Qing dynasty philosopher and philologist who critiqued Neo-Confucian metaphysics — particularly the principle-desire (li-yu) opposition — arguing that principles are discovered through desires and feelings, not opposed to them.
Critiqued the Cheng-Zhu school's opposition of li (principle) and yu (desire): desire is not the enemy of the good but its vehicle; moral cultivation means cultivating the ability to extend feeling, not suppress it. Developed an empiricist philological approach to classical texts.
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