Song Dynasty Hermit Cohort Study

Hermits, who contributed a lot to creating Chinese traditional culture, have served as a special community in Chinese ancient society for a long time. In Song dynasty, the group of hermits had become a relatively independent social stratum, when Chinese hermit culture entered into a new stage.Hermits in Song dynasty lived in a special era. On one hand, lots of literati and officialdom chose to withdraw from society and live in solitude as a result of the vicious spiral of politics, social chaos caused by dynastic change, ban and division of parties, the rise of neo-Confucianism, and prohibition of culture; on the other hand, due to the basic national policy "stressing the civil over the military arts",the treatment of literati and officialdom had been improved greatly, which leaded to the promotion of hermits' social and political status who anticipated in more and more political affaires. At that time, the living condition of hermits could be guaranteed through family property, engagement in agricultural production activities, tuition fees from students, funding or rewards from government or officials, as well as selling drug for a living.The basic type of Song Dynasty's hermits mainly includes the subjective free will,the objective will,treat the hermitical behavior as the method of marches the official career.Otherwise,hermits in Song Dynasty mainly live in the south area.The interaction between hermit and politics was relatively close in Song dynasty. On the one hand, the government levied and praised some moral and prestigious hermits, encouraging them to participate in political affaires. Meanwhile, great freedom and tolerance was also rendered to those who were reluctant to return to society; On the other hand, the hermits in Song dynasty responded positively to the political reality, showing lofty collective values. In the value orientation, the Song Dynasty recluse has the intense historical sense of mission and the sense of hardship, lives simply the fame and fortune, to be content to lead a humble but virtuous life, the writings, instruct with concentration dispel doubt, realize own life value.In the moral practice, the Song Dynasty recluse has the heavy filial piety, the clansman to live together in peace and harmony, the good righteousness with brothers to push in the native place noble quality. The connotation of the Song dynasty's hermit culture lies in emphasis on internal transcendence and liberation. The imperial autocracy in Song dynasty imposed restrictions on the development of hermit culture and also promoted it, which has a far-reaching influence on later generations in moral integration, safeguarding social stability, and controlling intellectuals'of mentality.