EAI - BART deel 1

Historical background neo confucianism

• Sui had a lot of Buddhism influence

• When Li Yuan revolted in 617 and became Tang Gaozu he used Confucian values to legitimize

  • Sui child emperor yielding power to another clan as an act of filial piety

  • Fu Yi

    • Priest

    • Recommended Tang Gaozu to reduce buddhist support. 621

      • The innocent people are no longer loyal to confucian elite because the confucian elite itself has gone astray from the correct path and therefore is no longer a model to be followed

  • Got kicked by his son in 626 because he indeed wanted to reduce buddhist influence

    • Tang Taizong became very open to outside culture.

      • Safeguarding harmony could only be possible trough mutual understanding and respect.

    • Introduction of different religions trough the silk road:

      • Nestorian Christianity

      • Manicheism

      • Zoroastrism

      • Later under Tang Gaozong

        • Islam

Neoconfucianisme

“in the song dynasty, Confucianism had ben reinterpreted on the basis of a smaller corpus of texts (the so called four books: lunyu, mengzi, daxue, zhongyong. selected by zhuxi). in the conviction that confucianism as it was inherited did not give a guidance on how to become a wise man, Neoconfucianism focused on metaphysical and spiritual questions. In this, it was inspired by Buddhism and Doaism.”

Zhuxi founded the rationalist school

• Two truths

  • What is within forms xing er xia

    • qi 氣

  • What is above forms xing er shang

    • li, patterns 理.

      • But this cannot exist without the physical things

        • 気

    • metaphysical

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Daoxuejia 道學家

• term for Neoconfucianism

  • School of study of Dao

• Started as reaction to increase buddhism

  • But also took on elements of it

  • The importance of the Daxue and the Zhongyong from the 礼记 grew here as it had some likeness to Buddhism

    • they become manuals

In the Song it split into 2 rivaling school:

• Lixue 理学

  • Rationalist school

• xinxue 心学

  • Idealist school

Han Yu

• First protagonist of Neoconfucianism during Tang

  • 768-824

• Warned the court about buddhism

• his works showed mengzi gained importance

Li Ao

• seen as Han Yu’s disciple

• Tang Neoconfucianist

• Main work:

  • Essay on the Return to Nature

    • Background debate:

      • Confucius/mengzi: Human nature is good

      • Xunzi: Human nature is bad

      • Dang Zhongshu: nature is good, but feelings/desire disrupts it

        • Li Ao agrees

• Influenced by Buddhism

  • Feelings obscure nature

• But he is still confucianist:

  • Self cultivation happens in the ordinary life, not by escaping life

  • he emphasizes the zhongyong which is comparable to the Buddhist middle path.

The Four Books 四书

1. Lunyu 论语

2. Mengzi 孟子

3. Daxue 大学

4. Zhongyong 中庸

Brought together by Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1139 - 1200)

• Basis for Neoconfucian reinterpretation of Confucianism

• Together with Lu Zuqian wrote the Jin Si Lu

Lead to many private academies to be established

→ during the yuan these were abolished together with the state exams

The Neoconfucian doctrine of Zhu Xi was elevated to state doctrine in 1313 and in 1315 state examinations were reintroduced with the four books as fundamental examination material.

Creation of a Confucian pantheon

• The Confucian pantheon was the institutional canonization of key Confucian transmitters and exegetes, especially figures connected to the Four Books, through which Confucian orthodoxy was fixed and ritually honored in Confucian temples.

• Zengzi

  • during Tang accepted as exegete

• Zisi

  • Zhongyong attributed to him

• Dong Zongshu

  • Jinwenjia → New Text School of Confucianism.

• Zhuxi

  • During the Qing he was acknowledged as the 11th exegete

Zhou Dunyi

• one of the most important song Neoconfucians 1017 - 1073

• GAVE CONFUCIANISM A COSMIC FOUNDATION

• Taiji Tu Shuo

  • Explanation of the Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate

• Tongshu

• Key concepts:

  • qi 氣 = ether/material force.

  • li 理 = pattern, not “principle” in a vague abstract sense.

  • wu xing 五行 = five phases.

• Li is the metaphysical pattern underlying physical things.

• Human nature is good because it contains li.

• Evil comes from contact with the external world and desire.

• Important distinction:

  • ti 體 = constitution/substance.

  • yong 用 = function/use.

• The sage’s task is to harmonize society according to cosmic order.

Shi Jie

• established a private academy

  • Argued that the true Dao had been damaged by:

    • Yang Zhu

      • egoist during waring states

    • Mozi

    • Hanfeizi

    • Zhuangzi

    • Laozi

    • Buddhism

Song figures linked to Neoconfucianism

• Ouyang Xiu

• Sima Guang

• Wang Anshi

Shao Yong

• 1012 - 1077’

• Main work:

  • Huangji jingshi 皇極經世 / Cosmological Chronology

• Uses Yijing 易經 trigrams and numerology to explain cosmic evolution.

