Philosophy as Elevation of Spheres of Living: Understanding Z hang Shiying’s “The Myriad Things as One Body”

Abstract

Zhang Shiying 張世英 has been widely acclaimed as a master (dashi 大師) of philosophy in mainland China. His new claim of "the myriad things as one body" (wanwuyiti 萬物一體) remains greatly influential in philosophy and aesthetics. It cannot be categorized under Marxism, Western philosophy, or traditional Chinese philosophy, because it stands on its own right. As a creative synthesizing of the three traditions, Zhang's claim answers some important and immediate problems that China is facing. It is a pity that this claim seems unknown to the West. This article tries to introduce two crucial parts of the claim: its ontology and its theory of "spheres of living" (rensheng jingjie 人生境界).