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Neo-Confucianism (traditional Chinese: 理學; pinyin: Lǐxué)/(traditional Chinese: 道學; pinyin: Dàoxué) 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 (772-841) in the Tang Dynasty. Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use Confucianism ( is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the fifth century B The Song Dynasty ( Wade-Giles: Sung Ch'ao was a ruling dynasty in China between 960&ndash1279 CE it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Quote "It is universally admitted that the unicorn is a supernatural being of good omen such is declared in all the odes annals biographies of illustrious Li Ao ( 772–841 Courtesy name Xizhi (习之 was Chinese philosopher and Prose Writer of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty ( Middle Chinese: dhɑng (June 18 618&ndashJune 4 907 was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by It formed the basis of Confucian orthodoxy in the Qing Dynasty of China. Not to be confused with Qin Dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National It was a philosophy that attempted to merge certain basic elements of Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist thought. Most important of the early Neo-Confucianists was the Chinese thinker Zhu Xi (1130-1200). Zhu Xi or Chu Hsi (朱熹 born October 18, 1130, Yuxi, Fujian province China &ndash died April 23, 1200

Contents

Origins

The Vinegar Tasters
The Vinegar Tasters

Confucians of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) studied the classical works of their faith, but were also familiar with Buddhist and Taoist teachings. The Vinegar Tasters （嘗醋翁 vinegar tasting old-men 嘗醋圖 尝醋图 vinegar tasting picture is an allegorical image representing Confucianism Confucianism ( is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the fifth century B The Song Dynasty ( Wade-Giles: Sung Ch'ao was a ruling dynasty in China between 960&ndash1279 CE it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices Taoism (pronounced /ˈdaʊɪzəm/ or /ˈtaʊɪzəm/ also spelled '''Daoism''') refers to a variety of related Philosophical and Religious traditions 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 English-language name of "Neo-Confucianism". One of the most important exponents of Neo-Confucianism was Zhu Xi (1130-1200). Zhu Xi or Chu Hsi (朱熹 born October 18, 1130, Yuxi, Fujian province China &ndash died April 23, 1200 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 attracted him, and he began to argue in Confucian style for the Buddhist observance of high moral standards. He also believed that it was important to practical affairs that one should engage in 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 heated denunciations of Buddhism and Taoism.

There were many competing views within the Neo-Confucian community, but overall, a system emerged that resembled both Buddhist and Taoist (Daoist) 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). Taoism (pronounced /ˈdaʊɪzəm/ or /ˈtaʊɪzəm/ also spelled '''Daoism''') refers to a variety of related Philosophical and Religious traditions The I Ching ( Wade-Giles) or “Yì Jīng” ( Pinyin) also called “Classic of Changes” or “Book of Changes” is one of the oldest of the In Chinese philosophy, the concept of yin and yang ( is used to describe how seemingly opposing forces are bound together intertwined and interdependent in the Taiji (太極 is a state of being from Tao and Wuji. It is a state of absolute and of infinite potentiality In Chinese philosophy, the concept of yin and yang ( is used to describe how seemingly opposing forces are bound together intertwined and interdependent in the 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!"

While Neo-Confucianism incorporated Buddhist and Taoist ideas, many Neo-Confucianists strongly oppose Buddhism and Taoism. The Vinegar Tasters （嘗醋翁 vinegar tasting old-men 嘗醋圖 尝醋图 vinegar tasting picture is an allegorical image representing Confucianism Confucius ( lit " Master Kung " September 28, 551 BC - 479 BC) was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher Siddhārtha Gautama ( Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual Teacher from Ancient India and the founder Laozi ( also Lao Tse, Lao-Tzu, Laotze, Lao Zi, Laocius, and other variations was a philosopher of ancient Indeed, they rejected the Buddhist and Taoist religions. One of Han Yu's most famous essays decries the worship of Buddhist relics. Quote "It is universally admitted that the unicorn is a supernatural being of good omen such is declared in all the odes annals biographies of illustrious A relic is an object or a personal item of religious significance carefully preserved with an air of Veneration as a tangible memorial 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. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries a civilization and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics.

