Abstract
Wang Fuzhi 王夫之 (1619–1692), literary name Chuanshan 船山, is the most prolific philosopher in Chinese history. The Complete Posthumous Works of Chuanshan (Chuanshan yishu quanji 船山遺書全集) includes twenty-one volumes of his writings, and this is not even his complete oeuvre as some of his writings were destroyed or lost during the turmoil of his life.
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Notes
- 1.
I translate yi as “righteousness” rather than “rightness” because what Mencius had in mind was a sense closer to “uprightness” than to “correctness.”
Bibliography
Works Cited
Chen, Lai 陳來. 2004. Interpretation and Reconstruction: The Philosophical Spirit of W ang Chuanshan 詮釋與重建—王船山的哲學精神. Beijing 北京: Beijing daxue chubanshe 北京大學出版社. (Analyzes Wang Fuzhi’s philosophy as presented in three of his works in the context of Neo-Confucian thought, placing great emphasis on his theory of human nature and human mind.)
Chen, Yun 陳贇. 2002. Return to Authentic Being: A Study of W ang Chuanshan’s Philosophy 回歸真實的存在—王船山哲學的闡釋. Shanghai 上海: Fudan daxue chubanshe 復旦大學出版社. (Comprehensive and insightful analysis of the main themes in Wang’s philosophy, presenting his philosophy as a critical response to earlier Neo-Confucian thinkers. Highly recommended.)
Jullien, Francois. 1993. “Un yin – un yang, c’est le ‘Tao.’ ” In his Figures de L’Immanence: Pour une lecture philosophique du Yi king. In his La Pensée Chinoise dans le miroir de la philosophie. Paris, France: Éditions du Seuil, 2007.
Wang, Fuzhi. 1967 (1685–1690). Commentary on Z hang Zai’s Rectifying Ignorance 張子正蒙注. Taibei 臺北: Shijie shuju 世界書局. (Completed late in his life, this important work explicates Zhang Zai’s philosophy as well as Wang Fuzhi’s mature thought. Together with his earlier External Commentary on the Book of Change 周易外傳 [1655], it presents his metaphysics in full.)
Wang, Fuzhi. 1974a (1665). Discourse on Reading the Great Collection of Commentaries on the Four Books 讀四書大全說. Taibei 臺北: Heluo tushu chubanshe 河洛圖書出版社. (One of the most important works by Wang, essential to understanding his theory of human nature and his moral psychology.)
Wang, Fuzhi. 1974b (1683). Extensive Commentary on the Book of Odes 詩廣傳. Taibei 臺北: Heluo tushu chubanshe 河洛圖書出版社 . (This book records Wang’s thought on reading the Book of Odes. From time to time, one can find significant comments on key philosophical notions such as the nature, mind, emotions, and so forth.)
Wang, Fuzhi. 1977a (1673–1677). A Textual Annotation on the Book of Rites 禮記章句. Taibei 臺北: Guangwen shuju 廣文書局. (Contains Wang’s views on moral education and his moral philosophy.)
Wang, Fuzhi. 1977b (1655). External Commentary on the Book of Change 周易外傳 Taibei 臺北: Heluo tushu chubanshe 河洛圖書出版社. (This short book, one of the first philosophical works by Wang Fuzhi, extends from commentary on the Book of Change to present Wang’s moral metaphysics.)
Wang, Fuzhi. 1980 (1685). Internal Commentary on the Book of Change 周易內傳. Collected in Chuanshan’s Commentary to the Book of Change 船山易傳. Taibei 臺北: Xiaxueshe 夏學社. (Contains Wang’s detailed textual commentary on the Book of Change. It is a good source for studying the Book of Change.)
Yan, Shoucheng 嚴壽徵. 2000. An Introductory Reading of Chuanshan’s Records of Thinking and Questioning 思問錄導讀. Shanghai 上海: Shanghai guji chubanshe 上海古籍出版社. (Detailed introduction to one of Wang’s most important works, Records of Thinking and Questioning 思問錄 [1686)]. Author’s introduction provides good insights into Wang’s thought.)
Zeng, Zhaoxu 曾昭旭. 1983. W ang Chuanshan’s Philosophy 王船山哲學. Taibei 臺北: Liren shuju 里仁書局. (Part I gives a brief biography of Wang Fuzhi. Part II introduces his view as presented in his major works. Part III presents the key theme of his philosophy: the philosophy of humans.)
Zhang, Liwen 張立文. 2001. Authentic Learning and Creation of New Situations: The Philosophical Thought of W ang Chuanshan 正學與開新—王船山哲學思想. Beijing 北京: Renmin chubanshe 人民出版社. (Written by a senior scholar of Neo-Confucian philosophy, this book gives a more traditional analysis of Wang’s philosophy with extensive quotations. Reliable introduction.)
Zhou, Bing 周兵. 2006. Neo-Confucianism’s New Interpretation of the Relation between Heaven and Humans: A Study of W ang Fuzhi’s Discourse on Reading the Great Collection of Commentaries on the Four Books 天人之際的理學新詮釋—王夫之“讀四書大全說”思想研究. Sichuan 四川: Bashu shushe 巴蜀書社. (Focuses on Wang’s philosophy of human nature and human mind as presented in Wang’s Discourse on Reading the Great Collection of Commentaries on the Four Books.)
Selective Works on W ang Fuzhi
Black, Alison Harley. 1989. Man and Nature in the Philosophical Thought of Wang Fuzhi. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. (The only English-language book on Wang’s philosophy. The author aims to give an integrated reading of his philosophy, the central theme of which she identifies as the relation between man and nature: how man is the value-setter and the interpreter of nature. An impressive and insightful book which also sets the study of Wang in a broader context.)
