Abstract

COSTANTINI, Filippo. The critique of Buddhist metaphysics in the philosophical system of Zhang Zai. Estud. Asia Áfr. [online]. 2019, vol.54, n.1, pp.5-26. ISSN 2448-654X.  https://doi.org/10.24201/eaa.v54i1.2354.

One of the main ideas of the the eleventh-century neo-Confucian movement is the necessity to remove heterodox doctrines’ influence on Chinese intellectuals. The majority of Confucian philosophers strongly believe in the necessity to restore original Confucian thought to go against Daoist and Buddhist theories. The Song philosopher Zhang Zai is a key figure in this context. In this paper, I will show that Zhang Zai’s rejection of Buddhism is not only central to his philosophy, but can be also understood as lying at the core of his metaphysical and ethical theories.

Keywords : Chinese philosophy; neo-Confucianism; Zhang Zai; Buddhism; metaphysics.