Learning and Thinking Process of Guan Zhidao, a Confucian in the Late Ming Dynasty

Guan Zhidao was an outstanding figure among the Confucians in the late Ming Dynasty. He devoted his life to promoting the dialogue among the three religions and making notes and commentaries for the Confucian classics, leaving behind a huge number of works. However, under the traditional academic standards, Guan’s theoretical contribution has not been fully recognized and fairly evaluated. Although scholars have gradually paid attention to Guan and his learning since modern times, there is still relatively few relevant studies. In the course of more than 70 years of life, Guan spent half of his life searching, and went through several thought turns before he found his spiritual destination. By investigating Guan’s entire learning and thought process in stages and over time, we can see the origin of his thought and the general picture of his doctrines, as well as the driving force and trend of the multi-dimensional development of Confucianism in the late Ming Dynasty.