Han Yu Orthodoxy And Religious Interpretations

The contents of this dissertation include two aspects: one is the clarification and explanationof Hanyu's Dao and Daotong from the point of the history of thoughts; the other is the analysis ofConfucianism and Daotong discussed by Hanyu from the perspective of religious theory.Firstly while discussing Hanyu's theory of Daotong, I discusse the implications of "Dao" and"Daotong" on the whole, and then by relying on such basis, I analyze the concrete thoughts andbehaviors of Hanyu.Through the clarification of "the theory of Yaoshunyutangwenwuzhou"mentioned by Hanyu, I think the essence of successive sequence of thoughts of these people is theinteraction between the sacred basis and the man's practice. The sacred basis is the haven with theidea that man is an integral part of nature. The sacred natural law is purified and surpassed fromthe experiences and principles explored by the man's practice. Therefore, the natural law is theman's law because the natural law is sacred and these principles and experiences should beworshiped and practiced.The Confucian Dao of Confucius was critically inherited from the traditions of threegenerations in a breaking time of history: the domination of the God in haven began to beweakened and the implications of doctrine of the God in haven began to be highlighted. Suchmethod has settled the main color of Chinese culture, which is the strong rational of humanity.Theman can carry forward Dao, but Dao can't carry forward the man. In any times, the man pursuitsthe acme of perfection and harmony, which is a kind of life according with Dao. It is necessary toestablish a system of theory for such pursuit. And it is also necessary not only to respect thosetraditional principles which have been sacred in establishing such system of theory, but also tocare about the reality at that time truly and give a new interpretation of those traditions further.Such a new system of theory is a representation of Dao in a new space time, which has its ownappearance and image and then it is called "Daotong"Therefore, Dao Hanyu discussed was a kind of Confucian Dao, which was an eternal orderand rule in the universe the Confucianism understood. It means the man and the haven is always asatisfactory perfection. Mr. Jin Yuelin ever said:"the origin is natural, the reality is uncertain to bethere." The meaning of "the origin is natural" is that Dao is a natural order in the society. However,the meaning of "the reality is uncertain to be there" declares that the reality always has somedistances from the ideality. So, during the process of pursuing the integration of the origin and thereality as well as the integration of the reality and ideality, the instructing train of thought withactual maneuverality which the philosophers got the sentiment from Dao is just the Daotong. Tosummarize it, the pedigree of Daotong is a successive system of the theoretical train of thoughtsby pursuing the integration of the origin and the reality in a concrete space time.Hanyu thought the main point he inherited from Daotong of Confucianism lay in the wayshow to solve the concrete problems existing in the social reality. Through the sentiment ofConfucian Dao, he provided the metaphysical basis to interfere the reality by himself. The processof such thought mainly included two aspects: one was to comb and grasp the thoughts of thosephilosophers in the pedigree of Daotong; the other was to know and analyze the actual statecompletely. Hanyu did a series of discussion and analysis of the social problems existing in the Middle Tang Dynasty in accordance with Confucian Dao and put forward some trains of thoughtsto solve those problems. I discuss it by taking the example of the military governorship heopposed.Secondly, from another point of view, I think the so-called Confucian Dao is a kind ofsubjectivity of Chinese civilization which has been forming gradually in the process of inheritingthe traditions critically, and the so-called Daotong is a kind of the process of formation andestablishment of the position of cultural subjectivity as well as a kind of consciousness of culturaland subjective awareness which appears while the subjectivity confronts with challenges. Thechaos in the actual society can always be seen as an attack which the position of culturalsubjectivity meets. The challengers come from two sides: one is that some problems occur insidethe innovations and interpretations of Confucian theory itself; the other is that the challenges comefrom outside, such as attacks of other cultural forms and the factors of the governor's policy, etc.From such perspective, by analyzing the religious culture of three generations and the thoughts ofdoctrine of Confucius, I think the appearance of Confucianism is an outcome of consciousness ofthe subjectivity of Chinese culture; In addition, I further analyze the thoughts of doctrine ofMencius and Hanyu with paying more attention to the characteristics of the age he lived. I alsodiscuss that Hanyu's deep motive existing behind his concrete thoughts such as opposing Buddhawas just to safeguard the position of cultural subjectivity of Confucian Dao. In order to safeguardthe position of cultural subjectivity of Confucian Dao, he had to meet those challenges andinterpret with an aim in the level of thinking about how to settle the nature of mind.In another level, I interpret and analyze Confucian Dao and Daotong by choosing two kindsof theories of religious studies. The first theory is that the views put forward by Durkheim in hisbook of the Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. In his opinion, the society itself is a reallysacred one in religion. Such society is an ideal society which is abstracted and promoted from theactual life."The ideal society is not outside the real society, it is the real part of society." Thereligion is a kind of worship of the ideal society and the social morality of the ideal society. Therewill be a special harvest in reviewing Confucian Dao and Daotong with applying such theory. Wewill find out the so-called Dao is a kind of understanding running through all times about the idealsociety, or just a substituted name of the eternal ideal society, and the so-called Daotong is just akind of expression of the ideal society and its contained social morality.The second theory is put forward by professor Sterling. In his opinion, the religion is afundamental change. During the process of such change, one end is the problems of humancircumstances, and another end is the so-called ultimate truth(or the sacred existence, or theuniversal rule), and it is the measure or channel (to solve the problems) contacting these two ends.The will of the whole process is that the men can get a "fundamental change" by doing it.Obviously, Confucian Dao is the ultimate rule and noumenon, which is the ultimate truth. Fromthis point, the essence of the confrontation between Confucianism and Buddha is just theantagonism of two different religious views.Finally, I make a concise conclusion of Hanyu's Confucian Dao and believe it is theintegration of a kind of Dao with cultivating a moral character, relieving the world and surpassingoneself. In addition, I also make a brief summary of the issue of interpretation of traditionalresources during the process of succeeding the pedigree of Daotong.