The Discussions of Talent and Human Nature in the Wei-Jin Period

The dispute over “cai” and “xin” (talent and character) provides the ideal model of the sage in Neo-Daoism. The ideas of Laozi and Zhuangzi, together with the Buddhist teaching of prajna (wisdom) and nirvana are at the core of xuanxue between the Han and Jin dynasties; but the main idea is to distinguish the principles of “ben” (root/base) and “mo” (branches/phenomena), “you” (the present) and “wu” (the non-present). Through a convergence between Confucianism and Daoism, Wang Bi synthesized the concept of the ideal man — Kungzi (孔子), not Laozi. Since the discussion of the talent and the character is similar in nature with the main topic of xuanxue — the substance (“benti”), they are united in a common ontological model. Anthropology in the teaching of “xuan” is closely related to ontology; in fact, the latter grounds the theory of human nature. The end of the dispute about “cai” and “xin” approaches the problem of humanity precisely from an ontological point of view — the pattern of the ideal personality.