A Preliminary Study on Zhang Taiyan's Taoist Thoughts——A Case Study of Jianlun

Zhang Taiyan was particularly passionate about Taoism,which could be obviously seen in his revision on Jianlun.Yuandao,which was originally intended to be listed in Jianlun,expounds Taoism distinctively and systematically.On the one hand,in Yuandao,Zhang Taiyan took Taoism as the origin and the core of the thoughts history prior to Qin Dynasty;on the other hand,Zhang Taiyan,with the language of Laozi-Zhuangzi's(the most important two founders of Taoism)metaphysics,illustrated his political philosophy: new version of Qiwulun.Wuchaoxue,written almost at the same time of Yuandao,vigorously defended the metaphysics in Wei and Jin Dynasties which originated from Laozi-Zhuangzi philosophy.Although Jianlun was not listed neither in Yuandao nor Wuchaoxue,its criticism on Taoism is definitely in tune with those of the two.Therefore,Zhang Taiyan was a revolutionary thinker with Taoist feelings.