The Study Of Huang Gan's Doctrine Of Confucian Orthodoxy

Huang Gan(1152-1221),a remarkable Zhuzist in the Southern Sung Dynasty,together with Chen Chun, Liu Yue, and Cai Yuanding, was regarded as the four famous disciples of Zhu Xi.In his ideological system, the doctrine of Confucian orthodoxy is the most peculiar part with high theoretical value.On the bases of Zhu Xi's research findings, Huang Gan elevates the mind-and-nature theory of Neo-Confucianism to the summit of Confucianism, and constructs a pedigree of Confucian Orthodoxy starting from Yao,Shun, Yu, Cheng Tang, King Wen, King Wu, Duke Zhou, Confucius, Yan Zi, Zeng Zi, Zi Si, Mencius, Zhou Dunyi, the Cheng Brothers, to Zhu Xi. To establish Zhu Xi's orthodoxy is the aim of Huang Gan's research, and is his greatest contribution.In order to justify his orthodoxy, Zhu Xi creates his own system of Confucianism, which, however, gets fierce attack from the other schools. Ye Shi's Utilitarian Confucianism is just a representative.By means of comparing the Confucian Orthodoxy by Huang Gan, Zhu Xi and Ye Shi, this paper intends to display the features of Huang Gan's doctrine of Confucian Orthodoxy and highlights the theoretical value of it. Huang Gan's doctrine of Confucian Orthodoxy is superior to that of Zhu Xi and Ye Shi in its methodology and completeness, and helps to push the theories of Confucian Orthodoxy in Sung Dynasty to its summit. As a result, the doctrine of Confucian Orthodoxy by Huang Gan is precious to the intellectual history of China.