Zhang zai

• 1020 - 1078

• Main works:

  • Zheng Meng 正蒙

  • Jingxue liku 經學理窟

  • Yishuo 易說

• His ultimate concept is taihe 太和 / Great Harmony.

• Great Harmony = dao = qi = undifferentiated material force.

• Also called taixu 太虛 / Great Void.

• Zhang Zai is a monist materialist:

  • Everything is qi.

  • Qi is both being and non-being.

  • Yin condenses qi.

  • Yang disperses qi.

• Birth and decay are condensation and dispersion of qi.

• He rejects the Buddhist idea that arising/decay proves things are illusion.

• Human nature is good.

• Moral cultivation means restoring qi to balance.

• Real knowledge comes through:

  • cheng 誠 = sincerity.

  • ming 明 = enlightenment.

• He rejects:

  • Buddhist escape into Nirvana.

  • Daoist search for immortality.

His nephews, the cheng brothers made the 2 schools of Neoconfucianism

cheng brothers

• Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi were nephews of Zhang Zai and students of Zhou Dunyi.

• Their ideas split Neoconfucianism into two lines:

  • Cheng Yi → Zhu Xi → lixue

  • Cheng Hao → Lu Jiuyuan → Wang Shouren → xinxue

• The syllabus stresses that “rationalist” and “idealist” are misleading translations:

  • li does not simply mean “reason.”

  • xin does not simply mean “idea.”

Cheng Yi 程頤

Rationalist school

Cheng Yi distinguishes:

• qi 氣 and concrete things = xing er xia 形而下, what is within forms, the physical realm.

• li 理 = xing er shang 形而上, what is above forms, the metaphysical realm.

• Human beings receive nature according to li, so nature is good.

• Actual humans also receive qi, which differs in purity.

Self-cultivation:

• Study li.

• Extend knowledge.

• Investigate things.

Zhu Xi 朱熹

• Zhu Xi systematized the rationalist line.

• He combined:

  • Zhou Dunyi’s metaphysics.

  • Shao Yong’s numerology.

  • Zhang Zai’s qi theory.

  • Cheng Yi’s physical/metaphysical distinction.

• All things have their own li.

• Things are physical forms of prior patterns.

• The total unity of all patterns is taiji 太極.

• Li exists before things logically, but not separately in time.

• Qi creates concrete things.

• Li needs qi to be actualized; qi acts according to li.

• Li is perfect and good.

• Qi is imperfect, which explains why evil and human difference exist.

• Human mind xin 心 connects:

  • xing 性 = nature.

  • qing 情 = feelings.

• Human nature contains the virtues:

  • ren 仁 = humaneness.

  • yi 義 = righteousness.

  • li 禮 = ritual propriety.

  • zhi 智 = wisdom

Cheng Hao 程顥

• Cheng Hao is treated as founder of the mind-oriented line.

• Main difference from Cheng-Zhu:

  • li cannot be separated from concrete things.

  • No strict split between physical and metaphysical.

• “The alternation of yin and yang is dao.”

• Nature and qi are not separate.

• His view resembles:

  • Neodaoism of Wang Bi and Guo Xiang.

  • Huayan Buddhism’s relation between li 理 and shi 事.

• “Composure” means being steady in both activity and quietude.

• He rejects dividing inner and outer.

• Humans were originally one with the universe.

• Ego creates separation.

• Spiritual practice returns one to original unity.

• This strongly resembles Daoist and Buddhist ideas.

Lu Jiuyuan 陸九淵

• Also known as Lu Xiangshan 陸象山.

• Main work:

  • Ji Yi 己易 / The Self and the Book of Changes

• His core claim:

  • xin 心 / mind = li 理 / pattern

• Mind is perfect and undifferentiated.

• Evil comes from failing to recognize one’s own perfect mind.

• Unlike Zhu Xi, he does not split reality into two levels.

• Reality is one sphere, within time and space

Neoconfucianism in the Ming Dynasty

• Ming Neoconfucianism was dominated by the xinxue / mind school.

• Important figures:

  • Chen Xianzhang

  • Zhan Ruoshui

  • Wang Shouren / Wang Yangming

    • His interpretation is much in line with the so called Neodaoism.

Wang Yangming

• Wang Yangming’s/ wang shouren major works:

  • Daxue wen 大學問

  • Chuanxi lu 傳習錄

• Wang Yangming’s core ideas:

  • Humans are united with all things through ren 仁.

  • Moral action is based on liangzhi 良知 / intuitive innate knowledge.

  • True knowledge is not mainly book-learning.

  • Moral action should be spontaneous.

• “Investigating things” means rectifying oneself:

  • Removing evil.

  • Making intention sincere: cheng yi 誠意.

• Some followers practiced jingzuo 靜坐, Confucian quiet-sitting/meditation, showing Chan Buddhist influence.

• Later followers like Wang Ji and Wang Gen pushed the school closer to Buddhism and syncretism.

• Li Zhi radicalized this:

  • Do not accept something just because Confucius said it.

  • Each person receives their own way from Heaven.

  • Everyone can become a sage.

  • “The streets are full of sages” becomes close to Buddhist “everyone is Buddha.”