Neo-Confucianism

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Neo-Confucianism (Traditional Chinese: 理學; pinyin: Lǐxué) is a form of Confucianism that was primarily developed during the Song Dynasty, but which can be traced back to Han Yu and Li Ao in the Tang Dynasty. The term should not be mistaken for New Confucianism which is an effort to apply Confucianism to the 21st century.

Contents

[edit] Origins

Confucians of the Song dynasty (960-1279 C.E.) were prone to studying the classical works of their faith, but they also familiarized themselves with Buddhist teachings. Buddhist thought offered to them many things that they considered worthy of admiration, including ideas such as the nature of the soul and the relation of the individual to the cosmos, ideas not yet fully explored by Confucianism. Song Confucians drew greatly from Buddhist thought as well as their own traditions, thus giving rise to the name of Neo-Confucianism.

There were many competing views within the Neo-Confucian community, but overall, a system emerged that resembled both Buddhist and Taoist thought of the time and some of the ideas expressed in the Book of Changes (I Ching) as well as other yin yang theories associated with the Taiji symbol (Taijitu). A well known Neo-Confucian motif is paintings of Confucius, Buddha, and Lao Tzu all drinking out of the same vinegar jar, paintings associated with the slogan "The three teachings are one!"

One of the most important speakers for Neo-Confucianism was Zhu Xi (1130-1200 C.E.). He was a rather prolific writer, maintaining and defending his Confucian beliefs of social harmony and proper personal conduct. One of his most remembered was the book Family Rituals, where he provided detailed advice on how to conduct weddings, funerals, family ceremonies, and the veneration of ancestors. Buddhist thought soon enticed him, and he began to argue with Confucian style for the Buddhist observance of high moral standards. He also believed that it was important to practical affairs that one should conducts both academic and philosophical pursuits, although his writings are concentrated more on issues of theoretical (as opposed to practical) significance. It is reputed that he wrote many essays attempting to explain how his ideas were not Buddhist or Taoist, and included some extremely heated denunciations of Buddhism and Taoism.

While Neo-Confucianism incorporated Buddhist and Taoist ideas, many Neo-Confucianists claimed to strongly oppose Buddhism and Taoism. Indeed, they rejected Buddhism as a faith. One of Han Yu's most famous essays decries the worship of Buddhist relics. Nonetheless, Neo-Confucian writings adapted Buddhist thoughts and beliefs to the Confucian interest. In China Neo-Confucianism was an officially-recognized creed from its development during the Song dynasty until the early twentieth century, and lands within the scope of Song China (Korea, Vietnam, and Japan) were all deeply influenced by Neo-Confucianism for more than half a millennium.

[edit] World View

Zhu Xi's formulation of the Neo-Confucian world view is as follows. He believed that the Way (Tao) of Heaven (Tian) is expressed in principle or li (理, Pinyin lǐ), but that it is sheathed in matter or qi (氣, py qì). In this, his system is based on Buddhist systems of the time that divided things into principle (again, li), and shi (事, Pinyin shì). In the Neo-Confucian formulation, li in itself is pure and perfect, but with the addition of qi, base emotions and conflicts arise. Human nature is originally good, the Neo-Confucians argued (following Mencius), but not pure unless action is taken to purify it. The imperative is then to purify one's li. However, in contrast to Buddhists and Taoists, neo-Confucians did not believe in an external world unconnected with the world of matter. In addition, Neo-Confucians in general rejected the idea of reincarnation and the associated idea of karma.

Different Neo-Confucians had differing ideas for how to do so. Zhu Xi believed in gewu (格物, géwù), the Investigation of Things, essentially an academic form of observational science, based on the idea that li lies within the world. Wang Yangming (Wang Shouren), probably the second most influential Neo-Confucian, came to another conclusion: namely, that if li is in all things, and li is in one's heart, there is no better place to seek than within oneself. His preferred method of doing so was jingzuo (靜坐, jìngzuò), 'quiet sitting', a practice that strongly resembles zuochan or Chan (Zen) meditation.

The importance of li in Neo-Confucianism gave the movement its name, literally "The study of Li."

[edit] Bureaucratic Examinations

Neo-Confucianism became the interpretation of Confucianism whose mastery was necessary to pass the bureaucratic examinations by the Ming, and continued in this way through the Qing dynasty until the end of the examination system in 1905. However, many scholars such as Benjamin Elman have questioned the degree to which their role as the orthodox interpretation in state examinations reflects the degree to which both the bureaucrats and Chinese gentry actually believed those interpretations, and point out that there were very active schools such as Han learning which offered competing interpretations of Confucianism.

The competing school of Confucianism was called the Evidential School or Han Learning and argued that Neo-Confucianism had caused the teachings of Confucianism to be hopelessly contaminated with Buddhist thinking. This school also criticized Neo-Confucianism for being detached from reality with empty philosophical speculation that was unconnected with reality.

[edit] Confucian Canon

The Confucian canon as it exists today was essentially compiled by Zhu Xi. Zhu codified the canon of Four Books (The Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean, The Analects of Confucius, and Mencius) which in the subsequent Ming and Qing Dynasties were made the core of the official curriculum for the civil service examinations.

[edit] List of Neo-Confucians

[edit] China

[edit] Korea

  • Ahn Hyang (1243–1306)
  • Yi Saek (1328–1396)
  • Yi Hwang aka Toegye (1501–1570)
  • Cho Sik (1501–1572)
  • Gi Dae-Seung (1527–1572)
  • Yi I aka Yulgok (1536–1584)

[edit] Japan

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