On Liu Tsung-yüan And Confucianism's Renaissance

Confucianism is a extensive and intensive system,not only contains the theory of Hsxin-hsing T'ien-jen-he-yi tuns through it,but also contains heterodox Confucianism reviled by Li-hsüeb-ch'ia,which shows the spirits of Confucianism all the same.For instance,Han Yüand Liu Tsung-yüan,although differ in the respective theory of refuting Buddhism and Hsxin-hsing Tao-tung,introjecting Buddhism and T'ien-jen-pu-hsiang-yü,virtually,they reach the same goal by different routes,both are the important part of Mid-Tang's Confucianism.But the historical fact that Sung-Ming's Confucianism attaches importance to Han Yü's thought,but lays by Liu Tsung-yüan's theory makes it necessary to re-ascertain Liu Tsung-yüan's position in Confucianism's history.In addition,The transform of Tang-Sung is one of hot topics in today's academia,embodied in the thought-culture field,which reflects the continuity and rupture between Tang and Sung,as well as the distinct difference between Tang's early and late completely different phases.The fact that Pre-Tang carries on the Han Learning,Mid-late Tang unseals the Sung Learning tells us that Mid-late Tang is very significant in the thought history.So,it is significative to study Liu Tsung-yüan's contribution of reviving Confucianism so to reflect the historical relation of Confucianism between Mid-late Tang and Sung-Ming.Mo-hsüeh chi-chen and Ju-tao pu-chüis the general picture in Tang dynasty's academia.Exteriorly,Buddhism and Taoism,especially Buddhism had strongly challenged and influenced Tang's thought field.Interiorly,Ching-hsüeh(Studying the Classics)has lost vigor,and Literature has been showy,which both lost practicality. Under such pressure of exterior and interior,Confucianism is increasingly debility. Thus,how to come true Ju-hsüeh's Du-tsun's after Hang-huang Gai-yun,to settle for the requirement of neatening social vogue and answering Buddhism and Taoism's challenge,is the common problem that Ju-shih think deeply,namely,Confucianism's renaissance becomes the important time-problem desiderated to solve in Tang dynasty. which embodies following four aspects' choice:First,how to treat Buddhism,in Confucianism's visual threshold to conform Confucianism and Buddhism,or to construct Tao-tung so to resist Buddhism by Confucianism 's traditional elementary spirits;Second,in the aspect of T'ien-jen-kuan-hsi(Relationships between Heaven and Man),how to return Confucianism's basic value? the humanistic principia(Jen-tao yüan-tse),namely the school choice of Mencius or Hsün Tzǔafter Confucius;Third, Confucian classics how to obtain new vital force,Wo-chu-liu-ching or Liu-ching-chu-wo,namely,the choice of Chang-chüHsün-ku(Ju-shih studied the Classics and recorded some annotation or comments by words,vocabularies,sentences and chapters)or Yi-li Ch'üan-shih,(Obtaining the principles or philosophy in the classics by interpretation);Fourth,how to recur Confucianism's social moralize function and instruction,the choice of Yi-wen-yan-tao(literature to veil the Tao)or Wen-yi-ming-tao(literature to clear the Tao).In the highly consciousness of Confucianism's renaissance and ideal of Ming-tao striving his entire life,Liu Tsung-yüan has answered these problem reasoningly and creationarily,thereout, which has formed the historical relation of Confucianism s renaissance between Tang and Sung-Ming.Firstly,Tung-he-Ju-Shih,Hsüan-ti-yi-chih.On account of Buddhism's Chung-kuo-hua(Chinalized)and profundity influence,Ju-shih has carved out a way of Yi-Ju-Tung-he-Fo-chiao(the conformity of Buddhism and Confucianism in the field of Confucianism vision).Such thought is necessary,hot and practical potentiality. Han Yüand Li Ao are against Buddhism professedly and have no creative idea,but introject it virtually and have some attainments.But Liu Tsung-yüan,in Confucianism's visual threshold,not only approbates but also criticizes Buddhism.As to the former,based on the actuality of Buddhism's highly Shih-Su-hua(secularized), he deems that Buddhism's Tao has some comparability to Confucianism,such as Filial piety,Humanity and Righteousness,Ceremony and Mitzvah.Meanwhile,he clears up Buddhism's supermundane spirits by Confucianism's secularism,so to exert the advantages of Buddhism's theory.As