The Intellectual Vitality of Eighteenth-Century Ritual Studies: Ritual Debates and the Reemphasis of Ritual Hierarchy

Author: Zhang Shou'an
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-12-01
Features: The revival of Confucian ritual studies in the Qing Dynasty became the main axis of Confucian thought after the 18th century. This book discusses 18th-century Confucian ritual thought, on one hand focusing on the differences between the Qing scholars' ritual thought and the concept of "Mingli" (Principle) under the Song and Ming dynasties, including both principles and institutions, to observe the potential breakthroughs of 18th-century ritual thought within the context of pre-modern history. On the other hand, it pays special attention to the critiques raised by the 18th-century intellectual community regarding the patriarchal order and patriarchal ideology. These critiques left significant open space, allowing for multiple possibilities for responses to become part of the transformation of old knowledge and the introduction of new knowledge.
The revival of Confucian ritual studies in the Qing Dynasty was not just a transformation of Neo-Confucianism but also a transformation of ritual studies. Ritual studies became the main axis of Confucian thought after the 18th century, primarily because it revealed another form of Confucian thought: the order of the empirical world. This idea, which directly addresses the order of the empirical world, is both conceptual and formal, and thus inevitably diverges from Neo-Confucianism when it is developed. The dialogue between ritual and principle becomes an alternative confrontation in Confucian thought. This exploration of Confucian thought not only addresses the highly relevant issue of "ritual education" in academia but also presents the complex interactions among the three dimensions of ritual classics, ritual institutions, and ritual customs within the historical timeline, thereby opening a new chapter for the empirical aspects of human relationships and daily life in the history of Confucian thought.