近現代研究張載哲學者，莫不以《正蒙》為詮釋主體。歸究其實，《正蒙》義理，乃張載內化《六經》後第二理序之呈現，並無法全面掌握張載學的基源問題。若與僅存的《橫渠易說》校讀，便能發現《正蒙》的義理脈絡，多與《橫渠易說》同源重出。而據《橫渠易說》將《正蒙》條目復歸於《易說．繫辭》原始條目下，應有釐清張載哲學的基源問題與義理脈絡的可能。 《宋元儒學案．敘錄》言及：張載「勇於造道」，但未明言所造何道。檢索張載存世文獻，將發現張載以《易傳》傳世之易道與《四書》相結合，建立「孔子之道」為其本體宇宙論的根據，藉以說明《論語．公冶長》孔子所未言之「性與天道」，進而與佛、老二氏較是非曲直。對於《易傳》形上學與孔孟心性論間應然、實然如何在張載哲學取得貫通，吾人應由張載所有存世文獻組織其義理脈絡，以此張顯張載學創發的義意。 「太虛」一詞，源於道書，張載以之為氣化論之核心概念。張載非以道家所規定宇宙論中虛無空間的使用，而是重新規定「太虛」的定義，使「太虛」合於其藉《易傳》抉發孔子「性與天道」的內涵。由《橫渠易說》與科本《周義正義》相校，便能發現張載所立「太虛之氣」：「虛實也、動靜也、聚散也、清濁也，一物兩體」其目的，正為對治「韓注孔疏」中的「援老入易」，以虛無為太極、為老子之道的謬誤。 對於張載以「虛」字言心性，看法分歧，有學者斷定乃受佛、道之影響，有以義理為《四書》、《易傳》故判定為儒學之正宗。上述問題，僅透過《正蒙》無法充分說明，應以《經學理窟》與《張子語錄》並讀，才能了解張載藉《論語．子罕》「四毋心虛」以立心體之義。而此「虛心」之體與《易傳》、《中庸》、《孟子》、《大學》相抉發而成「虛心之德」，相應「太虛之理」，並以天道性命相通之理，達天人合德，聖人成能。 Recent and contemporary scholars who have studied the philosophy of Zhang Zai all use his book “Zheng Meng” as their explanatory subject. However, the doctrine of “Zheng Meng” is not sufficient to cover the basics of Zhang Zai’s philosophy. In fact, the origins of “Zheng Meng” and Zhang Zai’s other book “Heng Qu Yi Shuo” are the same. If we look at “Heng Qu Yi Shuo” and trace the contents of “Zeng Meng” back to that of the book “Ji Ci” , the philosophical fundamentals and doctrine of Zhang Zai can then be further understood.
From the existing writings of Zhang Zai, we can find out that he created the Theory of Ontological-Cosmology from the Theory of Confucius, coupled with the books “Yi Chuan” and “Four Books” by Explaining the concepts of Human Nature and the Way of Heaven, which were never mentioned by Confucius, Zhang Zai further debated his theory against Buddhism and Taoism.
The term “the Great Void” is originally from the Text of Taoist Canon. Zhang Zai used the term as the core concept of Chi’s Idea. While he did not further develop the thoughts of Taoism, Zhang Zai re-defined the concept of the Great Void and made the concept closely meet the intrinsic thinking of Confucius’ concepts about Human Nature and the Way of Heaven. Referring to the contents of “Heng Qu Yi Shuo” and “Zhou Yi Zheng Yi” , we can find that Zhang Zai’s motive to create “Chi of the Great Void” was to criticize the errors made by Lao-Tzu Study’s explanation on the book “The Book of Change” and to further restore the intrinsic thinking of Confucianism.
Researchers currently hold diverse points of view regarding Zhang Zai’s discussions on human nature by the word of Void. Some have concluded that Buddhism and Taoism influenced Zhang Zai and the others thought that Zhang Zai’s doctrine was based on “Four Books” and “The Book of Change”. However, those arguments have not fully explained Zhang Zai’s opinions about the term “Void” if one has only studied “Zheng Meng”. In fact, we should reference his other books “Jing Xue Li Ku” and “Zhang Zi Yu Lu” so we can understand more about the reasons why Zhang Zai developed the Theory of Ontology of Human Nature based on the concept of “Si Wu Xin Xu”, which is directly from the book “Analects of Confucius”.
