A Study On The Neo-confucianism Of Cao Duan

Cao Duan basically inherited the thoughts of former scholars, such as ZhouDunyi, Zhang Zai, Cheng Hao, Cheng yi and Zhu Xi. He advocated practical andspread the Confucianism. His thought was called as “the Learning of CultivatingHeart” for his emphasis on doing efforts on the “Mind”. For he elaborated someimportant propositions, he was honored as the head of all the Neo-Confucian scholarsat the beginning of Ming dynasty. The author tries to find the path from hisNeo-Confucianism to the Mind Theory and the relationship with the turning from LiSchool to Mind School by elaborates the Neo-Confucianism of Cao Duan.The author considers that the overall grasp of Neo-Confucianism of Cao Duanwas achieved by the elaboration of Ontology, Mind-nature theory and Self-Cultivation.Comprehend Cao’s inheritance and development of Neo-Confucianism under thebackground of the beginning of Ming dynasty in Neo-Confucianism, grasp thecharacteristic of his Neo-Confucianism. His thought was influenced by the thought ofZhu Lu in Yuan dynasty and continued the trend. He inherited the thoughts of formerscholars and questioned them daringly. He pay more attentions on the Self-Cultivationgradually and emphasized on doing efforts on the “Mind”.As a scholar of Zhu Xi’s school, Cao Duan basically inherited the mainly viewsin Li School. He incorporated his own views into them and promoted them, and raisedsome objections in some aspects. This is his original creativity. The disagreement withZhu Xi on the point of “T’ai Chi Motion and Quietness” has leads Cao’s separationfrom Principle of School in Ontology and directly caused Cao’s disagreements with LiSchool in Mind-nature Theory and Self-Cultivation. Cao Duan’s thoughts full of Mind,emphasized its importance and showed the tendency of Li School to Mind School.Some ideas in Cao’s system have promoted the development of Mind School, itreflected in “T’ai Chi Motion and Quietness”,“Unity of Li and Ch’i”,“the Study ofCultivating the Mind”. It caused scholars pay more attentions to “Mind” and has varydegrees of influence on Xue Xuan, Luo Qinshun and Wang Tingxiang. Cao promotedthe development of Mind School indirectly, and started the turn from Li School toMind School. As a scholar of Zhu Xi’s school whose thoughts full of Mind, Cao’scontributions to the turn of Li School cannot go unnoticed. Though it didn’t mean todeviate from Li School subjectively, he pushed the development of Mind School bychance and had a far-reaching influence on the formation of the supremacy of Mind School.