The Revolution Of Confucian Concept Of Filial Piety Under Impact Of Neo-Taoism In Two Jin Dynasties

Founded on the exiting historical materials, the dissertation examines the evolution of the Confucian concept of filial piety (xiao) under impact of Neo-Taoism (xuanxue) during two Jin Dynasties. The dissertation also, to a great extent, fills a gap in this realm as well as makes a contribution to the intellectual history of this period. After a comprehensive survey, my conclusions are as follows:Firstly, as the most significant trends of thought during two Jin Dynasties, Confucianism and Neo-Taoism rivals and permeates each other, which has quite an effect on the development of the concept of filial piety. And it expresses various qualities in accordance with the changing position of Confucianism and Neo-Taoism.Secondly, all rulers advocate the concept of filial piety, which gets many disciples, as the ideology. However, it is undeniable that this idea falls into a decline step by step. During the reigns of the emperor of Jianwen and Xiaowu, it is almost extinct resulting from within and without, that is , the trend of Neo-Taoism.Thirdly, the concept of filial piety rises at the same period. In the early days of Xi-jin, surviving Zhulinmingshi, such as Shan-tao and Wang-rong, makes an impact on this idea, which in turn makes its impact on some bureaucrats in Ruxue system gradually. At the last phase of Xi-jin, it influences the lower Shizu and the common people on a great scale. Even the emperor of Xiaowu and many highter Shizu are involved at the middle and last stage of Dong-jin, which signifies that the concept of filial piety defeats it finally.In a word, during two Jin Dynasties, the concept of filial piety from Confucianism and the one from Neo-Taoism compete and mix at the same time. Generally, the former becomes more and more popular, and the later, by contrast, goes in the opposite direction.