Wang Tanzhi 王坦之

Wang Tanzhi 王坦之 (330-375), courtesy name Wendu 文度, was a minister and philosopher of the Eastern Jin period 東晉 (317-420).

He was the son of Wang Shu 王述 (303-368). By the time he reached adulthood, he was already as renowned as Xi Chao 郗超 (336-378). Emperor Jianwen 晉簡文帝 (r. 371-372) appointed him as a clerk (yuan 掾), and he was later promoted to staff officer (canjiang 參軍). He served as an aide (changshi 長史) under Huan Wen 桓溫 (312-373) and was eventually invested as Marquis of Lantian 藍田侯.

He held the post of General of the Left Guard (zuowei jiangjun 左衛將軍) and concurrently served as the Grand Rectifier (da zhongzheng 大中正) of education of his home province. He was then gentleman for attendance (congshi zhonglang 從事中郎), Cavalier Attendant-in-ordinary (sanji changshi 散騎常侍) and Palace Attendant (shizhong 侍中). When Emperor Jianwen was on his deathbed, he issued an edict appointing Huan Wen as regent, but Wang Tanzhi destroyed the edict and fabricated a new one. After Emperor Xiaowu 晉孝武帝 (r. 372-396) ascended the throne, he and Xie An 謝安 (320-385) jointly served as regents for the young emperor.

He was promoted to Director of the Palace Secretariat (zhongshu ling 中書令), metropolitan magistrate (yin 尹) of Danyang 丹陽, and appointed as the Commander-in-chief (dujun 督軍) of the forces in the provinces of Xuzhou 徐州, Yanzhou 兗州, and Qingzhou 青州, while also serving as the regional inspector (cishi 刺史) of Xuzhou and Yanzhou.

A devout Buddhist, he maintained a close friendship with monks. He was also an adherent of legalist philosophy and disapproved of the indulgent trends of the time. He believed that the teachings of the Daoist Zhuangzi 莊子 (trad. 369-286 BCE) did more harm than good and authored a work titled Fei Zhuang lun 廢莊論 "Critique of Zhuangzi", in which he criticized Daoist writings as "bizarre in expression and grandiose in meaning" (qi yan guijue, qi yi huidan 其言詭譎，其義恢誕). He argued that Zhuangzi's philosophy was a solitary creation, "singing of emptiness with no one to echo it", composed without emotional resonance, biased in principle and limited in application. He asserted that ever since Zhuangzi's works emerged, social customs have declined, causing "people to regard self-restraint as shameful and scholars to consider aimlessness as sophistication" (ren yi ke ji wei chi, shi yi wu cuo wei tong 人以克己為恥，士以無措為通). Therefore, he concluded that Zhuangzi's teachings "have brought little benefit to the world, but much harm".

Instead, he advocated for reverence toward Confucianism, emphasizing the importance of honoring ritual to elevate transformation, and applying it in daily life to shape custom. Yet, he also acknowledged a Daoist element, stating that Confucius certainly grasped the profound, but in grasping the profound, he employed the practical, and that when accomplishments were achieved and tasks were fulfilled, the common people all said, "We did this naturally." (wo zi ran 我自然) This reveals a syncretic tendency — while prioritizing Confucian values, he also recognised the subtle influence of Daoist thought.