author
Zhen Dai
1724–1777
A leading thinker of Qing-era China, this scholar brought sharp, evidence-based reading to Confucian learning and became especially known for his work on language, history, and philosophy. His writing helped shape later debates about how classical texts should be understood.
1 Audiobook
孟子字義疏證
by Zhen Dai
About the author
Born in Xiuning in Anhui province in 1724, Dai Zhen was a Qing dynasty scholar whose interests ranged across philosophy, philology, mathematics, and textual study. He is often remembered as one of the most important intellectuals of his time, with a reputation for careful scholarship and close attention to evidence.
Much of his work focused on recovering the meaning of classical Chinese texts through language and historical context rather than relying only on inherited commentary. That approach made him a major figure in the evidential research tradition, and his ideas influenced later scholars well beyond his own lifetime.
Late in life, his scholarly reputation earned him a place as a compiler for the great imperial library project, the Siku Quanshu. He died in Beijing in 1777, but his work continued to matter both to readers of Confucian thought and to anyone interested in how rigorous textual study can change the understanding of a tradition.