Life

Wang was born into a poor family in modern Shangyu, Zhejiang. Born a son of Wang Song, he was admired in his local community for his filial piety and devotion to his father. With the urging of his parents, Wang travelled to the Eastern Han capital at Luoyang to study at the Imperial University. It was there that Wang became acquainted with the prestigious historian Ban Biao (3–54), the latter who initiated the Book of Han. He also befriended Ban Gu (32–92), the son of Ban Biao who made further contributions to the Book of Han. Since he was poor and lacked enough money to purchase proper texts of study, Wang had to resort to frequent visits to bookshops to acquire knowledge. Rafe de Crespigny writes that during his studies Wang was most likely influenced by contemporary Old Text realists such as Huan Tan (d. 28). Due to his humble origins, Wang became resentful of officials who were admired simply because of their wealth and power and not for any scholarly abilities.

Wang returned to his home commandery where he became a local teacher. He was elevated as an Officer of Merit, but due to his critical and quarrelsome nature he decided to resign from this position. Following this was a period of isolated retirement when Wang composed essays on philosophy, his Jisu ("On Common Morality"), Jeiyi ("Censures"), Zheng wu ("On Government"), and Yangxing shu ("On Macrobiotics"). About eighty of these essays were later compiled into his Lunheng ("Discourses Weighed in the Balance").

Despite his self-imposed retirement, he eventually accepted an invitation of Inspector Dong Qin (fl. AD 80–90) of Yang province to work as a Headquarters Officer. However, Wang soon resigned from this post as well. Xie Yiwu, a friend of Wang Chong's and a long-standing inspector and official, made an official recommendation to the court requesting that Wang serve as a senior scholar under Emperor Zhang of Han (r. 75–88). Emperor Zhang accepted this and summoned Wang Chong to appear at his court, yet Wang claimed ill health and refused to travel. Wang later died at home around the year 100.

Although Wang's rationalistic philosophy and criticism of so-called New Text Confucianism were largely ignored during his lifetime, the prominent official and later scholar Cai Yong (132–192) wrote of his admiration for Wang's written works. The politician Wang Lang (d. 228) acquired a copy of Wang's Lunheng and brought it with him on his trip in 198 to the Han court established at Xuchang by Prime Minister Cao Cao (155–220). As some of the questionable tenets of the philosophy of New Text Confucianism fell out of use and repute, Rafe de Crespigny states that the rationalist philosophy of Wang Chong became much more influential in Chinese thought.

Work and philosophy

Wang Chong reacted to the state that philosophy had reached in China. Daoism had long ago degenerated into superstition and magic, and Confucianism had been the state religion for some 150 years. Confucius and Laozi were worshipped as gods, omens were seen everywhere, belief in ghosts was almost universal, and fengshui had begun to rule people's lives. Wang derided all this and made a vocation of giving a rational, naturalistic account of the world and the human place in it.

At the centre of his thought was the denial that Heaven has any purpose for us, whether benevolent or hostile. To say that Heaven provides us food and clothing is to say it acts as our farmer or tailor — an obvious absurdity. Humans are insignificant specks in the universe and cannot hope to effect changes in it, and it is ludicrous arrogance to think that the universe would change itself for us.

Wang insisted that the words of previous sages should be treated critically, and that they were often contradictory or inconsistent. He criticized scholars of his time for not accepting this, as well as what he called the popular acceptance of written works. He believed that the truth could be discovered, and would become obvious, by making the words clear, and by clear commentary on the text.

One example of Wang's rationalism is his argument that thunder must be caused by fire or heat, and is not a sign of the heavens being displeased. He argued that repeatable experience and experiment should be tried before adopting the belief that divine will was involved.

He was equally scathing about the popular belief in ghosts. Why should only human beings have ghosts, he asked, not other animals? We are all living creatures, animated by the same vital principle. Besides, so many people have died that their ghosts would vastly outnumber living people; the world would be swamped by them. He never, however, explicitly denies the existence of ghosts (gui 鬼) or spirits (shen 神), he simply separates them from the notion that they are the souls of the dead. He seems to believe that the phenomena exist, but whatever they may be, they have no relation to the deceased.

People say that spirits are the souls of dead men. That being the case, spirits should always appear naked, for surely it is not contended that clothes have souls as well as men. (Lunheng)

Wang was just as rational and uncompromising about knowledge. Beliefs require evidence, just as actions require results. Anyone can prattle nonsense, and they'll always be able to find people to believe it, especially if they can dress it up in superstitious flummery. Careful reasoning and experience of the world are needed.

The Swedish linguist and sinologist Bernhard Karlgren called his style straightforward and without literary pretensions; in general, modern Western writers have noted that Wang was one of the most original thinkers of his time, even iconoclastic in his opinions. They note that he gained popularity in the early 20th century because his ideas correspond to those that later evolved in Europe. His writing is praised for being clear and well ordered. But, because there was no functioning scientific method or larger scientific discourse in his time, his formulations can seem alien to the modern eye — to some readers, even as peculiar as the superstitions that he was rejecting. But despite this barrier to his work, he gained some fame, though mostly after his death. He had an effect on what Karlgren called, the 'neo-Daoism' — a reformed Daoist philosophy with a more rational, naturalistic metaphysics, without much of the superstition and mysticism into which Daoism had fallen.

