Confucius's Sanctification and the Revolution of the Confucians

Author: Li Dongjun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: In the great trend of sanctification during the Spring and Autumn period, Confucius practiced "learning from below and reaching above," establishing a sanctification model. This was followed by Mencius' "returning to oneself and being sincere" and Xunzi's "transforming nature and raising artificiality," which led to the formation of the Confucian sanctification model. Represented by Confucius' sanctification, the "saint as king" and "king as saint" approaches were clearly distinct, resulting in the differentiation and alienation of Confucianism. After the unification of the Qin Dynasty, the "king as saint" approach gained dominance. The Confucian scholars of the Qin Dynasty no longer sanctified Confucius but instead de-sanitized Qin Shi Huang, leading to their defeat in the Confucian-Legalist struggle. The revolutionary Confucians, represented by the descendants of the Confucian school, upheld the popular and revolutionary nature of sanctification, opening up a new era where Confucian revolution combined with peasant uprisings. In the early Han Dynasty, they continued their revolutionary efforts, elevating Confucianism from a private school of thought to the status of canonical studies and elevating Confucius from an ordinary citizen to the teacher of the king.