China Social Science Review

No.1, 2022

Pursuing Zhi (Governance): Academic Ideas and Value Requirements for New Zixue (New Study of the Masters)

(Abstract)

Fang Yong

The issue of dispersal of the “body” and absence of the “soul” has always existed in research on the thought of pre-Qin philosophers. “New zixue” carries on Sima Tan’s understanding that the different schools of pre-Qin philosophers all pursue zhi, and converge through “a hundred plans that achieve the same end.” In the modern context, pursuing zhi corresponds to a holistic understanding of the internal and external correlation of different forms of civilization. The modern perspective on zhi or civilization allows us to capture overall zixue, and thereby reflect the agency of Chinese culture, and also, through the internal diversity of zixue, to understand the inclusiveness of Chinese culture. As a result, new zixue has expanded from an academic concept to a cultural position.