Research on Guo Qing-fan’s Thoughts of Annotated Zhuang-zi

• Main Authors: Lee Wei-en, 李維恩
• Other Authors: 鄭卜五
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/qnu6fa

碩士 === 國立高雄師範大學 === 經學研究所 === 102 === Research on Guo Qing-fan’s Thoughts of Annotated Zhuang-zi 【 Abstract 】 The onset of China’s globalization followed the Opium War in the late Qing Dynasty. Guo Qing-fan (1844-1896) encountered the interior rebellions (Taiping Rebellion, Nien Rebellion, the Hui Minorities War) and the invasions of the Western powers happened in the reigns of Daoguang, Xianfeng, Tongzhi and Guangxu. The Qing Dynasty was forced to sign unequal treaties which resulted in their rights disregarded and reputations harmed. The Qing Dynasty was impotent to defend the Western powers when faced with saving the country from collapsing and seeking assistance to survive. Given that the Qing Dynasty failed to fight against the Western powers by their armed forces, they had no choice but come up with alternatives to stay in harmony and peace with their foreign enemies. This thesis aims to manifest the Guo Qing-fan’s thoughts of Annotated Zhuang-zi. Annotated Zhuang-zi should not be viewed only as a masterpiece of the study of Chinese Historical Semantics but also as a representation of the transformation from metaphysics to positivism. Because Guo Qing-fan inherited the thoughts from his uncle, Guo Son-Tao, who thought that the practice of the thoughts of the great thinkers should change with time. In addition, the core value of harmony (和he) was emphasized. That is, self-contentment gained through the harmony of one’s body and mind should be extended to the harmony in the society as well as between human and nature. When nature is in harmony, both the society and the body and mind of individuals are peaceful and harmonious. Then, every individual will enjoy the worldly life with untroubled ease. Therefore, being free with ease no longer belongs to the spiritual aspect. Rather, it is a concrete goal for constructing a harmonious world as long as humans follow the changes of Tao. Such a transformation of thoughts from the spiritual attainment to the practice of everyday life fits the notion that other than pursuing spiritual life, one should put the thoughts into practice. Thus, the idea of avoiding secular life is changed to following the trends of the world and even to changing the world and making it better. Such a notion is corresponded with the transformation and modernization of Confucianism. The transformation of Taoism leads to the compatibility with the cultural heterogeneity from the West. Key words: Guo, Qing-fan, Annotated Zhuang-zi, the thoughts in the late Qing Dynasty, Qing New Philosophy of Principle, the study of Zhuang-zi in the Qing Dynasty