Post by Otagiri Tatsuzou on Sept 22, 2005 17:08:58 GMT -5
Chang Tsai was born in Xian in 1020. The son of a prefect, he followed the normal course of studies in the Confucian classics, but also read the texts of Taoism, which had a considerable influence on his thought.
He became a magistrate, and in 1069, after attracting the emperor's attention, he was appointed to a post in the imperial library. He resigned when the prime minister Wang An-shih began a series of radical economic reforms. He died in 1077.
Chang Tsai believed that underlying all phenomena was material force (ch'i), which he identified with the Tao (Way) of Taoism and with the Supreme Ultimate (t'ai chi) of the Book of Changes. In its original state as the Great Void, material force is tranquil and without form. When it is acted upon it engenders yin and yang, which combine to give forms and elements.
Chang Tsai saw matter as a continuum or plenum. Physical objects were material force in its condensed form. The Great Void or Ether was material force in its extended form - it had nothing to do with the Buddhist conception of Emptiness. "There is no such thing as non-existence."
Chang Tsai was an important forerunner of neo-Confucianism - a Confucianism deepened by absorbing elements from Taoism.
web.ionsys.com/~remedy/CHANG%20TSAI.htm
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Heaven is my father and Earth is my mother, and even such a small creature as I finds an intimate place in their midst.
Therefore that which fills the universe I regard as my body and that which directs the universe I consider as my nature.
All people are my brothers and sisters, and all things are my companions.
The greater ruler [the emperor] is the eldest son of my parents [Heaven and Earth], and the great ministers are his stewards.
Respect the aged—this is the way to treat them as elders should be treated.
Show deep love toward the orphaned and the weak—this is the way to treat them as the young should be treated.
The sage identifies his character with that of Heaven and Earth, and the worthy is the most outstanding man.
Even those who are tired, infirm, crippled, or sick; those who have no brothers or children, wives or husbands, are all my brothers who are in distress and have no one to turn to….
Wealth, honor, blessing, and benefits are meant for the enrichment of my life, while poverty, humble station, and sorrow are meant to help me to fulfillment.
In life I follow and serve. In death I will be at peace.
environment.harvard.edu/religion/religion/confucianism/texts/
ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-PHIL/bloom.htm
He became a magistrate, and in 1069, after attracting the emperor's attention, he was appointed to a post in the imperial library. He resigned when the prime minister Wang An-shih began a series of radical economic reforms. He died in 1077.
Chang Tsai believed that underlying all phenomena was material force (ch'i), which he identified with the Tao (Way) of Taoism and with the Supreme Ultimate (t'ai chi) of the Book of Changes. In its original state as the Great Void, material force is tranquil and without form. When it is acted upon it engenders yin and yang, which combine to give forms and elements.
Chang Tsai saw matter as a continuum or plenum. Physical objects were material force in its condensed form. The Great Void or Ether was material force in its extended form - it had nothing to do with the Buddhist conception of Emptiness. "There is no such thing as non-existence."
Chang Tsai was an important forerunner of neo-Confucianism - a Confucianism deepened by absorbing elements from Taoism.
web.ionsys.com/~remedy/CHANG%20TSAI.htm
-----------------------------------------------
Heaven is my father and Earth is my mother, and even such a small creature as I finds an intimate place in their midst.
Therefore that which fills the universe I regard as my body and that which directs the universe I consider as my nature.
All people are my brothers and sisters, and all things are my companions.
The greater ruler [the emperor] is the eldest son of my parents [Heaven and Earth], and the great ministers are his stewards.
Respect the aged—this is the way to treat them as elders should be treated.
Show deep love toward the orphaned and the weak—this is the way to treat them as the young should be treated.
The sage identifies his character with that of Heaven and Earth, and the worthy is the most outstanding man.
Even those who are tired, infirm, crippled, or sick; those who have no brothers or children, wives or husbands, are all my brothers who are in distress and have no one to turn to….
Wealth, honor, blessing, and benefits are meant for the enrichment of my life, while poverty, humble station, and sorrow are meant to help me to fulfillment.
In life I follow and serve. In death I will be at peace.
environment.harvard.edu/religion/religion/confucianism/texts/
ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-PHIL/bloom.htm