A Complete Reading of Wang Fuzhi's Record of Questions and Reflections

Records of Thought and Inquiry is another major work by Wang Fuzhi, alongside Commentary on Zhang Zai's Correcting Ignorance. It carries his profound insights and reflections on the universe, human life, and society, leaving a precious legacy for later generations.

Wang Fuzhi lived through the turbulent transition between the Ming and Qing dynasties. The dramatic changes in society prompted him to reflect deeply on many issues, and Records of Thought and Inquiry was born in this context. The work is divided into an Inner Chapter and an Outer Chapter. The Inner Chapter focuses on core philosophical questions such as the mind and human nature, morality, and principle and material force. The Outer Chapter covers a wide range of subjects, including historical and political commentary, as well as discussions of natural phenomena.

Philosophically, Wang Fuzhi upheld monism of material force, holding that material force is the origin of all things in the universe and that principle exists within material force: principle is the pattern governing its movement and change. This view vigorously criticized the idealist claim of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism that principle comes before material force. On the relationship between knowledge and action, he maintained that action comes before knowledge, and that knowledge and action support and complement each other. He emphasized the importance of practice in the process of understanding, breaking with the traditional Confucian tendency to value knowledge over action.

In his view of history, Wang Fuzhi demonstrated a strong dialectical perspective. He believed history is constantly developing and changing according to its own laws. He put forward the concepts of