The Old Confucian Classics With The Politics Of Eastern Han Dynasty

In the Han Dynasty,rejecting the other schools of thought and respecting only Confucianism.Confucianism has been upgraded from traditional learning to the study of Confucian Classics by the power of politic.And it became the guiding ideology of the decision made by the state that widely used in every aspect of political life in Han Dynasty.The study of Confucian Classics in the Han Dynasty has distinction between New Confucian Classics and Old Confucian Classics.New Confucian Classics prevailed over the Western Han Dynasty and Old Confucian Classics prevailed over the Eastern Han Dynasty.The historical records of Han Dynasty have not the marks of “Old Confucian Classics”and just have the word of “Old Text”and“Old Study”,so the influence of old Confucian Classics to the Eastern Han politics should include two aspects of the content,which were the influence of “old text” to the Eastern Han politics and the influence of “old study” to the Eastern Han politics.In the Eastern Han Dynasty imperial edict,the quote of Confucian Classics did not have strict distinguish between New Confucian Classics and Old Confucian Classics.And the content of Old Confucian Classics’ quote was widely,including trial,dealing with royal affairs,explaining unusual phenomena,competing official school,recommending officials and impeaching relatives of a king and eunuch.From a statistical point of view,the number of new Confucian Classics was equal to old Confucian Classics.Except competing official school,the masters of Confucian Classics did not have political mutual-opposition.The popular of Old Text promote the change of relatives of a king to the scholar-officials and the combination of Confucianism with officials.The prosperity of Old Study broke up the inherited system of Confucian Classics and affected the scholar-officials adhering thought of the father,the master and the emperor,which also attacked the Confucian polite system of the blood relationship,the virtue and the faith.The divination combined with mystical of the new Confucian Classics was more likely to be reformed and used by the rulers,but the Old Confucian Classics was so pragmatic that it could not be the domination of official ideology in the Han Dynasty.