Research on Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism

Author: Zhang Liwen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-12-01
Features: As the essence of the spirit of a certain period, Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming dynasties marks the temporal dimension of theoretical thinking. It cannot fully transcend the finitude of the times, hence modern scholars should place the Song and Ming Confucian scholars within their contemporary social, political, economic, and cognitive structural contexts when interpreting and evaluating them, examining the value and significance of their theoretical thinking. Scholars should not judge the ancient with the standards of modern theoretical thinking, nor blame them, but rather understand and analyze the ancients and their texts based on whether their theoretical thinking surpassed that of their predecessors and what innovations they introduced. This approach allows scholars to appreciate the social environment and cultural atmosphere of that era, gaining a profound understanding and accurate evaluation of Neo-Confucianism. This revision is based on such awareness, removing concepts that were not applicable to the scholars' times, thereby ensuring that the interpretation of the texts and the evaluation of the scholars' historical status, roles, and influences are more aligned with the facts.