Ji, Meng 季蒙. 2005. Reflective Neo-Confucianism: W ang Fuzhi’s Thought in the Study of the Four Books 主思的理學—王夫之的四書學思想. Guangdong 廣東: Guangdong gaodeng jiaoyu chubanshe 廣東高等教育出版社. (This book uses “reflection” (si 思) as the thread in Wang’s philosophy, and extends it to his views on li and qi, as well as his philosophy of human nature and human mind.)
Ji, Wenfu 嵇文甫. 1962. Collected Scholarship on W ang Chuanshan 王船山學術論叢. Beijing 北京: Xinhua shuju 新華書局. (Collected essays written by the author, a forerunner in the study of Wang’s philosophy, paving the way for the later studies.)
Jullien, Francois. 1992. The Propensity of Things: Toward A History of Efficacy in China. (Original title: La Propension des Choses: Pour une histoire de l’éfficacite en Chine). Translated by Janet Lloyd. New York: Zone Books, 1999. (Focuses on the notion of propensity [shi 勢] in Chinese thought, with extensive discussion on Wang’s notion of historical tendency [shi 勢].)
Jullien, Francois. 2007. “Procès ou Création.” In La Pensée Chinoise dans le miroir de la philosophie. Paris: Éditions du Seuil. (Comparative study of Wang, presenting his philosophy as process philosophy, and his notion of li 理 as “process logic.” Contains many novel ideas on how to interpret Wang Fuzhi.)
Lin, Anwu 林安梧. 1987. A Study of W ang Chuanshan’s Philosophy of the History of Human Nature 王船山人性史哲學之研究. Taibei 臺北: Dongda tushu gongsi 東大圖書公司. (Begins with Wang’s thesis that history is the history of human nature, and presents the core issues of his philosophy as the unity of li and qi, the unity of li and desire, and the unity of li and historical tendency.)
Liu, Chunjian 劉春建. 1989. A Chronology of W ang Fuzhi’s Leaning and Deeds 王夫之學行繫年. Zhengzhou 鄭州: Zhongzhou guji chubanshe 中州古籍出版社. (Philosophical biography of Wang, introducing the main content of his key works; a good reference book.)
Liu, JeeLoo 劉紀璐. 1984. A Treatise on the Problem of “Heavenly Principle as Manifested in Human History” in W ang Fuzhi’s Philosophy 論王船山哲學中歷史中之天理的問題. M.A. dissertation. National Taiwan University. (Focuses on Wang’s philosophy of history and examines the possibility of free will against historical determinacy. Published in five parts in Taiwan’s Goose Lake Journal 鵝湖雜誌 volumes 120–124 [1985].)
Liu, Liangjian. 劉梁劍. 2007. Heaven, Humans, and the Boundary In-Between—An Exposition of W ang Chuanshan’s Metaphysics 天、人、際:對王船山的形而上學闡明. Shanghai 上海: Shanghai renmin chubanshe 上海人民出版社. (Presents Wang Fuzhi’s metaphysics as a treatise on the interconnection between heaven and human beings. Concludes with a helpful summary of current studies on Wang Fuzhi in Mainland China.)
Meng, Peiyuan 蒙培元. 1990. The Development of the School of Li: From Z hu Xi to W ang Fuzhi and D ai Zhen 理學的演變:從朱熹到王夫之戴震. Taibei 臺北: Wenjin chubanshe 文津出版社. (Places Wang Fuzhi’s philosophy in the context of intellectual history.)
Wang, Xiaoyu 王孝魚. 1934. A Chronology Chuanshan’s Learning 船山學譜. Taibei 臺北: Guangwen shuju 廣文書局. 1975. (Earliest systematic treatment of Wang’s philosophy. Organizes Wang’s comments on key philosophical notions such as dao and qi, as well as his views on nature and mind, moral cultivation and his epistemology. Can be used as a sourcebook.)
Xiao, Jiefu 蕭萐父, and Xu Sumin 許蘇民. 2002. A Critical Biography of W ang Fuzhi 王夫之評傳. Nanjing 南京: Nanjing daxue chubanshe 南京大學出版社. (Most comprehensive introduction to Wang’s philosophy, dividing it into sections on his metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of history, moral philosophy, political and economic philosophy, religious thought, and aesthetics. A definitive study.)
Xiao, Tianshi 蕭天石. 1972. Collected Studies on Chuanshan’s Thought 船山學術研究集. Taibei 臺北: Zhongguo chuanshan xuehui yu ziyou chubanshe 中國船山學會與自由出版社.
Xu, Guanshan 許冠三. 1981. W ang Chuanshan’s Theory of Knowledge 王船山的致知論. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press. (A condensed treatise on Wang Fuzhi’s theory of knowledge, with an appendix of the chronological study of his works as well as early works on him.)
Zeng, Chunhai 曾春海. 1978. Explicating Subtle Points in W ang Chuanshan’s Study of the Book of Change 王船山易學闡微. Taibei 臺北: Jiaxin shuini gongsi wenhua jijinhui yanjiu lunwen 嘉新水泥公司文化基金會研究論文. (A study of Wang’s philosophy as presented in his commentary on the Book of Change. Elucidates Wang’s cosmology, philosophy of human nature, and philosophy of life, as well as his methodology in studying the Book of Change.)
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Liu, J. (2010). Wang Fuzhi’s Philosophy of Principle (Li) Inherent in Qi . In: Makeham, J. (eds) Dao Companion to Neo-Confucian Philosophy. Dao Companions to Chinese Philosophy, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2930-0_17
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