ABSTRACT
Wang Ch’ung was born in Shang-yü, K’uai-chi (now Chekiang Province), China, in 27; he lived during the period of transition from orthodox Confucianism to popular NeoTaoism. During that time, China suffered a series of crop failures which resulted in widespread famine, and the country suffered from rebellions arising from the government’s inability to find a solution to its people’s problems. As a result, Confucianism, upon whose training advancement in the civil service was based, declined in popularity; the country began to search for another ideology. Without such a cohesive philosophy, the Chinese state and society would fragment and crumble.
