中國近三百年間疑古思潮之湧動，其序幕拉開於經歷了明亡清興歷史大變故的刺激的清初。承繼著晚明東林士子對理學喜好思辨的形上學風之清算，清初學術界一致認定理學的「空言心性」即理學喜好形上學的思辨學風，是導致明朝滅亡之重要原因。從此出發，清初學術界更深掘造成理學形上學風之根源－理學之援釋、老入儒。故清初學術界遂以辟佛斥老為清算理學之重要內容。清初疑古思潮，即環繞在批判理學之形上學學風和辟佛斥老這兩個中心而展開的。其代表人物，陳確乾初，以《學辨》辟佛氏；閻若璩百詩，以《尚書古文疏證》斥老氏；胡渭朏明，以《易圖明辨》批判宋圖書派之援老氏入易學，從而從實證的方面充當了剿殺理學形上學風的學術刀斧手的角色。

　　　　　The archaist movement for the past nearly three hundred years began in the early Qing Dynasty in the wake of momentous changes like the fall of the Ming Dynasty and the creation of the Qing. Inheriting the Dong-lin scholars' liquidation of the metaphysical speculation of Neo-Confucianism in the late Ming Dynasty, the early Qing academia agreed that the Neo-Confucian metaphysical speculation on human nature directly led to the fall of the Ming Dynasty. Accordingly, the early Qing academia searched further for the origin of such a metaphysic trend-the introduction of Buddhism and the Lao-tzu school into Confucianism. Therefore, they made an effort to reject Buddhism and the Lao-tzu school. Those archaist thoughts revolve around the critique of Neo-Confucian metaphysics as well as the rejection of Buddhism and the Lao-tzu school, butchering the metaphysics of Neo-Confucianism from a positivist way.