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Document Details : Title: Confucius in nauwe schoentjes Subtitle: De kritiek van Wang Chong Author(s): MANSVELT BECK, Burchard Journal: Tijdschrift voor Filosofie Volume: 82 Issue: 2 Date: 2020 Pages: 265-278 DOI: 10.2143/TVF.82.2.3287740 Abstract : In all of China’s history before the Cultural Revolution, there has been much critical discussion of the system Confucius is credited with devising, but very little criticism of the man himself. An exception is a chapter in the 1st century AD collection of culture-critical essays called Lunheng, 'Theories Weighed', by the iconoclastic philosopher Wang Chong. At a time when Confucius’s reputation was perhaps at its apex, Wang Chong saw fit to point out several all too human shortcomings not befitting an all-wise and quasi superhuman Great Sage. Claims that the chapter is false are easily refuted by looking at the rest of the Theories Weighed, where we see that for Wang Chong 'nothing was sacred'. Nevertheless, Confucius’s reputation did not suffer from Wang Chong’s attacks. |
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