During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the transformation of the core values of Confucianism

Author: Wang Guoliang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: The Confucian school of thought, culminating in Zhu Xi, has profoundly and enduringly influenced the world. Its legacy continued into the modern era. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, a new, heterogeneous intellectual system gradually emerged from within Confucianism, breaking free from the confines of Neo-Confucianism. This manifested as a transformation and deconstruction of its core values. This book examines the process of transformation and reconfiguration of Neo-Confucianism's core values during the Ming and Qing periods, incorporating its theoretical insights and observing the developmental trends of Chinese culture. It undoubtedly holds significant theoretical and practical implications for the creation of a new value system in Chinese culture.
Zhu Xi of the Southern Song Dynasty was the synthesizer and culmination of Neo-Confucianism. His theoretical system marked the establishment of Neo-Confucianism's core value framework. The primary core values of Neo-Confucianism include: Heaven's Principle vs. human desires, the nature of Heaven vs. the nature of temperament, the Way of the heart vs. the human heart, public vs. private, righteousness vs. profit, and the King's Way vs. the Tyrant's Way. Among these, Heaven's Principle, the nature of Heaven, the Way of the heart, public, righteousness, and the King's Way possess inherent unity and belong to the metaphysical level, representing dominant, positive, correct, and meaningful values. Human desires, the nature of temperament, the human heart, private, profit, and the Tyrant's Way also have inherent unity and belong to the empirical level, representing subordinate, negative, or even values to be eliminated. For example, preserving Heaven's Principle while eliminating human desires, preserving righteousness while discarding profit. In other words, metaphysical values always dominate and suppress empirical values.