The De-metaphysical Interpretations on Metaphysics: A Brief commentary on Iso Kern's Study on Wang Bi

Through interpreting Iso Kern's study on Wang Bi's metaphysics, this article tries to show the peculiarities of his study that should be noticed. According to Kern, there are very important connections in Confucianism between the specific effectiveness of political and moral practices and the methods to solve the ontological problems of human nature. Confucians in Song and Ming dynasties attempted to understand thoroughly the relationship between practices' effectiveness and nature's metaphysics. This effort connects tightly with Wang Bi's thought. First of all, Wang Bi's philosophical means of expression are at service for his political and ethical concerns. The metaphysical aspect of Wang Bi's thought derives from the problem that political and moral effectiveness is so much tangled with specificities that it cannot embody the great effectiveness. Moreover, Wang Bi's contribution not only lies in the fact that he gives a new political and ethical meaning to Confucian thoughts through commentary to Laotsu, but also lies in the fact that he endows the new way of life and cultivation to Confucianism through commentary to Chuangtzu. More importantly, it is just through the commentary to Chuangtzu that Taoism of Laotsu,which was understood one-sided metaphysically(abstractly) before, becomes a supplement to Confucianism; in other word, it bridges Taoism and the Confucian theory which took Mencius as its center.