New Perspectives on Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism: Ontological Construction and the Turn to Subjectivity

Author: Fu Xiaofan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty was mainly revived in the form of Daoism. Represented by Zhu Xi, Song Dynasty Confucians constructed a complete metaphysical system and gradually gained an exclusive position in the intellectual world. In the late Ming Dynasty, Xinxue replaced the exclusive position of Lixue to become the dominant school, marking a distinct shift in the development of Chinese philosophy. People shifted their focus from contemplating objective entities to exploring the nature of the subjective mind; from the subject adapting to the object to the object adapting to the subject. This turn toward philosophical subjectivity contributed to the liberation of late Ming thought. "Voluntarism," which broke free from determinism, and "Emotivism," which challenged traditional Confucian ethics with passion, emerged. Additionally, two parallel paths—rationalism and irrationalism—coexisted. During the transition between the Ming and Qing dynasties, Daoism demonstrated efforts to reconcile rationality and irrationality, integrate will and determinism, and unify knowledge, intention, and emotion. The three schools of thought—Li, Qi, and Xin—eventually achieved harmonious unity, concluding the historical transformation of philosophical subjectivity.