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Jump to navigationJump to searchCreated page with "*''Other Names'': 朱子学 ''(Shushi gaku, C: Zhūxī xué)'', 王陽明学 ''(Ouyoumei gaku, C: Wáng Yángmíng xué)'' *''Japanese'': 宋明理学 ''(Soumin rigaku)'' ..."
*''Other Names'': 朱子学 ''(Shushi gaku, C: Zhūxī xué)'', 王陽明学 ''(Ouyoumei gaku, C: Wáng Yángmíng xué)''
*''Japanese'': 宋明理学 ''(Soumin rigaku)''
Neo-Confucianism refers to a series of strains of philosophy, based fundamentally on the teachings of [[Zhu Xi]] ([[1130]]-[[1200]]), a writer of the [[Song Dynasty]]. Zhu Xi's interpretations of the [[Confucian classics]] became the standard canon for the [[Chinese imperial examinations|Confucian civil examinations]] and Confucian political philosophy of government in the last decades of the [[Southern Song Dynasty]], through the [[Qing Dynasty]], being developed and changed over the centuries, as well as being adopted in [[Joseon Dynasty]] Korea, the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]], and Japan.
Though first introduced to Japan in the 12th or 13th century, Neo-Confucianism became particularly prominent as a standard, canonical, philosophy of governance in the [[Tokugawa period]]. Much of the ideals and philosophies of the Tokugawa period, in particular the idea that everyone in society must behave properly according to their position - a father should be a good father, a peasant a good peasant, a ruler a good ruler, had their basis in Neo-Confucian philosophy. This guided [[sumptuary regulations]], the belief in and pressure towards adherence to a hierarchy of four classes of society,<ref>''[[Mibunsei]]'', or ''shinô kôshô'' (Samurai, Farmers, Artisans, Merchants).</ref> various Reforms aimed towards propriety, and so forth. Neo-Confucian ideas also informed attitudes towards foreign relations, including the idea of ''[[joi|jôi]]'' ("expulsion of the barbarians") in the 19th century.<ref>[[Bob Tadashi Wakabayashi]], ''Anti-Foreignism and Western Learning in Early Modern Japan'', Harvard University Press (1992), 20.</ref>
Neo-Confucianism continued to have a significant impact in the [[Meiji period]] and into the 20th century, as it remained the fundamental basis for morals/ethics curricula in public education, and to an extent as the basis and justification for government policy. Neo-Confucian understandings and justifications are seen, for example, in the [[1890]] [[Imperial Rescript on Education]]. To the extent that "Confucianism" or "Confucian values" are said to still have influence in Japan today, it is Neo-Confucianism - originally developed by Zhu Xi, and developed over time through the influences of [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]], [[Qing Dynasty|Qing]], Korean, and Tokugawa scholars - to which this refers.
==In China==
::''See [[Zhu Xi]] for more on Zhu Xi's own activities and teachings.''
Neo-Confucianism was first developed by Zhu Xi in the late 12th century in China, based on the work of the 11th century brothers [[Cheng Hao]] and [[Cheng Yi]]. Among the key ideas was an understanding of the cosmos as being composed entirely of ''[[qi]]'' (matter/essence), organized according to a fundamental principle, ''[[li (principle)|li]]''. However, Zhu Xi was also a supporter of the practical application of (Neo-)Confucian thought to political and other real-world problems.<ref name=neoconf>Bonnie Smith et al. ''Crossroads and Cultures''. Bedford/St. Martins (2012), 431.; Patricia Ebrey, ''Chinese Civilization'', Second Edition, New York: The Free Press (1993), 172-177.; "The Synthesis of Sung Neo-Confucianism in Chu Hsi", in William Theodore de Bary et al, eds., ''Sources of Chinese Tradition'', Columbia University Press (1960), 534-557.</ref>
Zhu Xi's teachings were originally seen as quite radical, and were banned in [[1196]]. But by sometime early in the following century, they were adopted by the Song Court into political practice, and into the Confucian civil service exams, becoming ''the'' orthodox set of texts and interpretations. The focus was on the Four Books designated by Zhu Xi - the Analects, the Mencius, the Great Learning, and the Doctrine of the Mean - and on Zhu Xi's commentaries on these texts.<ref name=neoconf/>
==In Japan==
Sources associated with the [[Satsunan school]] of Neo-Confucianism, based in [[Satsuma province]], suggest that Song Neo-Confucianism was first introduced to Japan in [[1241]], when the [[Zen]] monk [[Enni]] returned from China with books of Zhu Xi's teachings. However, scholars such as Takatsu Takashi point out that copies of Zhu Xi's commentaries on the [[Doctrine of the Mean]], signed by [[Oe Munemitsu|Ôe Munemitsu]] in [[1200]], are extant in [[Kamakura]] archives.<ref>Takatsu Takashi, “Ming Jianyang Prints and the Spread of the Teachings of Zhu Xi to Japan and the Ryukyu Kingdom in the Seventeenth Century,” in Angela Schottenhammer (ed.), ''The East Asian Mediterranean: Maritime Crossroads of Culture'', Harrassowitz Verlag, 2008. 254.</ref> The [[Ritsu sect]] Buddhist monk [[Shunjo|Shunjô]] ([[1166]]-[[1227]]) may have been the first to introduce Zhu Xi's teachings into Japan, some decades before Enni.<ref>Robert Morrell, "Zeami's Kasuga Ryûjin (Dragon God of Kasuga), or Myôe Shônin," ''Early Kamakura Buddhism: A Minority Report'', Asian Humanities Press (1987), 103.</ref> In this early period, however, it was difficult to study or spread Neo-Confucian teachings, as families which dominated the ''[[myokyo|myôkyô]]''<!--明経--> hereditary posts at the [[Heian period]] Court controlled the teaching and spread of Confucianist texts and thought. Study of Neo-Confucianist texts was thus limited, for a time, to those within Zen temples.