to the latter,he criticizes the disadvantages of Zen's(Ch'an's)vogues at that time,such as Liu-dung-chüan-wu, Die-hsieng-shih-yung,Wang-ch 'ü-kung,yan,Tuo-lüe-fang-p 'ien,Yan-ti-pu-chi-yung and so on,which reflects Confucianism's opinions,such as comply by Ceremonies, revering classics and saints,cultivating bodies and hearts.Moreover,Mr.Liu criticizes Buddhism deeply and roundly from the aspects of Hsüeh-feng(the Studies of Classics and Writing),manifesting his Confucian view on the Classics Studies and Literature.Totally,Liu Tsung-yüan doesn't deviate from the heavy task to revival Confucianism,dominating by Confucianism,and affirms Tung-he-Ju-Shih.So,it is obvious that Mr.Han and Mr.Liu's thought is highly consistency at the essential layer, just differ in surface,they reach the same goal by different routes.However,the NewConfucianism affirms Jen(Virtues)and Li(Principle),regards Buddhism as heterodoxy in public,and takes the task of refuting and criticizing Buddhism.So,He pays attention to Han Yü,but lay aside Liu Tsung-yüan. Secondly,Liu Tsung-yüan proposes an opinion of T'ien-jen-pu-hsiang-yüto return Confucianism's basic value——Jen-tao yüan-tse(principle of humanism). Confucius' thought,on T'ien-jen-kuan-hsih which is a basic problem in China's philosophy,interiorly implies two tendencies:one is Mencius' school of T'ien-jen-he-yi,another is Hsün Tzǔ's school of T'ien-jen-hsiang-fen,and both reach the same goal by different routes,just try to advocate Jen-tao Yüan-tse.The former makes for T'ien-jen-kan-ying-lun(That is Telepathy between Heaven and Man)after the correlation of man with the view of Ying-Yang and Five Elements,which has lost the Jen-tao Yüan-tse under the mysterious fogs,though also affirmed it.Liu Tsung-yüan follows and develops the way of T'ien-jen-hsiang-fen which Hsün Tzu and Wang Chung affirmed,which outspreads from following four aspects:First,he has developed the thought of Ts'i(all things by self),and carried it through cosmology, philosophy and axiology;Second,Mr.Liu puts forward a viewpoint of T'ien-jen-pu-hsiang-yü,after refuted Han dynasty's theory of theological teleology thoroughly and roundly,and reduced T'ien's natural quality from the angle of Cosmology,thus,liberating the tradition's Jen-tao yüan-tse from theological crazy talk.Third,he succeeded the sage or saint viewpoint of Confucius,Mencius and Hsün Tzu and Hsün Tsu's theory of Hs'ing-pu,and develops the Jen-hs'ing-ts'ih-j'an-lun (means Human Essence is formed by human being itself but not congenital or by God) in the respect of historical view,thinks that Human Essence is a dialectic unity of Ming(Intelligence)and Chih(Will),develops the theory of Ta-ch'ung-chih-tao,and proposes a theory of Sheng-jen-yü-jen-wu-yi(which means sages and everyman are the same),which is the embodiment of humane principle in ideal personality.Fourth, closely related with the ideal personality is the social ideal of Ch 'ih-k'ung.Based on Confucianism's thought of Ming-p'en(a political view that civil is the fundamental and principal part of a country),Liu Tsung-yüan advocates a view of Li-an-yüan-yüan(which requiring the rulers bring benefit and safety to people),which is a dialectic integration of Li-ming and Ming-li,is Ming-yi-er-fei-yi-ming(the relationship between official and populace is populace employed official,so ruler should service civil but not contra).In all,Liu Tsung-yüan has carries on Hsün Tsu's way once deemed as Heterodoxy by Sung-Ming Li-hsüeb,which results in some distance between he and Li-hsüeb-ch'ia who exerts Mencius' school of Confucianism.Thirdly,Mr.Liu propels the transformation of the Classics Studied ways of You-wo-er-te(That means the Principle attained by myself),Ch'ie-sheng-li-yan(to express one's thought nominally sage's).Based on the influence,stimulating and enlightening of Buddhism's Yi-shu-ching-hsüeh,and the spirits of Doubting the Classics,the mid-Tang dynasty's Confucian classics studies which has been down-falling increasingly and whose Tao has been shaded,is faced with a instant problem——Confucian classics how to recover vitality,videlicet,it is inevitable to carry through a change of the way how to study the Confucian Classics at a suitable time in Confucianism's interior,the New Ch'un-ch'iu School in Mid-Tang which is