Zhang Dai Nian's research on Zhang Zai runs through the 1930s to 1990s. It can be roughly divided into three stages, each of which has its own historical significance. Zhang Dainian positioned Zhang Zai's cosmology with Qi or materialism, which not only highlighted the transcendence of Qi, but also opened up the three systems of Taoism in song and Ming Dynasties. He also shows his theory of life from the aspects of the unity of Tian and man, the dualism of Xing, the theory of mind and the theory of life ideal. He also explains his characteristic theory of knowledge from the types, sources and scope of knowledge, the standard of true knowledge and the method of cognition. Furthermore, by investigating the relationship between Guan and Luo, as well as the publication and circulation of Zhang Zai's works, Zhang Dai Nian lay a solid foundation for Zhang Zai's philosophical research. These are the outstanding progress of studying Zhang Zai in the form of modern philosophy. In view of Zhang Dainian's position on Zhang Zai's theory of Qi and materialism, the later academic circles either inherited and developed, or criticized and questioned. The pluralistic pattern of research approaches can show different aspects of Zhang Zai's philosophy from multiple dimensions, and hence it is worth being advocated.
