Lecture 12: Neo-Confucianism Flashcards
Explain how Confucianism is revived as Neo-Confucianism in Song Dynasty after 8 Centuries of silence.
After 8 centuries of silence, Confucianism began to revive in North Song Dynasty, taking up the challenges of Buddhism and Daoism, and rose as Neo-Confucianism. Three schools:
- Realist neo-Confucianism, which started from early five masters of North Song Dynasty and came to its climax with Zhu Xi in the Southern Song.
- Idealist neo-Confucianism, of which Lu Xiangshan and Wang Yangming were the two representatives.
- Naturalist neo-Confucianism, which included thinkers from the late-Ming to mid-Qing Dynasty such as Wang Fuzhi, Yan Yuan, Li Gong, and Dai Zheng.
Explain the basic philosophical ideas in Zhou Dunyi’s Explanation of the Diagram of the Great Ultimate.
- “It’s without limit (i.e. infinite), therefore named as the Great Ultimate. It’s called so because the greatest reality should be infinite.
- Through movement, the Great Ultimate generates yang (creation). When activity reaches its limits, it becomes tranquil. Through tranquility, the Great Ultimate generates yin (tranquility). When tranquility reaches its limit, activity begins again. So movement and tranquility alternate and become the root of each other, giving rise to the distinction of yin and yang, and the two modes are thus established.
- By the transformation of yang and its union with yin, you get the Five Agents of: Water, Fire, Wood, Metal and Earth. When these five vital forces (qi) are distributed in harmonious order, the four seasons run their course. The Five Agents are unified by yin and yang, and yin and yang are unified by the Great Ultimate.”
Explain Zhang Zai’s role in Neo-Confucianism. How did he expand the Confucian concept of ren and how did he reinterpret the Confucian Ultimate Reality?
- Zhang Zai marks the most important change in Confucian cosmology by interpreting the Great Ultimate as the Vital Force (Qi).
- Zhang Zai reinterprets Confucian Ethics in the cosmic context, and thereby the concept of ren is extended to the universe and becomes cosmic ren.
Explain the Cheng Brothers’ distinction of human nature.
- Cheng Hao believed in a dual idea of human nature. For him, Heaven can be made known in the human mind/heart, by which one can come to know nature, and to know nature is to know Heaven. Heaven, nature, and man are experienced as one, directly and all at once, showing an idealist tendency. For him, human nature is that given to human beings at birth. He distinguishes “original nature bestowed by Heaven” (tianming zhi xin) and “human nature of physical disposition” (qizhi zhi xin). He talks about evil as social chaos—greed, desire, and chaos. Desire leads to conflict and wars, which is social chaos and therefore evil.
- Cheng Yi, the younger brother, places the self-awareness and the unity of experience in human mind itself. The concept of ren was interpreted by Cheng Yi as ganying or “affection and responsiveness” of all things, of which the principle is impartiality.
Explain the two philosophical ideas of Cheng Yi that have greatly influenced Zhu Xi.
- The idea that “principle is one, yet manifestations are many.” For example, there is only one moon, but in lakes around the world you can see many moons. Thus, for Zhu Xi, li will become the Ultimate Reality.
- “The investigation of things” in order to exhaust all principles means to recognize the Ultimate Reality of things and go outside of yourself to study them. One day, you’ll not only understand things but also yourself. This is a realist position.
In what sense could Zhou Dun Yi and Zhang Zai’s cosmology (and Zhang Zai’s philosophy of life, in particular that related to suffering and bad luck), still be inspiring for us today?
What are the two works by Zhou Dunyi?
- The Explanation of the Diagram of the Great Ultimate (Taiji Tushuo)
- The Insight into the Book of Changes (Tongshu)
Write down three titles of works by Zhang Zai.
Xi Ming (The Western Inscription)
