從思想史的觀點來看，清代學術乃與其前的宋明理學貴理賤氣、存天理去人欲的主流思想，正好對反，而往重氣、重情欲的方向發展，強調儒學傳統中的「博學於文」、「多學而識」之教。明末清初的王船山與乾嘉時期的戴東原，可說是這一時期學風中的重要代表人物，然其學有何異同？本論文分別從天道論、人性論、工夫論等三個問題上，對船山學與東原學的異同進行比較，試圖就兩家哲學主要觀點上的不同，做一詳盡的剖析辨白，以釐清二家之學各自的義理內涵與性格。

From the viewpoint of the history of thoughts, the academic studies of the Qing (清) Dynasty are opposite to the mainstream thoughts of Neo-Confucianism in the Song (宋) and Ming (明) Dynasties, which suggests preserving the Heavenly principle (the moral values) and discarding human desires. Instead, it develops towards a direction that values ＂Qi＂ (氣) and ＂Qingyu＂ (情欲, desire) and emphasizes traditional Confucianism, focusing on ＂being erudite in classic literatures＂ and ＂studying numerous and varied knowledge.＂ Wang Chuan-shan (王船山), living from the end of the Ming Dynasty into the early Qing Dynasty, and Dai Dong-yuan (戴東原), living during the reign of Qianlong (乾隆) and Jiaqing (嘉慶), are considered two important and representative scholars in the Qing Dynasty with influential doctrinal theories on ＂Qi.＂ What are the similarities and dissimilarities between the thoughts of these two thinkers? This thesis not only intends to compare the philosophical doctrines between Chuan-shan's and Dong-yuan's from three issues: moral metaphysics, humanity and practical theory, but also attempts to make a detailed analyses of their viewpoints and to clarify the implications of these two thinkers' arguments and the characters of their thoughts.