Zhang Taiyan and Ma yifu—A Comparative Study of Their Views on Chinese Learning

Zhang Taiyan and Ma Yifu were distinguished masters of Chinese learning. However, they two had different research interests and their understanding and interpretations of Chinese learning were different, too. Zhang Taiyan chose metaphysics as his ultimate destination by relating to ancient classics and returning to Buddhist law. Ma Yifu started from the learning of six arts and intergrated all scholarship into six arts by seeing it the content and core of Chinese learning. With regard to their different approaches, Zhang Taiyan, based on the study of th classics, held the positon that Chinese learning was to preserve the essence of Chinese culture and protect the Chinese identity, while Ma Yifu, adopting the Confucian principle of idealist philosophy of the Song and Ming Dynasties, emphasized the revival of humanity and regarded Chinese learning to promote human cultivation. Different in spirit and purpose, their academic approaches reflected the complicacy of Chinese learning studies in the early years of the Republic of China.