Dai Zhen

Dai Zhen was a Qing-dynasty scholar from Anhui, a leading figure in evidential learning (kaozheng), who worked in Beijing on philology, mathematics and astronomy. In his commentary on the key terms of the Mencius he attacked the Cheng–Zhu account of principle, arguing that a moral learning which suppresses desire is itself harmful. For Dai, principle is found in feelings and desires when they are rightly ordered, not set against them.

Key ideas

• Principle (li) is not a thing above desires but the right ordering of feelings and desires.
• Using principle to suppress desire can itself become a source of cruelty.
• Moral understanding grows through careful study and the sympathetic weighing of others' feelings.
• Ancient texts must be read through exact philological study rather than later metaphysical overlay.

Major works

• Yuan shan (Inquiry into Goodness)
• Mengzi ziyi shuzheng (Evidential Commentary on the Meanings of Terms in the Mencius)

In the conversation

• Debate Dai Zhen was right: moral principle used to crush desire is itself a cruelty Lin Pei-shan · 5 replies