Early scientific thought

Meteorology

With his acute rationale and objective approach, Wang Chong wrote many things that would be praised by later modern sinologists and scientists alike as being modern-minded. For example, much like Greek polymath Aristotle's 4th century BC Meteorology portrayed the water cycle, Wang Chong wrote the following passage about clouds and rain:

Wang's reference to Gongyan Gao's (i.e. Gongyan Zhuan's) commentary perhaps demonstrates that Gongyan's work, compiled in the 2nd century BC, explored the topic of the hydrological cycle long before Wang wrote about the process. The British biochemist, historian, and sinologist Joseph Needham asserts that: "As to the seasonal lunar and stellar connections, the thought of Wang Chong (about 83 AD) is that in some way or other the cyclical behavior of the qi on earth, where water is distilled into mountain clouds, is correlated with the behavior of the qi in the heavens, which brings the moon near to the Hyades at certain times." Thus, Wang Chong was uniting classical Chinese thought with radically modern ways of scientific thinking in his day.

Astronomy

Similar to Han dynasty polymath contemporary Zhang Heng (78–139) and Chinese scholars before him, Wang discussed theories about the causation of eclipses, with solar eclipse and lunar eclipse. However, Wang Chong's theory went against the correct 'radiating influence' theory supported by Zhang Heng (that the light of the rounded moon was simply a reflection of the light emanating from the rounded sun). Writing little more than a century before Zhang Heng, the mathematician and music theorist Jing Fang (78–37 BC) wrote in the 1st century BC:

Zhang Heng wrote in his Ling Xian (Mystical Laws) of 120 AD:

Going against the grain of the accepted theory, and thinking more along the lines of the 1st century BC Roman philosopher Lucretius, Wang Chong wrote:

Although Wang Chong was certain of his ideas about eclipses (without the knowledge of how gravity forms naturally large spherical bodies in space), his ideas on this would not be later accepted in China. Although there were some figures like Liu Chi, writing in his Lun Tian (Discourse on the Heavens) of 274 AD that supported Wang's theory by arguing the inferior Yin (moon) could never obstruct the superior Yang (sun), Liu was still outside of the mainstream accepted Confucian tradition. The Song Dynasty (960-1279) polymathic scientist Shen Kuo (1031–1095) supported the old theory of a spherical sun and moon by using his own reasoning about eclipses, which he explained were due to the moon and the sun coming into obstruction of one another. The Song dynasty Chinese philosopher Zhu Xi (1130–1200) also supported this theory in his writing. Although Wang Chong was right about the water cycle and other aspects of early science, his stern opposition to mainstream Confucian thought at the time made him a skeptic of all their theories, including eclipses (the Confucian-accepted model being correct).

生平

由于史料缺乏，王充的生平还存在诸多争议。例如：乡里称孝问题、师事班彪问题、谢夷吾上书推荐王充才学问题等等。根据《后汉书·王充传》与《论衡·自纪》，比较可靠的是：王充是会稽上虞人，祖先原籍魏郡元城（与王莽同籍）。年轻时来到洛阳太学学习，拜班彪为师，曾亲眼目睹汉朝皇帝前往辟雍，同时王充写下《六儒论》。做过县掾功曹等职位，但可能常与长官不合，而屡次辞官（「仕数不耦」）。因官场不遇，故退而勤于著述，抒写怀抱（「徒著书自纪」）。晚年又任州治中和从事，后来可能因为老病而辞职回家。同郡友人谢夷吾向朝廷推荐王充，汉章帝下令用公车徵召，王充因生病未能成行。七十岁左右，王充有感于年老衰病，著《养性书》一书，为的是追求养生延年。《论衡》一书，由青年写到老年，应是他一生心血所聚。王充最终在家去世。上虞乌石山（今上虞章镇滨笕枪山）有王充墓。

著作

《论衡》一书的精神在「疾虚妄」（〈佚文〉）。疾虚妄，疾的是「起众书并失实，虚妄之言胜真美也」（〈对作〉）。汉朝是个谶纬符籙盛行的朝代，王充由于看到了世传儒书充斥著荒谬，民间言谈充斥著迷信，像《淮南子》就记载共工怒触不周之山，使天柱折，地维绝；尧时十日并出，尧上射九日等荒诞的故事。而这等书籍传说，在民间可谓比比皆是。所以王充感到「心濆涌，笔手扰，安能不论？」而论述的方法则是：「论则考之以心，效之以事，浮虚之事，辄立证验。」（〈对作〉）所以，《论衡》一书的方法可说是讲求理性逻辑思辨以检验的方法。〈薄葬〉篇说：「事莫明于有效，论莫定于有证。空言虚语，虽得道心，人犹不信。」他接著又说：「唯圣心贤意，方比物类，为能实之。」所以，不但考之以心，考的还要是圣心贤意；效之以事。和西方或者讲实验、或者讲上帝的观点相比，王充继承了中国文化中这种源远流长的先进的方法论。强调了实践检验，而不只是实验检验。强调了类推、类比，通过类推、类比等方法比单纯的实验能更有效的找到能符合实践的答案。

评价

王充是个极富争议的人物，历来评价两端。《四库全书总目提要》贬重于褒，认为：「其言多激……，露才扬己，好为物先，……然大抵订伪砭俗，中理者多，亦殊有裨于风教。」但最终认为《论衡》只是个谈助之书。章炳麟《检论》则褒重于贬，认为王充：「作为《论衡》，趣以正虚妄，审乡背，怀疑之论，分析百专，有所发掷，不避上圣，汉得一人焉，足以振耻，至于今亦鲜有能逮者也。」但也说他：「然善为锋芒摧陷，而无枢要足以持守，惟内心之不光熲，故言辩而无继。」二十世纪后半以来，由于王充的批判性文风与唯物色彩特别受到青睐，正面的评价几已呈一面倒的局势。

注释

参考

• 《后汉书》·卷四十九　王充王符仲长统列传

• 黄晖，《论衡校释》，中华书局。

• 《上虞县志》