Neo-confucianism
From six-dynasties to Tang,
Buddhism and Daoism became flouring
Confucianism eclipsed
Buddhism as a foreign religion
Background
Daoism Buddhism
To attract people/ make it more appealingTo compete with the other two
Synthesis of 3 thought systems
confucianism
Cosmology, meditation, cultivation
Qi : physical basics, matter and energy, philosophical and scientific concept
Li: principle or patterns
Qi manifests itself according to Li Physical objects manifest themselves
according to its law or principle
Neo-Confucianism concepts
Temperature
Pattern or principle
Physical matters Gas Solid Liquid
Analogy
Two schools within the Neo-Confucianism
School of Principle: Chu-hsi ( 朱熹 )
School of Mind-heart: Wang Yangming ( 王阳明 )
Two Schools
Zhu Xi (Chu Hsi, 1130-1200)
The great synthesizer of Neo-Confucianism who combined the philosophies of earlier Song Neo-Confucian masters
The organizer of the “School of Principle” (lixue) within the Neo-Confucian tradition
The founder of Chinese intellectual tradition largely based on the education of the “Four Books” (1190).
The Analects of Confucius The Mencius The Great Learning The Doctrine of the Mean
Wrote commentaries for these four books Textbook for the civil service examination
Zhu Xi devoted forty years to the Four Books, writing commentaries on them until three days before he died.
His commentaries superseded other commentaries because of its new and innovative interpretations of Confucian ideas.
The foremost of Confucian teachers who conducted his education, spread his teaching, and reaffirmed Confucian tradition of teaching through private academy (shuyuan)
Aside from Confucius, the most influential Chinese philosopher/educator, whose influence extended to Korea, Vietnam, and Japan for many generations, till the present time.
White Deer Grotto Academy
Possible Zhu Xi’s calligraphy recently discovered, a thirty-page album, auction price $400,000
Jin si lu ( 近思录 )
Zhu’s synthesis of the philosophies of earlier masters is best illustrated/represented in his book called
Jin si lu ( 近思录 ) (Reflections on Things
Near at Hand)
compiled in 1175.
Jin si lu ( 近思录 ) is the first anthology of Neo-
Confucianism Its impacts outside of China:
8 Korean annotations from the 16th to 19th century
27 Japanese annotations from the 17th century to the present day
Partial stele inscription of Zhu Xi’s calligraphy
Chu-hsi refined the concept of Li (principle)
Clarified its relationship with Qi (the basic things, the matter or energy, material force)
Further developed the concept of Taiji (the Great Ultimate), by bringing the doctrine
of humaneness (humanity, ren) to culmination
The school of principle
• On the importance of li (principle): “As there is a thing, there is principle.” “Before heaven and earth existed, there
was principle.”
On the importance of qi (material force): “In the universe, there has never been any
material force without principle or principle without material force”
Qi ( 气 ) and Li ( 理 )
The Functions of Principle
Principle causes the mysterious union of yin and yang. It also causes the production and reproduction of myriad things and their unending transformation.
Because there are principles of activity and tranquility, material force becomes active or tranquil; it is because of these principles that there is activity which produced the material force of yang and there is tranquility which produced the material force of yin.”
格物致知
to study the phenomena of nature in order to acquire knowledge; to study the nature of things
And to be able to follow the three cardinal guides (ruler guides subject, father guides son and husband guides wife) and the five constant virtues
The way to understand the li
存天理 , 灭人欲 Keeping the Nature’s Law and putting out the
lust.
Nature’s law
the three cardinal guides (ruler guides subject, father guides son and husband guides wife) and the five constant virtues
Political implications
“ 饮食,天理也;山珍海味,人欲也。夫妻,天理也;三妻四妾,人欲也。”
Eating food for survival is natural to human being, but always wanting to eat a feast of delicacies is a lust. Wanting to have a spouse is natural, but wanting to have many wives and concubines is a lust.
One has to restrain his/her so that they can follow the three guidelines and five relationships
This had been adopted by the ruling class to control common people’s behavior
Therefore, Chu- hsi has been severely criticized for this
Wang Yangming
(1473 ---1529)
Ming Dysnasty
The school of Mind-heart
Both the school of principle and Mind-heart agreed that there is a reality- Li ( 理 )
Similarities
1. the way to make sense of Li
School of principle 格物致知 study things and then understand Li School of mind-heart 心即理也 turn inward to find li inward reflection
differences
Wang at the beginning was A follower of the school of Principle
Disagreed with its way to understand Li
2. knowledge and action
School of principle: have to know before act theory first, then
action school of mind-heart: knowledge and action
must be united, the two happen at the same time
You learn while you do
Japan And four Asian Tigers Korea Taiwan Hong Kong Singapore
Influence in Asian countries
Love of learning Commitment to education Social discipline
Stress education and exam