Brief Survey of the Differences within the Nonbeing Faction of the School of Metaphysics

The School of Metaphysics (Xuanxue) of the Wei-Jin period was an important link in the history of the development of Chinese philosophical thought. Although there have been studies analyzing the birth and development of the Wei-Jin School of Metaphysics, up to the present there has been little discussion of the differences existing within the Nonbeing Faction (Guiwupai) of the School of Metaphysics. The Nonbeing Faction of the School of Metaphysics is generally conceived of as being composed of He Yan, Wang Bi, Wang Yan, and others, among whom Wang Bi is often regarded as the principal representative of this group, which is thought of as using "Nonbeing is the foundation" or "honor Nonbeing" as the intellectual weapon of the powerful gentry of their times. But we feel that this view would appear to be rather oversimplified. An analysis of the extant historical sources shows that there were differences in many different areas among those generally belonging to the Nonbeing Faction.