The Neo-Confucian Renovation Essay

Confucianism was a religious and philosophical tradition that was started in China by Confucius. Neo-Confucian is a term that was used to refer to the renewal of various facets of the Confucian philosophy. The term also referred to the political culture that started in the mid of the 9th century that led to new levels of intellectual and social creativity in the 11th century in the Northern Sung dynasty (Yao 48). This situation was also reflected in the Ming dynasty before its fall in 1644. The Sung and Ming dynasties used various forms of Confucianism philosophies which promoted introspection and required moral purity. This state is what the western scholars' referred to as neo-Confucian philosophy which asserted that cultural and political stability depended on every member of the society to have high morals (Yao 52). These ideas were the foundation of Neo-Confucianism and it renovation shall be the focus of the essay.

The origins of Confucius could be traced back to T'ang Confucian and Li Ao. Their desire to return the Confucian philosophy in China to counteract the spread of Taoism and Buddhism was relentless but it was not until the reign of Sung dynasty that this was actualized by neo-Confucian teachings (Barrett 12). The teachings during this period focused on the principles of (li) which led to the development of two learning styles for the concepts which included LI-Hsueh and Hsin-Hsueh of the school of principle and the school of heart-mind respectively. In the Li-Hsueh learning style emphasized on the essential teaching so Confucius about heaven and that everybody could understand the idea of heaven. During this period people were encouraged to search so as much knowledge as they could and books were considered the ultimate sources (Barrett 23). Additionally, observation and learning from other people was also encouraged as a critical learning source. Additionally, there was another learning style that suggested that the focus of learning should be towards the heart and mind. The main principle here was that learning takes places due to inward personal-cultivation (Ivanhoe 17). Thus, the two learning styles under neo-Confucius were based on the ideas of historical, mindedness, humanism, and rationalism.

Therefore, humanism focuses on the importance of humankind in the occurrences around the universe. The nature of human beings is considered a reflection of nature itself. This concept asserts that nature is moral and it is because of morality that the human beings are at the central occurrences of the universe. For this reason, human beings have a responsibility to observe their conduct to promote a balance of natural encounters in the world. Another neo-Confucius concept is rationalism that states that human beings have a capacity to gain knowledge about the universe and self through various sources such books. This was the main realism for fighting Taoism and Buddhism that do not recognize rationalism as a way of acquiring knowledge or understanding the truth about universal occurrences. Hence, neo-Confucius disregard the idea of superstition and mythical explanations and related belief systems (Elman 67). Moreover, neo-Confucius was based on the concept of historical mindedness where human beings are encouraged to focus on their past as well as the future as a way of traveling through time to understand human nature through history. The neo-Confucius view history as a template to emulate or design moral order in the society (Elman 68). Hence, penetrating history is a critical factor to establish basic patterns that explain the universe. These values were viewed as the foundation of neo-Confucius and have been carried through different ages since its revival. Additionally, these ideas have been the major areas of conflict with other belief systems.

However, instead of the Toast and Buddhist struggling to oppose the sweeping ideas of neo-Confucius, they incorporated it in their belief systems. The neo-Confucian were also influenced by Daoist and Buddhist ideas which they used to generate ideas that matched the Confucius way (rudao). These ideas reflected the knowledge that was shared by the Song masters who claimed that their contribution was not an invention but rather a revival of the of their culture by referring to the early Confucian such as the Dao of the sage kings of antiquity, master Meng, and Kong. Moreover, the materials that the Song master used to revive the Confucius way came from a classic repertoire which included Ren, Li, Tian, Xin, Xing, Qi, Qing, and Cheng among other. The ideas that were drawn from these materials were what that was referred to as neo-Confucius.

