Wang Chong (27 to about 97), named Zhongren, was a native of Shangyu in Kuaiji (now part of Zhejiang). His ancestors migrated from Yuancheng, Wei County to Kuaiji. Wang Chong became an orphan when he was young, and the villagers praised him for his filial piety. Later, he went to the capital and studied at Taixue (the highest institution of higher learning in the central government), where he became a disciple of Ban Biao, a native of Fufeng. Wang Chong takes Taoism's natural inaction as the purpose of his argument, and takes "Heaven" as the highest category of the Taoist view of Heaven. Taking "qi" as the core category, natural gasifications such as vitality, essence, and harmony constitute a huge universe generation model, which is in opposition to the theory of induction of heaven and man. He demonstrated the characteristics of Taoism in advocating natural life and death, advocating sparse burials, and rebelling against deified Confucianism. He verified his statements with facts and made up for the shortcomings of Taoism's empty talk. He was an important inheritor and developer of Taoist thought in the Han Dynasty. Although Wang Chong's thought belongs to Taoism, it is strictly different from the thought of Lao and Zhuang in the pre-Qin Dynasty. Although he was the advocate of Taoism in the Han Dynasty, it is different from the "School of Huang and Lao" advertised by the early Han Dynasty and the popular Taoism among the people in the late Western Han Dynasty. "Lunheng" is Wang Chong's representative work and an immortal atheistic work in Chinese history.

Wang Chong's 100 famous sayings:

Those who pursue the teachings of sages and teach benevolence and righteousness should be blessed.

Those who are rewarded and trusted are only appreciated and used by the monarch; those who are punished and doubted are only reprimanded and demoted by the monarch.

Those who are slandered are not necessarily bad people, and those who are hidden are not necessarily good people.

Some plants die before autumn, and some die after autumn. This is the same as some people die when they are over a hundred years old, and some people die before they are a hundred years old.

Wangye and hegemony are both the business of governing the country, but they have different names for the advantages and disadvantages; longevity and short life are both the same kind of qi, but the length of life is different.

If you fail to achieve kingship, you may be able to dominate by taking a step back.

Heaven and earth give birth to all things, but some of them do not grow up; parents give birth to children, and some children do not grow up.

When people receive qi, some are full and strong, while others are deficient and weak. Whoever is full and strong will live long; whoever is weak and weak will lose his life.

No matter how hard you encounter, you will feel tired and short of breath even when you are at home. This is because you have used up the little energy you have endured.

Some people’s temperaments can be perfected without being taught, while others can’t be perfected even if they are taught.

If you are destined to be rich and honorable, you can get it without asking for anything.

The blessings determined by the fate of wealth cannot be pursued; the misfortunes determined by the fate of poverty cannot be eliminated at will.

Wealth cannot be obtained by strategy, and eminence cannot be achieved by talent. No matter how profound your resourcefulness is, you will not be able to make a fortune, and no matter how superb your talent is, you will not be able to become a high official.

Fate cannot be forced to change, and fortune cannot be obtained through hard work.

How to deal with things wisely or stupidly, and whether one behaves innocently or dirtyly is a matter of moral attributes and talents.

High talents and dignified conduct may not necessarily guarantee wealth; low intelligence and bad moral character may not necessarily guarantee poverty.

Wealth seems to have gods to help, poverty and poverty seem to have ghosts to harm.

If you are destined to be noble, you will naturally gain wealth from a humble position; if you are destined to be poor, you will naturally decline from a wealthy position.

Any person who happens to cater to the monarch or his superiors and is favored and favored, as well as suffers harm from the countryside and the court, is all due to fate.

In terms of imperfection, beautiful jade is said to have spots, and pearls are said to be defective.

A gentleman will not have such evil as Mount Tai; no good deeds will be as good as hair, but a villain will not have it.