DOI：10.3966/207451922011035601002

Abstract：

The Confucian and Daoist tendency in Yang Xiong’s thought had always attracted heated and controversial discussions over the years. While Tai Xuan is Yang Xiong’s signature work from mid-career years, this work has attracted the most attention and generated the most arguments of all. In terms of Confucian and Daoist orientation reflected in this work. Such discussion can roughly be categorized into two schools: the balance theory and the imbalance theory. While the balance theory believed that Tai Xuan represented a combination of Confucian and Daoist ideas. While both schools show equal importance of the work, the imbalance view suggested that Tai Xuan had its own guiding principles. A detailed examination of the imbalance theory found that two sets of opposite views: some believe that Daoism was a central concept and Confucianism acted as a supplementary idea; while others believe the opposite to be true.

In this argument, previous scholars found that the similarities between the Confucian and Daoist ideas expressed throughout this work, in order to prove that Tai Xuan, has integrated both schools of thought. However, this has resulted in binary opposition between these differences and an emphasis on the ideas, which have never been proved.

As a result, this essay adopted a different perspective that examines this dilemma and conflict between the Confucian and Daoist ideas within the core concepts of Tai Xuan, namely Ren Yi (benevolence and righteousness), Xuan (profoundness), Yin and Yang, and Wen Zhi (literary talent and refined-ness). This study assessed how Yang Xiong chose between the two when conflicts arose to examine the Confucian and Daoist tendencies from Tai Xuan core values.

Keywords：Tai Xuan, Ren Yi, Wen Zhi, Yin and Yang, Yang Xiong

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