Wang Chong established the most extensive and complex theoretical system of fate in the pre-Qin and Han dynasties, drawing upon Confucian and popular theories. The cores of Confucian and popular theories of fate lay respectively in moral cultivation and technical approaches, leaving room for human autonomy in determining fate. However, based on his own experience of unfulfilled potential and his admiration for the Daoist concept of “nature”, Wang Chong denied the causal relationship between individual behaviors and the occurrences of good or bad fortune. In this way, Wang Chong’s theory of fate deprived individuals of their initiative over destiny as found in Confucian tradition and popular beliefs, thus moving towards the extreme of fatalism. The theory of fate served as a key instrument for Wang Chong in his “opposition to falsehood and fallacy” (jixuwang 疾虚妄), occupying a significant position within the philosophical system of Lunheng. Through this theory, Wang Chong criticized the prevailing theories of the interaction between Heaven and humanity centered on moral principles, as well as the numerology and worship of ghosts and deities rooted in technical principles. In doing so, he set apart himself from traditional Confucian scholars, and laid important intellectual groundwork for the subsequent development of metaphysical discourse in China.
Xiaofei Ma (Fri,) studied this question.
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