Ren is a paramount virtue which is used as a marker for all virtues for example justice (yu), faithfulness, wisdom, ritual action (li), and discernment among other. These virtues provide the axiological sensibility to the entire concept of neo-Confucius, which are linked to filial piety. Also, there Li which is the ritual action which is the glue that unites humanity and provides them with an identical identity (Yao 116). Tian refers to heaven and the neo-Confucius recommend the use of capital "H" as a way of showing reverence and its distinction from the earth and helps to create a triad with human being beings. Xin, which also refers to the mind and heart, would be cultivated in human beings to realize true virtues that drives the human population Xing, refers to the nature that ting has provided to all human beings they ought to pursue and become. Qi is considered the central force that drives all activities in the universe (Yao 117). Qing refers to emotions and is linked to Qi as part of the cosmic dynamics. Zun Dexing and Dao wexue refer to serious study and reflection to promote good morals and cultivate the mind-heart. Gewu was another element of the neo-Confucius idea which recommended consistent research to gain knowledge by examining events and objects. Also, nei/wai referred to the internal and external environments for all process in the universe. The other areas that neo-Confucius ideas draw its knowledge was tiyong, change/sincerity, liyi, daotong, and taiji among other. The concepts were taught to the Chinese as a guide to daily living with each other in harmony.

The Zhu Xi's version that described the renewal of the neo-Confucius was used as the base for a paradigm change in the philosophical ideas that developed the western and East Asian neo-Confucianism. Despite other other thinkers rejecting or modifying the Zhu Xi's version of neo-Confucianism, it was his version that formed the future of Confucius philosophy. For instance, it was Zhu's interpretation that was adopted in explain the theory of daotong which refers to transmission or succession that formed the basis of tradition applied in the Ming, Yuan, and Qing dynasties. The Zhu's complex interpretation that led to the revival of Confucius thoughts from different forms used by the Northern Song masters (Bresciani and Institut 19). Zhu's process for arranging the Confucian tradition he was extremely selective on those to place on the daotnog which refers to the succession of the way or where the teachings came from. The few select included historical individuals such as kings Wu, Zhao, Wen, mast Kong and Meng as the authoritative philosophers of his age (1130-1200). His organization of philosophical ideas could only be rejected and challenged but not ignored by any thinker. Zhu provided an original idea on the Zhang Zai and Cheng brothers that aimed to reframe the daoxue philosophy, through the complex interactions of cosmic forces such as li and qi (Bresciani and Institut 29). He wanted to provide an answer to the question of the interaction of human mind-heart, the natural tendencies, and the emotions by evaluating the principles and vital force. His response to this situation was that the principle of qua human tendencies occurred in patterns that determined the personality of an individual. Moreover, the dyad of principles with the vital forces influenced the action of mind-heart (Yao 118). This idea explained how human beings emerged and by extension all life forms and objects in the universe which involves the vital force, and their unification by the mind-heart. Zhu's synthesis in reviving Confucianism led to the development of the term daoxue referring to how the universe and its inhabitants should be influenced by the philosophical ideas of Buddhist Chinese such as Huayan. Also, stated the neo-Confucian axiology that was based on the classical Confucian writings such as those in the pre-Han era as well as the actual events or occurrences around the globe.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Neo-Confucian philosophy was introduced during the Ming and Song dynasties to counter the spread of the Buddhist ideas. Hence, the spread of the neo-Confucian idea learning styles which dwelt on the ideas of historical, mindedness, humanism, and rationalism was introduced. Zhu Xi is the most renowned philosophical writer on neo-Confucian philosophy which was based on the writing by Song masters such as Ren, Li, Tian, Xin, Xing, Qi, Qing, and Cheng among other.

Works cited

Bresciani, Umberto, and Institut Ricci (Taipei). Reinventing Confucianism: The new Confucian movement. Taipei Ricci Institute for Chinese Studies, 2001.

Barrett, Timothy Hugh. Li Ao: Buddhist, Taoist, Or Neo-Confucian?. No. 39. Psychology Press, 1992.

Elman, Benjamin A. "The Unravelling of Neo-Confucianism: From Philosophy to Philology in Late Imperial China." Tsing Hua Journal of Chinese Studies 15.1/2 (1983): 66-88.

Ivanhoe, Philip J. Confucian moral self-cultivation. Hackett Publishing, 2000.

Yao, Xinzhong. An introduction to Confucianism. Cambridge University Press, 2000.