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His commentaries superseded other commentaries because of its new and innovative interpretations of Confucian ideas.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