MYSTICA - Confucianism 01
Conservative Intellectualism – Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism 朱子学 (1) [Related Post]
The Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism (朱子学) can be called conservative intellectualism due to its core philosophy.
In the early modern history of Japan, the Edo (江戸) period (1603–1867) boasted absolute peace, stability, and unique cultural flourishing for over 260 years as Pax Tokugawana.
During the World's longest peaceful time, the Tokugawa (徳川) shogunate incorporated Neo-Confucianism, specifically Cheng-Zhuism (朱子学), as the official ideology not only for governance, but also for the foundation of moral codes.
Why, and how then did the philosophy of the Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism (朱子学) help maintain the hierarchical social order, and allow for significant artistic, intellectual, and economic growth in the case of Japan?
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| Fusuma Painting in Ninomaru Palace, Nijo Castle, by Kano Sanraku 狩野 山楽 (1626) |
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The Dualism of Principle and Vital Energy – Li 理 and Qi 気
● Principle – Li 理
● Vital Energy – Qi 気
Interrelationship of Li 理 and Qi 気
Nature is Principle – Sei-soku-Li 性即理
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| Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130–1200) |
Abiding in reverence and Exhausting principle – Kyokei-Kyuri 居敬窮理
● Kyokei 居敬
● Kyuri 窮理
Investigation of things and Extension of knowledge – Kakubutsu-Chichi 格物致知
致知在格物。
物格而后知至。
— “To master knowledge and understanding, one must confront individual things and investigate their essence.
Only when the essence of things is investigated can complete knowledge and understanding be achieved.” (The Text of Confucius, The Great Learning 大学)
● Investigation of things – Kakubutsu 格物
● Extension of knowledge – Chichi 致知
As a Practical Methodology
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Further reading (sponsored by Amazon):
● Stephen C. Angle et al. (2017). Neo-Confucianism: A Philosophical Introduction. 285 pages. Polity.
(sponsored by Amazon)
Based on the latest scholarship but presented in accessible language, “Neo-Confucianism: A Philosophical Introduction” is organized around themes that are central in Neo-Confucian philosophy, including the structure of the Cosmos, human nature, ways of knowing, personal cultivation, and approaches to governance!
“Neo-Confucianism: A Philosophical Introduction” thus accomplishes 2 things at once:
(1) it presents the Neo-Confucians in its own, distinctive terms; and
(2) it enables contemporary readers to grasp what is at stake in the great Neo-Confucian debates.
This novel structure of “Neo-Confucianism: A Philosophical Introduction” gives both students and scholars in philosophy, religion, history, and cultural studies a new window into one of the World's most important philosophical traditions!
Table of Contents
Dedication
Preface
1: Introduction
This book
Background
Notes
2: Pattern and Vital Stuff
Introduction and background
Vital stuff
Pattern
Debates over Pattern’s relation to vital stuff
The many faces of Pattern
Notes
3: Nature
Introduction and background
Nature as ground of morality
Beyond good and bad?
Individuality and badness
Debating Dai Zhen’s alternative picture
Notes
4: Heartmind
Background: the accordance problem for Neo-Confucians and their predecessors
Identifying heartmind with Pattern
Zhu Xi on nature, emotions, and the heartmind
Late Ming and Qing developments: to the extremes
Notes
5: Emotions
Background
Emotional dispositions and objectivity in early Neo-Confucianism
Desire
The four beginnings as morally pure?
Wang Yangming on emotion and good knowing
A “soliloquy of emotion”?
Notes
6: Knowing
Introduction
Sensory knowing versus virtuous nature’s knowing in the Northern Song
Sensory knowing versus virtuous nature’s knowing: later developments
Zhu Xi’s three types of knowing
Deliberation, holistic insight, and the unity of knowing and acting
Notes
7: Self-Cultivation
Introduction
Frameworks of cultivation
Ritual and physical disciplines
Greater Learning and “getting a handle on things”
Mental discipline
Studying the Confucian canon
Notes
8: Virtues
Background
Virtues and their interrelations
Sincerity and wholeheartedness
Women and virtue
Notes
9: Governance and Institutions
Introduction
Loyalty and faction
Institutional versus character-centered theories of governance
Law and authority
State structure: commanderies versus fiefdoms
Notes
10: The Enduring Significance of Neo-Confucianism
The historical fate of Neo-Confucianism
Neo-Confucianism and comparative philosophy
Notes
Appendix 1: Teaching Neo-Confucianism Topically
Note
Appendix 2: Table of Neo-Confucians (by Date and Philosophical Emphasis)
Appendix 3: Abbreviations of Primary Sources
Bibliography
Index
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