Fàn Zhěn (范縝, hanyupinyin Fàn Zhěn) (c. 450 - 515) was a Chinese philosopher,

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

. He was an atheist of the Southern Qi Dynasty, remembered today for his treatise ''Shén Miè Lùn'' (

simplified Chinese Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to: Mathematics Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one, that is simpler (usually shorter), for example * Simplification of algebraic expressions, ...

神灭论,

traditional Chinese A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays ...

神滅論, "On the Annihilation of the

Soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

"). Fàn was born into a poor family in today's

Zhumadian Zhumadian (; postal: Chumatien) is a prefecture-level city in southern Henan province, China. It borders Xinyang to the south, Nanyang to the west, Pingdingshan to the northwest, Luohe to the north, Zhoukou to the northeast, and the province of An ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

province. He was a member of a cadet branch of the elite Fàn family, and became a high-ranking official thanks to his erudition. In response to the prevailing

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

movement of his time, he wrote ''Shen Mie Lun'' in 507, a treatise denying the ideas of

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is ...

and body-soul dualism. A

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the official ...

tried to persuade Fàn to give up his opinion, in exchange for a higher official title, but Fàn refused.

Emperor Wu of Liang Emperor Wu of Liang () (464 – 12 June 549), personal name Xiao Yan (蕭衍), courtesy name Shuda (叔達), childhood name Lian'er (練兒), was the founding emperor of the Chinese Liang dynasty, during the Northern and Southern dynasties peri ...

, displeased with the subject of Fàn's work, made an imperial decree (敕答臣下神滅論) to criticize the treatise, and ordered 64 of his courtiers to answer Fàn back. 75 pamphlets were produced against ''Shen Mie Lun''. Fàn did not surrender, though, and wrote back to hold fast to his opinion. The debate failed to disprove the dissertation, and Fàn Zhěn was exiled by the emperor as a heretic. In ''Shen Mie Lun'', Fàn writes that: *"The soul is the body; the body is the soul. There is the body, there is the soul; when the body annihilates, so does the soul."（神即形也，形即神也。是以形存則神存，形謝則神滅也。） *"The body is the substance of the soul; the soul is the effect of the body. That means the body refers to the substance, and the soul the effect. The body and the soul is one."（形者神之質，神者形之用，是則形稱其質，神言其用，形之與神，不得相異也。） *"The soul to the substance is like sharpness to a blade; the body to the effect is like a blade to its sharpness. The blade and its sharpness do not share the same name. However, there is no blade without its sharpness, and no sharpness without the blade. As there is no sharpness without a knife, it is impossible for a soul to exist without its body."（神之於質，猶利之於刃，形之於用，猶刃之於利，利之名非刃也，刃之名非利也。然而舍利無刃，舍刃無利，未聞刃沒而利存，豈容形亡而神在。）

Bibliography

External links

Biography and text of ''Shen Mie Lun''
515 deaths 6th-century Chinese philosophers 5th-century births 5th-century Chinese philosophers Chinese atheism activists Atheist philosophers Chinese essayists Chinese non-fiction writers Critics of Buddhism Critics of religions Liu Song dynasty people Northern and Southern dynasties philosophers Northern and Southern dynasties politicians Philosophers of mind Philosophers of religion Political philosophers Pre–17th-century atheists Southern Qi politicians Southern Qi writers {{China-philosopher-stub