Confucian scholar Wang Chuanshan's idea of history has philosophical profundity and is worth careful study today. With the aim to reassess its rich meanings and contemporary values, this paper focuses on discussing the appropriate interpretative approaches to Wang Chuanshan's writings, and then by referring to Wang Chuanshan's writings, and then by referring to Mr. Lao Siguang's study, it offers a new view on Wang's ideas. In the first part, the paper argues that there are various causes, which would result in a misinterpretation of Wang's views. the most important of all is that the interpreter lacks historical insight and an adequate understanding of Chinese culture, and consequently, the interpreter is unable to comprehend fully the textual, historical and philosophical meanings of Wang's writings. In the second part, the paper reconsiders Wang Cdhuanshan's theroy of the relation between li (pattern-principle) and shi (historical trend), arguing that contemporary Chinese scholar Lao Siguang's interpretation of Wang's ideas is debatable. The author believes that the new interpretation offered in this paper is helpful to achieve a real understanding of the meanings of Wang's historical thinking. The paper finally contends that the above discussion has illustrated that to have a "comprehensive pre-understanding" -the important methodological technique of hermeneutics-is a necessary step to avoid prejudice in intellectual inquiry.