A Shallow Analysis on Fang Dong-Mei's Viewpoints of Lao-Chuang

Abstract

In comprehensive perspective, the purpose of Fang Dong-Mei's philosophy is to build an ideal culture of human being. From his point of view, since modern ages, the Westerner whose thought was based on "value-neutral science", have "destroyed and torn up foundations of philosophy, religion, arts and ethics". They divided the world into "real appearance" which has quantitative and physical characteristics and "illusional appearance" which has qualitative and metaphysical characteristics. They consider that the former is something human being can understand, but the latter is mere subjective illusion. Nonetheless, due to this division and misconception, the Westerner become "wandering about not knowing what to do" and fall into nihilism. "It is not just tragedy but disturbance". Therefore, the solution has to be found in Oriental philosophy which lays a point on "value". In fact, such opinion and notion are the common factors of almost all modern Neo-Confucianists since Liang Shu-Ming and Xiong Shi-li, and can be said as the reason of their existence. Fang Dong-Mei, firstly, presents the main subjects of Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu, then explains the types of system they develop into. In his view, the core concept of Lao-tzu is that "supreme class", "the true substance of existence":"Tao" is "voluntary mental ability". Therefore, the philosophy of Lao-tzu is reorganized focusing on chapter 1, 2, and 38, and the theory of essence of original substance, the theory of value and his political ideology are reconstructed through his concepts of "Taoti", "Taoyong", "Taoxiang" and "Taozheng". This method applies to Chuangtzu. As his philosophy is a kind of system which aims to achieve "absolute free spirit", in other words "true freedom of equality", it does not adhere to the highest level and extends itself into all levels in the phenomenal world. So Chuang-tzu's philosophy can be interpreted as the one grants equal meaning and value to all the levels according to "principle of dealing with essence" and the one accomplish unrestricted "XiaoYao (going rambling, happy excursion)". In conclusion, Fang Dong-Mei's Lao-Chuang can be defined as "the Way and the Virtue which are full of life". However, Fang's philosophical work bears quite a lot of criticisms. These are the ones to be looked in.