Neo-Confucianism
Neo-Confucianism (Chinese: 宋明理學; pinyin: Sòng-Míng lǐxué, often shortened to lǐxué 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, which originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) in the Tang dynasty, and became prominent during the Song and Ming dynasties under the formulations of Zhu Xi (1130–1200).
[3] The Song dynasty philosopher Zhou Dunyi (1017–1073) is seen as the first true "pioneer" of neo-Confucianism, using Taoist metaphysics as a framework for his ethical philosophy.
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 I Ching (Book of Changes) as well as other yin yang theories associated with the Taiji symbol (Taijitu).
Politically, Neo-Confucians also opposed centralization in the imperial court and instead argued for more local autonomy and the creation of lateral, community-centred institutions for social improvement.
In medieval China, the mainstream of neo-Confucian thought, dubbed the "Tao school", had long categorized a thinker named Lu Jiuyuan among the unorthodox, non-Confucian writers.
[11] Objections arose to Yangming's philosophy within his lifetime, and shortly after his death, Chen Jian (1497–1567) grouped Wang together with Lu as unorthodox writers, dividing neo-Confucianism into two schools.
The significance of this third branch, according to Mou, was that they represented the direct lineage of the pioneers of neo-Confucianism, Zhou Dunyi, Zhang Zai and Cheng Hao.
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.
'quiet sitting'), a practice that strongly resembles Chan (Zen) meditation, or zuochan (Japanese: 座禅; Chinese: 坐禪; pinyin: zuòchán; lit.
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 Restoration (1868), in which the Tokugawa shogunate (1600–1868) was overthrown.
It greatly inspired Korean intellectuals at the time and many, predominantly from the middle class and disillusioned with the excesses of organized religion (namely Buddhism) and the old nobility, embraced neo-Confucianism.
The newly rising neo-Confucian intellectuals were leading groups aimed at the overthrow of the old (and increasingly foreign-influenced) Goryeo dynasty.
As neo-Confucianism encouraged education, a number of neo-Confucian schools (서원 seowon and 향교 hyanggyo) were founded throughout the country, producing many scholars including Jo Gwang-jo (조광조, 趙光祖; 1482–1520), Yi Hwang (이황, 李滉; pen name Toegye 퇴계, 退溪; 1501–1570) and Yi I (이이, 李珥; 1536–1584).
In the early 16th century, Jo attempted to transform Joseon into an ideal neo-Confucian society with a series of radical reforms until he was executed in 1520.
Yi Hwang's most prominent disciples were Kim Seong-il (金誠一, 1538–1593), Yu Sŏngnyong (1542–1607) and Jeong Gu (한강 정구, 寒岡 鄭逑, 1543–1620), known as the "three heroes".
They were followed by a second generation of scholars who included Jang Hyungwang (張顯光, 1554–1637) and Jang Heung-Hyo (敬堂 張興孝, 1564–1633), and by a third generation (including Heo Mok, Yun Hyu, Yun Seon-do and Song Si-yeol) who brought the school into the 18th century [16] But neo-Confucianism became so dogmatic in a relatively rapid time that it prevented much needed socioeconomic development and change, and led to internal divisions and criticism of many new theories regardless of their popular appeal.
For instance, Wang Yangming's theories, which were popular in the Chinese Ming dynasty, were considered heresy and severely condemned by Korean neo-Confucianists.
The Lý, Trần court expanded the Confucianism influences in Vietnamese Mandarin through year examinations, continued the model of Tang dynasty until being annexed by the Ming invaders in 1407.
Zhu codified the canon of Four Books (the Great Learning, the Doctrine of the Mean, the Analects of Confucius, and the Mencius) which in the subsequent Ming and Qing dynasties were made the core of the official curriculum for the civil service examination.
