Neo-Confucianism
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'''Neo-Confucianism''' ({{zh-tp|t=理學|p=Lǐxué}})/({{zh-tp|t=道學|p=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 (philosopher)|Li Ao]] (772-841) in the [[Tang Dynasty]]. It formed the basis of Confucian orthodoxy in the [[Qing Dynasty]] of [[China]]. 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).
==Origins==
[[Image:Vinegar tasters.jpg|thumb|The [[Vinegar tasters|Vinegar Tasters]]]]
[[Confucian]]s of the [[Song Dynasty]] (960-1279) studied the classical works of their faith, but were also familiar with [[Buddhist]] and [[Taoist]] 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 English-language name of "Neo-Confucianism".
One of the most important exponents of Neo-Confucianism was [[Zhu Xi]] (1130-1200). 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]]). A well known Neo-Confucian motif is [[Vinegar tasters|paintings]] of [[Confucius]], [[Gautama Buddha|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. Indeed, they rejected the Buddhist and Taoist religions. One of [[Han Yu]]'s most famous essays decries the worship of Buddhist [[relic]]s. 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.
==World view==
Zhu Xi's formulation of the Neo-Confucian world view is as follows. He believed that the [[Tao]] ({{zh-cpl|c=道|p=dào|l=way}}) of [[Tian]] ({{zh-cpl|c=天|p=tiān|l=heaven}}) is expressed in principle or ''[[Li (Neo-Confucianism)|li]]'' ({{zh-cp|c=理|p=lǐ}}), but that it is sheathed in matter or ''[[qi]]'' ({{zh-cp|c=氣|p=qì}}). In this, his system is based on Buddhist systems of the time that divided things into principle (again, li), and ''shi'' ({{zh-cp|c=事|p=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'' ({{zh-cp|c=格物|p=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'' ({{zh-cp|c=靜坐|p=jìngzuò|l=quiet sitting}}), a practice that strongly resembles [[zazen]] or [[Zen|Chan (Zen)]] [[meditation]]. Wang Yangming developed the idea of ''innate knowing'', arguing that every person knows from birth the difference between [[goodness and value theory|good]] and [[evil]]. 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. 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 [[Imperial examination|bureaucratic examinations]] by the [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]], and continued in this way through the Qing dynasty until the end of the Imperial examination system in 1905. However, many scholars such as [[Benjamin Elman]] have questioned the degree to which their role as the [[orthodox]] interpretation in [[Imperial examination|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.
==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.
== Prominent neo-Confucian scholars ==
=== China ===
* [[Cheng Yi (philosopher)|Cheng Yi]]
* [[Lu Xiangshan]] aka [[Lu Jiuyuan]] (1139–1193)
* [[Ouyang Xiu]] (1007–1072)
* [[Shao Yong]] (1011–1077)
* [[Su Shi]], aka [[Su Dongpo]] (1037–1101)
* [[Sun Lutang]]
* [[Wang Yangming]] aka [[Wang Shouren]]
* [[Ye Shi]] (1150–1223)
* [[Zhang Sanfeng]]
* [[Zhang Zai]]
* [[Zhou Dunyi]] (1017–1073)
* [[Zhu Xi]] (1130–1200)
=== Japan ===
* [[Fujiwara Seika]] (1561–1619)
* [[Hayashi Razan]] (1583–1657)
* [[Toju Nakae|Nakae Tōju]] (1608–1648)
* [[Yamazaki Ansai]] (1619–1682)
* [[Kumazawa Banzan]] (1619–1691)
* [[Yamaga Sokō]] (1622–1685)
* [[Itō Jinsai]] (1627–1705)
* [[Kaibara Ekken]] (aka Ekiken) (1630–1714)
* [[Arai Hakuseki]] (1657–1725)
* [[Ogyū Sorai]] (1666–1728)
* [[Nakai Chikuzan]] (1730–1804)
* [[Ōshio Heihachirō]] (1793–1837)
=== Korea ===
* [[An Hyang]] (1243–1306)
* [[Yi Saek]] (1328–1396)
* [[Jeong Mong-ju]] (1337-1392)
* [[Jeong Dojeon]] (1342-1398)
* [[Gil Jae]] (1353-1419)
* [[Jeong Inji]] (1396–1478)
* [[Kim Jong-jik]] (1431-1492)
* [[Jo Gwang-jo]] (1482-1519)
* [[Yi Hwang]] Pen name [[Toegye]] (1501–1570)
* [[Jo Sik]] (1501–1572)
* [[Yi I]] Pen name [[Yulgok]] (1536–1584)
* [[Seong Hon]] (1535–1598)
* [[Song Si-yeol]] (1607–1689)
== References ==
*Chan, Wing-tsit, ''A Sourcebook of Chinese Philosophy'' (Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1963)
*Chan, Wing-tsit, trans. ''Instructions for Practical Living and Other Neo-Confucian Writings by Wang Yang-ming.'' New York: Columbia University Press, 1963.
*Tu Weiming. ''Neo-Confucian Thought in Action: Wang Yang-ming’s Youth (1472-1509).'' Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1976.
*Tu Weiming. ''Confucian Thought: Selfhood As Creative Transformation.'' New York: State University of New York Press, 1985.
[[Category:Buddhism]]
[[Category:Confucianism]]
[[Category:Chinese philosophy]]
[[Category:Chinese thought]]
[[Category:Korean Confucianism]]
[[Category:Chinese traditional religion]]
[[Category:Japanese philosophy]]
[[ar:كونفوشيوسية الجديد]]
[[de:Neokonfuzianismus]]
[[es:Neoconfucianismo]]
[[ko:성리학]]
[[ja:宋明理学]]
[[no:Neokonfucianisme]]
[[pl:Neokonfucjanizm]]
[[fi:Uuskungfutselaisuus]]
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[[zh:宋明理學]]