Collected Essays on the History of Chinese Thought

Author: Xu Fuguan
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-06-01
Features: Among the New Confucians and even in the history of Chinese humanistic scholarship in the 20th century, Xu Fuguan is a legendary figure. He once served as a senior aide to Chiang Kai-shek and, after turning to academia, differed from speculative and bookish scholars. Xu Fuguan engaged in reflections and explorations between history and reality, East and West, and scholarship and politics, striving to combine Confucian political ideals with democratic political pursuits. In the book, Xu Fuguan examines certain issues in the history of traditional Chinese thought while focusing on the grafting of the Confucian tradition and modern democratic concepts. Profound in thought, original in conception, vigorous in style, and covering the fields of Chinese classics, history, and philosophy, his work is guided by a consistent theme: through "modern interpretations of Chinese culture," he elucidates the Chinese humanistic spirit embedded within it. In recent years, the name of Xu Fuguan has garnered increasing attention in the cultural and academic circles. His works have been published in Shanghai, Tianjin, Hubei, and other regions, and seminars on his thought have been jointly organized by universities across the Taiwan Strait. The publication of this book will play an important role in deepening the understanding of Xu Fuguan's thought.
The Contemporary Issues of Xiangshan's Academic Thought
The academic origins of Xiangshan, as mentioned in the "Xiangshan Academic Case" of the Records of the Learning Schools of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, are described by Quanzhao as "After Xieshang, the predecessors of Xiangshan include Wang Xinbo, Lin Zhuxuan, Zhang Wugou, and Lin Aixuan, all of whom were pioneers, and it was Xiangshan who achieved perfection." In the "Hengpu Academic Case" (Zhang Wugou), it is specifically noted "the forerunner of Lu's learning." In Quanzhao's view, the connection between Xiangshan and Hengpu is the closest. However, Xiangshan never mentions Hengpu in his collected works. The core of Hengpu's thought was to inherit Xieshang's idea that "awareness is benevolence," with most of the content being vague. Except for the emphasis on the mind, it does not resemble Xiangshan's spiritual demeanor, which is easily discernible when reading the academic cases of the two schools. Although Xiangshan disapproved of Cheng Yichuan, he acknowledged that "the scholars of Yilu and Zuguang had learned what had been lost for a thousand years, but their initial efforts were not yet brilliant" (Record of Sayings). Moreover, he showed no objection to Cheng Mingdao. Mingdao said that scholars should first recognize benevolence without needing to restrain themselves or seek deeply, which aligns even more closely with Xiangshan's thought than Hengpu's. However, Quanzhao did not attribute his origins to Mingdao because, after Xieshang, figures like Wang Xinbo were often accused of leaning toward Zen, particularly Hengpu. Hong Shi published Hengpu's Transmission of the Mind, and Zhu Yuanhui described it as "more dangerous than floods, barbarians, or fierce beasts." This was strikingly similar to the attacks by Chen Beixi, a student of Zhu Yuanhui, on Xiangshan. In the Records of the Learning Schools of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Huang Zongxi's stance was close to Lu, while Quanzhao was heavily influenced by Huang Dongfa and leaned toward Zhu. His evaluation of Lu's learning was "self-consistent" (Records of the Perplexing Studies vol. 15, "Xiangshan Academic Case" annotation). Therefore, his claims such as "pioneers" and "the forerunner of Lu's learning" were undoubtedly influenced by the differences between Zhu and Lu, not only failing to clarify the origins of Xiangshan's academic thought but also adding to later misunderstandings.
If we speak broadly of the intellectual origins of Xiangshan's thought, it can be said that he also emerged from Yilu along with Zhu Yuanhui. If we consider the narrow transmission of teachers and disciples, Lu's brothers "taught and learned from each other" and emerged independently, needing no external affiliation. If we look at the inspiration for their respective academic pursuits, that is, what they drew from, Xiangshan himself clearly stated, "I gained it through reading the Mencius myself" (Record of Sayings). This statement aligns perfectly with the spirit of his entire academic thought. In fact, rather than understanding Xiangshan's thought through academic origins, it is more appropriate to understand it through the issues of his time. The intellectuals of that era faced two major issues before Xiangshan, compelling him to reflect. The imperial examination system not only destroyed the integrity of scholars but also corrupted the cultural spirit and the pursuit of governing the state and achieving peace. Under this system, all learning and court positions were reduced to tools for personal gain and desire. Reading the classics was for writing examination essays, writing essays was for passing exams, passing exams was for becoming officials, and becoming officials was for personal and family enjoyment. In this context, scholars spoke of all sorts of things in their words, which were all empty, pointless, and lies, with no connection to the content or the speaker themselves. The only thing that truly mattered was profit and desire. Therefore, according to Zhu Yuanhui's view, intellectuals under the imperial examination system were nothing more than a gang of thieves, at the very least a gang of liars (see my essay "The Historical Character and Fate of Chinese Intellectuals" in Between Scholarship and Politics, volume A). Xiangshan felt this even more urgently. For example, his student Fu Ziyuan said, "Mengquan (Ziyuan's courtesy name) has always only cared about the imperial examinations and reading books was merely for forming opinions." Xiangshan said, "Now, scholars read books with the aim of mastering the literary styles of the examination halls to secure official positions" (Complete Works of Xiangshan, vol. 15, "Letter to Fu Keming"). He also said, "The system of selecting scholars has long exceeded ancient customs, and its flaws have become increasingly severe today" (same volume 19, "Renxi's Repair of the County School"). "Later generations were corrupted by the imperial examinations, and their pursuit of profit became more and more vulgar, and I detest being driven by profit."