World view

Zhu Xi's formulation of the Neo-Confucian world view is as follows. He believed that the Tao (Chinese: 道; pinyin: dào; literally "way") of Tian (Chinese: 天; pinyin: tiān; literally "heaven") is expressed in principle or li (Chinese: 理; pinyin: lǐ), but that it is sheathed in matter or qi (Chinese: 氣; pinyin: qì). Tao ( 道, Pinyin Dào) is a metaphysical concept found in Taoism, Confucianism, and more generally in ancient Chinese philosophy Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use Tian ( is one of the oldest Chinese terms for the Cosmos and a key concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy, and religion. Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use Li （理）is a concept found in Neo-Confucian Chinese philosophy Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use In traditional Chinese culture, qi (zh [[wikt氣 氣]] Pinyin qì, Wade-Giles ch'i Jyutping Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use In this, his system is based on Buddhist systems of the time that divided things into principle (again, li), and shi (Chinese: 事; pinyin: shì). Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use 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. Life Mencius also known by his birth name Meng Ke or Ko, was born in the State of Zou (simp 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. Karma ( Sanskrit: कर्म, kárman - "act action performance" Pali: kamma) is the concept of "action"

Different Neo-Confucians had differing ideas for how to do so. Zhu Xi believed in gewu (Chinese: 格物; pinyin: géwù), the Investigation of Things, essentially an academic form of observational science, based on the idea that li lies within the world. Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use An observational science is a Science where it is not possible to construct controlled Experiments in the area under study 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. Life and times Born Wang Shouren (守仁 in Yuyao, Zhejiang Province, his Courtesy name was Bo'an (伯安 His preferred method of doing so was jingzuo (Chinese: 靜坐; pinyin: jìngzuò), a practice that strongly resembles zazen or Chan (Zen) meditation. Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use Zazen (坐禅 Chinese zuò chán Pinyin or tso-chan Wade-Giles) is at the heart of Zen Buddhist practice Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, referred to in Chinese as Chan. Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the conditioned "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness Wang Yangming developed the idea of innate knowing, arguing that every person knows from birth the difference between good and evil. Value theory encompasses a range of approaches to understanding how why and to what degree humans should or do value things whether the thing is a person idea object or anything else Evil, in many cultures is used to describe acts or thoughts which are contrary to some particular religion Such knowledge is intuitive and not rational. These revolutionizing ideas of Wang Yangming would later inspire prominent Japanese thinkers like Motoori Norinaga, who argued that because of the Shinto deities, Japanese people alone had the intuitive ability to distinguish good and evil without complex rationalization. Motoori Norinaga (Japanese 本居宣長 21 June 1730–5 November 1801 was a Japanese scholar of Kokugaku during the Edo period. is the native religion of Japan and was once its State religion. Wang Yangming's school of thought (Ōyōmei-gaku in Japanese) also provided, in part, an ideological basis for some samurai who sought to pursue action based on intuition rather than scholasticism. As such, it also provided an intellectual foundation for the radical political actions of low ranking samurai in the decades prior to the Meiji Ishin (1868), in which the Tokugawa authority (1600-1868) was overthrown.

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

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 Imperial examination system in 1905. The Imperial examinations ( in Imperial China determined who among the population would be permitted to enter the state's Bureaucracy. The Ming Dynasty ( or Empire of the Great Ming ( was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol -led 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 Imperial examinations ( in Imperial China determined who among the population would be permitted to enter the state's Bureaucracy. A bureaucrat is a member of a Bureaucracy, usually within an institution of the Government. Han Learning (汉学 hànxué or the Han school of classical philology was an intellectual movement that reached its height in the mid- Qing dynasty in China.

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. Han Learning (汉学 hànxué or the Han school of classical philology was an intellectual movement that reached its height in the mid- Qing dynasty in China. This school also criticized Neo-Confucianism for being detached from reality with empty philosophical speculation that was unconnected with reality.

Confucian canon

The Confucian canon as it exists today was essentially compiled by Zhu Xi. Zhu Xi or Chu Hsi (朱熹 born October 18, 1130, Yuxi, Fujian province China &ndash died April 23, 1200 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. Distinguish from The Four Books, which are Shi`a Muslim collections of hadiths The Great Learning ( is the first of the Four books which were selected by Zhu Xi during the Song Dynasty as a foundational introduction to The Doctrine of the Mean ( composed c450 BCE is one of the Four Books, part of the Confucian canonical scriptures The Analects ( also known as the Analects of Confucius, are a record of the words and acts of the central Chinese thinker and philosopher Life Mencius also known by his birth name Meng Ke or Ko, was born in the State of Zou (simp

Prominent neo-Confucian scholars

China

Japan

Korea

References

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