| Xiao Jing(孝经)is a prominent study in the scriptures from Han to Tang.The statement of Confucius,"My ambition is in Chun Qiu(春秋),and my conduct is in Xiao Jing(孝经),"as stated in Xiao Jing Gou Ming Jue(孝经钩命决)is a common presupposition of the study of Xiao Jing(孝经)from Han to Tang.Why did such expressions exist in the prophetic literature(谶纬文献)produced in the late Western Han Dynasty?Why and how did this view become generally accepted by the Eastern Han dynasty,and thus became public knowledge in the world of medieval thought?This paper attempts to answer these questions from the perspective of the construction of legitimacy of the Han dynasty regime by using a research method that combines intellectual and political history.The introductory part of this paper clearly defines the meaningful scope of the concepts of"The Study of Xiao Jing(孝经)in the Han Dynasty"and"regime legitimacy".On this basis,the introductory section summarizes and reflects on the results of modern scholarship on the study of Xiao Jing(孝经)and the legitimacy of the Han dynasty regime,and at the same time,explains the research approach taken and the possible academic value of this paper.The first chapter,"An Introduction to the Study of Xiao Jing(孝经) in the Han Dynasty,"outlines the historical lineage of the study of Xiao Jing(孝经)in the Han Dynasty in terms of its transmission,evolution,popularity,leap forward,and integration.In the less than half a century between the Western and Eastern Han dynasties,the status of Xiao Jing(孝经)leapt from being an elementary school textbook of universal nature to being a core classic alongside Chun Qiu(春秋).The explanation of the phenomenon of the steep rise in the status of Xiao Jing(孝经)is the central concern of this paper.The second chapter,"The Continuity and Crisis of the Legitimacy of the Western Han Dynasty,"describes the tradition of"inheriting the body and following the system of the predecessors"(继体守文)of the Western Han imperial family and the crisis of the legitimacy of the Western Han regime due to the theory of the"sage’s ordination,"(圣人受命)depicting the context of the emergence of prophetic literature(谶纬文献)around the first millennium CE.This paper summarizes the dispute over the legitimacy of the regime between the Western Han and Eastern Han as a disagreement between"ancestry"and"Mandate of Heaven",and further outlines three specific manifestations of the"personal ability"theory(逐鹿说),the"Mandate of Heaven"theory(天命说),and the"Mandated Revival"theory(受命中兴说).The third chapter,"The Study of Xiao Jing(孝经)and the Construction of Regime Legitimacy in the Eastern Han Dynasty,"takes the year 43A.D.as the boundary,and divides the development of Emperor Guangwu(光武帝)’s theory of the"Mandated Revival"(受命中兴说)into the preconstruction of the political system,which preached"The Beginning of the Fire Virtue(始正火德),"and the post-construction of the political system,which centered on the"nine reigns of the Red Emperor(赤帝九世).The study of Xiao Jing(孝经),especially the prophetic literature(谶纬文献)on Xiao Jing(孝经),has been a constant part of the process of reconstructing the legitimacy of the Han dynasty,and has made a particularly significant contribution to it.This may be one of the main reasons for the steep rise in the status of Xiao Jing(孝经)between the Western and Eastern Han dynasties... |
