Yang Quan

Yang Quan

Yang Quan, also known as Yang Zi, was born and died in Suiyang, the state of Liang in the Western Jin Dynasty. He was a philosopher in the Western Jin Dynasty and a representative of the school of metaphysics.

Yang Quan was a scholar of the state of Wu. In 280 ad, Yang was conquered by the Western Jin Dynasty. He soon wrote in seclusion, imitating Yang Xiong's 14 volumes of taixuanjing, 16 volumes of theory of things and 2 volumes of collection.

Life of the characters

Yang Quan, named Deyuan, was born in Suiyang, the state of Liang in the Western Jin Dynasty. In his early years, he entered Wu from Liang Dynasty in the period of war, so his activities were mainly in the area of Wu and Yue.

In the first year of Taikang (AD 280), before the Western Jin Dynasty destroyed Wu, Yang Quan lived in Kuaiji. When he was in Wu, he was unwilling to be an official. After entering Jin Dynasty, Zhu Ze, the Minister of Kuaiji, wrote to Emperor Wu of Jin Dynasty, saying that "Yang Quanqing is natural, but he will never change his mind.". The court of Jin Dynasty "summoned and worshiped the doctor of spring". (see volume 63 of Yu Shinan's Beitang shuchao cited Jin Lu). Therefore, in Sui Shu Jingji Zhi, Yang Quan was called "Jin Zhengshi" and "Jin Chushi". All his life, Yang Quan did not cooperate with the aristocratic class and lived in seclusion in the mountains. Because he lived in seclusion all the year round and did not seek fame, there was no biography of him in the history books, and it was impossible to find out the date of his birth and death, his family background and his life story.

Main ideas

Qi monism

As early as the Western Zhou Dynasty, the thought of Qi monism had come into being. Yang Quan further adhered to and developed the Qi monism, which was in fundamental opposition to the metaphysicians' advocating that "everything in the world is based on nothing". He once said very contemptuously: "a man's empty talk is just like a frog in spring and a cicada in autumn." (theory of things) Yang Quan insisted on the monism of Qi, which promoted the materialist trend of thought opposite to metaphysics in Wei and Jin Dynasties.

Recognition of phonetic symbols

Through the analysis of pictophonetic characters, Yang Quan found that the phonetic symbols of pictophonetic characters are not only dominant, but also dominant. In the theory of things, he said: "in Jin Yuejian, in grass, it is tight, in people, it is virtuous." Yang Quan has realized the connection of "firm", "tight" and "virtuous" in the sense of the sound from "Bi". Yang Quan's understanding of the function of phonetic symbols of pictophonetic characters opened up a way for the later scientific and systematic study of cognates.

View of nature

Yang Quan's natural view of Qi is opposite to Wang Bi's metaphysics and Prajna's world view of nothing. Yang Quan affirmed the objectivity of the natural law, and enriched the theory of the relationship between man and nature of simple dialectics with his extensive summary of production knowledge such as agriculture and handicraft industry. This is a progress in philosophical thinking compared with Wang Chong's theory of natural destiny. Following Huan Tan and Wang Chong, he adhered to the materialist concept of form and spirit, clearly opposed the free talk of the northern scholars, and denounced the whole trend of metaphysics.

Cosmology

There are three theories about the structure of celestial bodies in the universe from the pre Qin Dynasty to the Han Dynasty. One is "Gaitian theory" represented by Zhoubi Suanjing, which holds that "the sky is as round as Zhang Gai, and the place is as chess". One is the "huntian theory" represented by luoxiahong and Zhang Heng, which holds that "huntian is like a chicken, the celestial body is round like a bullet, the earth is yellow like a chicken, and it lives alone inside, the sky is big and the earth is small. There is water in the surface of the sky, and the earth in the sky is like yellow in the shell. (notes to Zhang Heng's armillary sphere) the other is the Xuanye theory represented by Xi Meng, who holds that "when the sky is empty, you can look up at it, and you can't see it far away, and you can't see it clearly The sun, the moon and the stars are naturally floating in the void. They need Qi to move and stop. " According to Yang Quan's comparative study of these three theories, it is found that the theory of "Gaitian" and "huntian" do not conform to the reality. Yang Quan prefers the theory of "Xuanye". He once said: "the vitality is great, it is called Haotian. Haotian is full of vitality. However, Haotian has nothing else. " He also said, "the earth is visible, but the sky is invisible. For example, the sky is gray, the smoke is above, and the dust is below." (theory of things) Yang Quan believes that the universe is full of "vitality", and there is nothing but Haoda's "vitality". With the metaphor of ash and smoke, he vividly explained the difference between solid and gas, that is, the earth and the sky. This is the philosophical generalization of "Xuanye theory".

Representative works

Yang Quan wrote a lot in his life. It mainly reflected the new style of study in Jiangnan area at that time, and promoted the materialistic monism based on natural science. "Sui Shu · Jing Ji 3" records: "Liang You Yang Zi's" theory of things "16 volumes, Yang Zi's" Tai Xuan Jing "14 volumes, and Jin Zhengshi Yang Quan wrote." "Sui Shu · Jing Ji 4" also describes: "Jin Chushi's" Yang Quan Ji "two volumes, and" Lu "one volume." Yang Quan's works were widely spread in China during the northern and Southern Dynasties, Sui, Tang and Northern Song dynasties. Unfortunately, most of Yang Quan's works were lost in the Southern Song Dynasty. However, it has been widely quoted in various books and partially preserved, so we can have a glimpse of the main idea of Yang Quan. Until the Qianjia period of the Qing Dynasty, first Zhang Fengzhi had a collection of Yang Quan's theory of things. Later, sun Xingyan "revised it again to make up for what he had not prepared", compiled it into a volume and engraved it into the Pingjin Museum series. In addition, Ma guohan compiled more than ten taixuanjing by Yang Quan, which were included in yuhanshanfang collection; Yan Kejun also compiled six Fu and one essay by Yang Quan, which were included in the whole three national essays.

evaluate

On the one hand, Yang Quan affirmed the objectivity of "the nature of heaven and earth, the principle of nature", on the other hand, he affirmed that man has the subjective initiative to use and transform nature. This is a relatively scientific conclusion on the relationship between man and nature, and also a tit for tat confrontation with the fatalism advocated by the metaphysicians at that time. In addition, Yang Quan's excellent style of study, which goes deep into practice, attaches importance to the knowledge of agriculture, handicrafts and other scientific and technological production, and emphasizes "the task of good agriculture" and "the skill of craftsmen", is also commendable.

Chinese PinYin : Yang Quan