Critical Scholarship

During the Republican period, the influx of scientism brought an unprecedented crisis of legitimacy to Chinese metaphysics. Under the impact of the New Culture Movement and the May Fourth spirit, traditional numerology was fiercely criticized as 'feudal superstition.' Yet it was precisely this external pressure that prompted the metaphysical community to begin a conscious 'removing the false and preserving the true' movement: a group of metaphysicians with modern scholarly backgrounds attempted to examine traditional metaphysics with new academic standards, eliminating obviously absurd elements while preserving technically valid methods with empirical reasonableness. Yuan Shushan, Wei Qianli, and others rewrote metaphysical works in modern vernacular Chinese, introducing Western statistical and psychological concepts for explanation, attempting to find a new academic positioning for metaphysics.

Key Figures

Yuan Shushan — one of the most renowned metaphysicians of the Republican period, author of Mingli Tanyuan and Xuanji Tanyuan, examining the metaphysical tradition with a modern scholarly eye and pioneering a new style of metaphysical writing; Wei Qianli — a graduate of Fudan University, author of Qianli M ingao, writing metaphysical works in vernacular Chinese, influencing an entire generation of metaphysics learners

Important Works

Mingli Tanyuan — by Yuan Shushan, systematically investigating the historical origins of metaphysics, critically examining numerous spirit-nobles and ancient methods, attempting to establish a more 'pure' metaphysical knowledge system; Qianli Mingao — by Wei Qianli, introducing Ziping Bazi in modern vernacular and concise format, one of the most widely circulated metaphysical primers of the Republican period

Historical Significance

The critique and reflection of the Republican period were the inevitable growing pains of metaphysical modernization. Although the effort to remove the false and preserve the true did not fundamentally change the marginalized academic status of metaphysics, it fostered a more rational learning atmosphere, and vernacular writings lowered the barrier to the dissemination of metaphysical knowledge, allowing metaphysics to preserve its火种 through dramatic social transformation.