University Koan Of A Book Spread

The Great Learning is in first place of Confucianist classics -the "Four Books".It always receives the closest attention and highest valuation since Song Dynasty.Many scholars had done the deep research for it in all previous dynasties. The achievement is plentiful.But there are many disputes about the meaning of name,the time and the author of this important Confucianist literature.What is the meaning of "the great learning"? Who is the author of The Great Learning? How did it spread before the Song Dynasty and in the Song Dynasty? These questions had not been solved.This paper attempts the way which unifies the literature study and the thinking history,in the foundation of the predecessor research results,to The Great Learning's meaning of the name,the time and author and the spreading do a subsystem combing and reasonable discussion.From ancient to present,there are three Viewpoints about the meaning of "the great learning":"the great learning is the imperial colledge";"the great learning is the studying of the adult";"the great learning is the great knowledge".After proof,in our opinion,"the great learning" interpreted as "great knowledge" more reasonable.And there are many conclusions about the time and the author of The Great Learning.For example,some people think that it was written by Kongzi or Zengzi or Zisi between the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period;some people think that it was written by Mengzi or Xunzi In the Warring States Period;some people think that it was written Between Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty.And also some people thought it was written at the Han Dynasty. But we discovered these conclusions are biased.Lacks the comprehensive care to the text in research process.The Great Learning is one of The Book of Rites. According to the research on how did The Book of Rites compiled,we draws the conclusion:The Great Learning was compiled before the Western Han Dynasty. Then we compared the thought of The Great Learning with Zengzi,Zisi,Mencius and Xunzi's thought.And unifies the time background it reflected.we think that it compiled at Warring States earlier period,after Kongzi and Zengzi before Mengzi and Xunzi.Possibly it is polished by the posterity.The Research on the time and the author of The Great Learning could make us have the correct understanding to its status which locates in the pre-Qin Confucianist academic history.From Wei and Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties to Sui and Tang Dynasties, Buddhism and Taoism were prosperous very much.The Confucianism academic status dropped.To resisted Buddhism and Taoism and to defender Confucianism, the gentleman revival Confucianism vigorously after the Tang Dynasty intermediate stage specially since Song Dynasty.Started the new ball game of the Confucianism development.Unifying the social background,the academic ideological trend in this time and the forming process of the "Four Books" we inspected the process which spreaded in Tang Dynasty specially in Song Dynasty. Because of the characteristic that The Great Learning owns as well as he development of academic need at that time,it becomed one of the "Four Books" and leaped to the first place.Zhu Xi has lasting achievements for this.The research on the meaning of name,the time and the author of The Great Learning,make us have a deeper understanding to The Great Learning.The Great Learning is the important guiding which carried on the task of Pre-Qin Confucianist.Its recovery once more in Song Dynasty,for the Confucianism revival and the production of Neo-Confucianism had provided the powerful theory basis.Thus impelled the Chinese ancient philosophy to develop to a new altitude.