Philosopher
Huang Zongxi
Overview
Huang Zongxi (Chinese: 黃宗羲; September 24, 1610 – August 12, 1695), courtesy name Taichong (太冲), was a Chinese naturalist, political theorist, philosopher, and soldier during the latter part of the Ming dynasty into the early part of the Qing.
He was the son of an adherent of the Donglin Movement who died in prison. In 1626, the teenaged Huang became a disciple of the philosopher Liu Zongzhou. In 1631, he started studying Chinese history. Huang was politically active as a Ming loyalist until his retirement in 1649, spending the rest of his life in study. A warrant for his arrest was issued after the rise to power of Ruan Dacheng, but he avoided capture through uncertain ways. He may have fled China to seek political refuge in Japan.
Huang's political text Waiting for the Dawn condemns selfish autocratic rule, and declares that the world should belong to the people. He argued that all laws and regulatory bodies should be an outgrowth of local needs, not imposed by leaders with a political agenda. He also described the need for a fiscal reform in the country, and a need for equitable land distribution.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).
Philosophers who discussed Huang Zongxi
Ideas Huang Zongxi discusses
- Liang Qichao
- Historiography
- Japan
- Beijing
- Yuan dynasty
- Imperial examination
- Qing dynasty
- Neo-Confucianism
- Ming dynasty
- Song dynasty
- Chinese philosophy
- Constitutional law
- Wang Yangming
- Zhejiang
- Liu Zongzhou
Place in the tradition
Part of Timeline of Eastern philosophers.