魏源作为晚清今文经学的代表人物，长期以来都被放置在今古文之争的儒学思想史脉络中考察。但是魏源虽受今文经学影响，但其思想却杂糅了道家、佛家观念，而有新的创见。魏源以“经世”思想为枢纽，试图重新理解传统思想中的“体用论”，并以老子、《易》之“道”来重新充实被乾嘉之学淘空的清儒之道统，进而发扬公羊学的微言大义精神。而魏源的皈依佛教，也并非晚年的消极隐逸，而是其寻“道”之路的自然结果。但魏源所强调的“净土”观念虽然依托于华严宗的理事圆融观之下，但是却因历史意识的限制，无法将净土思想中的乌托邦性格通过人类世俗历史的脉络加以展开，这也使得他无法像康有为那样，能够借助佛教的“净土”思想来发展出具有现代乌托邦性格的大同思想。

As a representative of New Text Confucianism in the late Qing Dynasty, WEI Yuan has always been examined in Confucian history of the debate between Old Text Confucianism and New Text Confucianism. Although influenced by New Text Confucianism, WEI has also provided new insights through absorbing Taoism and Buddhism. Taking the idea of administering state affairs as the backbone, WEI tries to understand the categories of substance and function in a new way, enrich the Confucian tradition of his time with the dao in Laozi and the Book of Changes and promote the Gongyang practice of discovering deep meanings expressed with sublime words. As a natural result of his seeking for dao, WEI’s conversion to Buddhism does not mean he withdraws from society in his late ages. However, limited by his historical consciousness, WEI fails to develop the radical element of Utopia in his concept of “pure land” in the context of human secular history, although this concept is absorbed in the Huayan doctrine of the unity between things and principles. Similarly, he has not developed from the Buddhist concept of “pure land” an idea of great harmony characterized by Utopian, which can be seen in KANG You-wei.