unavoidable and an essential part of our nature. Indeed, he believed that desires are potentially beneficial, the moral nature of human beings being grounded in our feelings for others, and that problems only arise through lack of moderation. Wang believed that human desires are the main evidence of our relationship with the material world as material beings, and that human nature develops out of our initial material nature together with the changes that we undergo as a result of our interactions with the world we live in. Epistemology Wang laid great stress on the need for both experience and reason: we must study the world using our senses, and reason carefully about it. Knowledge and action are intertwined, and acting is the ground of knowing. The gaining of knowledge is a slow and laborious process, there are no instances of sudden enlightenment. Politics & history Even more than his materialism, Wang's views on politics and history brought him popularity in modern China. Government, he argued, should benefit the people, not those in power. History is a continuous cycle of renewal, involving the gradual progress of human society. There are periods of chaos and want as well as of stability and prosperity, depending on the degree of virtue of the emperor and of the people as a whole, but the underlying direction is upwards. It's the result of the natural laws that govern human beings and society. Wang believed that the power of the feudal landlords was evil, and should be weakened by higher taxation, which would also lead to an increase in numbers of land-owning peasants. Wang adopted a strong anti-Manchu stance in his writings and was remarkable for his systematic attempt to express his anti-Manchuism in a broad historical and philosophical context. He also insisted that the Chinese be distinguished from the non-Chinese, as both should stay in their own territories and respect the sovereignty of one another, in order to avoid the possibility of invasion or integration. Along with his Confucian thought, he also recognized a "need to operate the system", associated with Chinese Legalism. See also Chinese philosophy Confucianism Anti-Qing sentiment References Brian Carr & Indira Mahalingam [edd] Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy (1997: London, Routledge) Peter J. King One Hundred Philosophers (2004: Hove, Apple Press) Jacques Gernet "Philosophie et sagesse chez Wang Fuzhi (1619–1692)", in: Gernet L'intelligence de la Chine. Le social et le mental (1994: