Abstract

1. Kuan Chung's Naive Materialist View of NatureKuan Chung was an outstanding practical politician of ancient China whose philosophical thought is infused and interwoven with his political theories. On the basis of his extant writings, we know that Kuan Chung did not put special emphasis on discussion of the "view of nature." But at the time he lived, the serious question of whether or not Heaven was "purposeful" [i.e., responded to human affairs by means of "visitations" or "prodigies"] did have a direct bearing on his political essays and the actual political measures he carried out. Moreover, this question had a direct bearing on production. Thus, Kuan Chung could not help but supply an answer. Although Kuan Chung never wrote a special essay concerning his view of nature, his political essays are permeated with a clearly recognizable "simple materialist" interpretation of nature. His answer to the question of whether or not Heaven was purposeful is clear