inaugurated by T'an Chu,Chao Kuang and Lu Chun,propelled by Liu Tsung-yüan and L'u Wen,on one hand,have deconstructed and surPassed the traditional Chang-chüHsün-ku Hsüeh,on the other hand,then pursuit for Yi-li in two fields:the Confucian classics studies and historiography by Ta-chung-chih-tao.They advocate that Ju-shih should re-annotate the traditional Classics and Commentaries,use the method of Liu-ching-zhu-wo,to clear the heart of sages',to find out Wei-yan-ta-yi(which means to understanding the spirit implied in the classic text and not sticking to the text itself,especially the exegesis or commentary,namely Chu-shu Chung-chü,so to discover and understand the ideas and spirits of Confucius beyond or implied the classic text books.)so to construct a new theoretic system and make Confucian classics obtained new vires,so to show the practicability of Ju-Tao.They have explained and developed the inner values of Confucianism and at the same time evaluated highly the subjective consciousness and the sPirit of rational.,which has adequately presented the subject's creativity.At the same time,Liu Tsung-yüan carries on the new method of Classics studies——She-chuan-chiu-Ching(studying the classics by text itself without consulting their commentaries),asserts to strictly differentiate Ching(classics,texts)and Chuan(commentaries);has developed the methods of Doubting Classics and Verification forge Classics,which highly identified with the Sung studies' thought of Yi-Ku Jie-Ching.This change of InterPretation of the Classics is a subversive transformaton,compared with texts' revive of early Tang dynasty whose symbol is Wu-Ching-Ch'eng-Yi authorized by emperor,it is obvious that there is a consistency of The New ch'un Ch'iu school of Mid-tang and Sung-Ming's Ching-hsüeb at many aspects.So we can retrospect the Sung Leaning's life to The Mid-Tang dynasty.The last but not least,how to recur Confucianism's social moralize function,he sparkplugs Wen-yi-ming-tao.Wen and Tao is an inner unity in Confucianism's tradition.Wen implies the thought of Tsun-Ching,Chung-Sheng and Fu-Ku,contains the meanings of instruction,exists the potentiality of unfurling moralise.Just as the dissimilated Chang-chüHsün-ku Ching-hsüeh has lost Ju-tao,the P'ien-wen of Liu-chao has tended towards extremity,and also covered Ju-tao,one of the big shorts is losing the characteristics of Fu-shih-ji-shih,Ching-shih-chih-yung(namely the spirits of social practicability),and mostly such articles run short of contents or spirits and look inane.On the time problem of Confucianism's renaissance in Tang-Sung Dynasty,is one germ cell two embryos of literature's renovation and Ching-hsüeb's transformation.Liu Tsung-yüan develops the view of Wen-yi-ming-tao at the aspects such as Wen and Ming-tao,Chu-tao-chih-yüan and Pang-tui-ch'iao-tung,Wei-hsüeb and Wei-wen,Ch'ih and Yen,Shu and Hsin,Wen-ts'ai and Ming-tao,Ku-wen and Ku-tao,and so on,which is different from Sung's thought of Wen-yi-tsai-tao.Through the seeing about the view of Wen-tao of dynasties before Tang,Tang and Sung-Ming,we can find out that there is a masterstroke,namely a unity of Wen and Tao in Confucianism's field of vision,but has difference of Chung-tao-ching-wen (Prefer Tao to Wen)and Wen-tao-ping-chü.The view of Wen-tao in Tang-Sung intent to rectify the deviation of Chi-chih-wen(p'ien-wen)and advocate Ju-tao's instruction, which is literature's transform as well as an important part of the movement of Confucianism's renaissance.In fact,the traditional Confucianism's viewpoint of Wen-tao implies a tendency of leaning to Tao.Which is very clear in Pre-Tang's movement of Ku-wen and Sung's Tao- hsüeb.Liu Tsung-yüan and Han Yüin Tang dynasty,Ou-yang Hsiu and Su Shih in Sung dynasty,they succeed antecessors' thought of Wen-tao,at the same time,correct the thought of Chung-wen-ching-tao and Chung-tao-ching-wen,in all,assert a dialectic unity of Wen and Tao.From the above discussed,we can come to a conclusion that Liu Tsung-yüan has made great contribution to Confucianism's renaissance and has impacted later learning especially the Sung Learning in some degree.So,we couldn't ignore Liu Tsung-yüan's contribution of Confucianism's renaissance on account of Li-hsüeh-chia's laying aside based on the given historical background.