The "Sincerity" Theory Of The Four Sons Of The Northern Song Dynasty

Cheng (integrity), an important category in the history of Chinese thoughts, is regarded as the most difficult concept to be interpreted. Its source can be found in some classic works of the pre-Qin period, which show that it was widely discussed by philosophers of that time. As the discussion went further, the meaning of Cheng developed gradually along a people-oriented approach, then some new contents, such as subjectivity, morality, uniformity and politics had merged into its core meaning which was originally composed by truthfulness and truth. And in this progress, Mencius and Xuncius had made great contribution. Cheng is more prominent in Confucianism than in other schools, and this significance was expressed especially in Daxue (The Great Learning) and Zhongyong(The Doctrine of Mean).The main stream of Confucianism in the periods Han and Tang was annotation and interpretation upon classic works, and the Confucianists of that time did not pay enough attention to Liji(Book of Rites), which embodies Daxue and Zhongyong, therefore, Cheng was ignored for long during the periods. Han Yu and Li Ao spoke highly of Daxue and Zhongyong in the purpose of out against Buddhism, Li Ao had even proposed "recovering the human nature with Cheng". This trend of thought became much prevalent in the early years of the Northern Song dynasty, Daxue and Zhongyong had been chosen from Liji as new classics, and composed Sishu(The Four Books) together with Lunyu(The Analects) and Mengzi(The Mencius). In the trend, Zhou Dunyi, Zhang Zai and the Cheng brothers highly valued the idea of Cheng in Daxue and Zhongyong, and systematically discussed on the formation and the development of the world, the cultivation of ethics and morality, the theories of feudal state around Cheng. Therefore, the theory of Cheng was established on the foundation of the theoretical innovation.The Neo-Confucianism is philosophized, and its core problems are Human Nature and Heavenly Way. As the founders of Neo-Confucianism, Zhou Dunyi, Zhang Zai and the Cheng brothers searched resources in the classics of Confucianism, explored the idea of Cheng in Daxue and Zhongyong. They had unified the interpretation of Daxue, Zhongyong with that of Yijing(The Book of Changes) and Liji(The Book of Rites), so they could bind Cheng to Yijing and Liji to gain its political meaning that every man should follow the system of rites and music which originated from Heavenly Way. According to Zhongyong, Human Nature and Heavenly Way are united, men should keep Cheng in themselves to get close to the Heavenly Way. Based on the inheritance of former thoughts, the theory of Cheng had established various theoretical dimensions, such as ontology, mind-nature, life realm and political education. It had also brought the Tian Ren He Xie (Harmony Between Man and Nature), a traditional idea in Chinese philosophy, to a new height.Zhou Dunyi, Zhang Zai and the Cheng brothers focused on the discussion of Cheng, which established the foundation of their theories. Therefore, the revealing of the theory of Cheng in the above four masters'works has great significance in the studies of the Neo-Confucianism, and even the whole history of Chinese thoughts.