Seventh to Nineteenth-Century Chinese Knowledge, Thought, and Beliefs (Volume Two of the History of Chinese Thought)

Author: Ge Zhaoguang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: This volume primarily discusses the process of the final establishment and gradual disintegration of the Chinese intellectual world from the 7th to the 19th century. In fact, the ancient Chinese tradition of knowledge, thought, and belief that modern Chinese often mention and can feel is not the ancient Chinese thought laid down in the Qin and Han dynasties. Rather, it is a new tradition that gradually took shape over a long period in the Tang and Song dynasties. After the social upheavals of the 8th century, the once unified and mediocre world of knowledge, thought, and belief underwent a reorientation, rediscovered historical resources, and, centered around the reconstruction of state authority and intellectual order, drew on old learning to generate new insights, posing various questions. Ultimately, they sought renewal within tradition, leading to the formation of a new intellectual, philosophical, and belief system in the Song dynasty, represented by "Neo-Confucianism" (Lixue) and "Mind School" (Xinxue). After a brief historical separation between the "Orthodox Tradition" (Daotong) and the "Political Tradition" (Zhengtong)—that is, cultural power and political power—around the 13th century, China established a new national political ideology. Due to the institutionalization and secularization of this concept, the unity of ancient Chinese ethics was formed during that era. However, as the 16th century China gradually moved from the tributary system centered on the "Middle Kingdom" to an era of "all nations," this intellectual, philosophical, and belief system began to develop deep fissures. Although the transition between the Ming and Qing dynasties once temporarily patched these fissures on the surface, temporarily restoring a unified intellectual sphere in public and political discourse, the tradition of splitting between the public and private spheres ultimately disintegrated under the pressure and allure of powerful ships and advanced weaponry. Especially after China's defeat by Japan in 1895, driven by a sense of indignation and humiliation, China began to pursue strength in the Western style and embarked on an irreversible path of Westernization, thereby stirring up the various intellectual movements of modern China.