The first prominent lectures on Zhu Xi's teachings may have taken place during the reign of [[Emperor Go-Daigo]] (r. [[1318]]-[[1339]]), or that of his predecessor [[Emperor Hanazono]] (r. [[1308]]-1318).
The Satsunan school of Confucianism, based in Satsuma province, traces its origins to [[1478]], when the scholar [[Keian Genju]] was invited to Satsuma by [[Shimazu Tadamasa]], where he gave lectures and distributed texts. While Keian was clearly not the first to introduce Zhu Xi's teachings to Japan, he may have been the first to distribute Neo-Confucian texts in a ''[[kanbun|kakikudashi]]'' form, making them more readable and accessible to those less familiar with [[Classical Chinese]].<ref>Gallery labels, [[Shokoshuseikan|Shôkoshûseikan]], Kagoshima, Sept 2014.</ref>
===Tokugawa Period===
While intellectual exchange between Japan and the continent had certainly continued in the centuries prior to the Edo period, the (re-)introduction of [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]] Neo-Confucianism, as heavily influenced by the ideas of [[Wang Yangming]], and as transmitted through Korea, in the very last years of the [[Sengoku period]], is taken as significant. Particularly significant were a series of interactions between [[Fujiwara Seika]] and members of a mission to Japan in [[1590]], including especially vice-envoy [[Kim Songil|Kim Sŏngil]], a student of [[Yi Hwang]], perhaps the most famous Neo-Confucian scholar in Korean history.<ref>Doyoung Park, "A New Perspective on the Korean Embassy (Chôsen Tsûshinshi): The View from the Intellectuals in Tokugawa Japan," ''Studies in Asia Series'' IV, 3:1 (2013), 13-14.</ref>
One of Seika's students, [[Hayashi Razan]], then became the chief Confucian advisor to several shoguns, passing on that position to his son, and establishing the [[Hayashi family]] as the dominant hereditary family in that position, and the dominant school of thought. Scholars such as [[Arai Hakuseki]] interrupted Hayashi dominance at times, making very significant contributions to Tokugawa political philosophy and policy, but the Hayashi generally returned to dominance afterwards. Dubbed ''Hayashi Daigaku-no-kami'' ("Hayashi head of the academy") as their official title, heads of the Hayashi family became heads of the lead Confucian academy in the realm, the Shôheizaka gakumonjo, and the Confucian shrine with which it was associated, the [[Yushima Seido|Yushima Seidô]].<ref>"Shôheikô" 昌平黌。 ''Nihon daihyakka zensho Nipponica'' 日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ). Shogakkan. Accessed via JapanKnowledge online resource, 13 September 2011.; "[http://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%B9%AF%E5%B3%B6%E8%81%96%E5%A0%82 Yushima seidô]." ''Koku shitei shiseki kanzen guide no kaisetsu'' 国指定史跡完全ガイドの解説, Kodansha, 2013.; Plaques on-site at Yushima Seidô.</ref>
Neo-Confucianism had its detractors, however, in Japan as well, with figures such as [[Ogyu Sorai|Ogyû Sorai]] gaining considerable currency in intellectual circles.
==In Ryukyu==
{{stub}}
==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Edo Period]]
[[Category:Culture]]
*''Japanese'': 宋明理学 ''(Soumin rigaku)''
Neo-Confucianism refers to a series of strains of philosophy, based fundamentally on the teachings of [[Zhu Xi]] ([[1130]]-[[1200]]), a writer of the [[Song Dynasty]]. Zhu Xi's interpretations of the [[Confucian classics]] became the standard canon for the [[Chinese imperial examinations|Confucian civil examinations]] and Confucian political philosophy of government in the last decades of the [[Southern Song Dynasty]], through the [[Qing Dynasty]], being developed and changed over the centuries, as well as being adopted in [[Joseon Dynasty]] Korea, the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]], and Japan.
Though first introduced to Japan in the 12th or 13th century, Neo-Confucianism became particularly prominent as a standard, canonical, philosophy of governance in the [[Tokugawa period]]. Much of the ideals and philosophies of the Tokugawa period, in particular the idea that everyone in society must behave properly according to their position - a father should be a good father, a peasant a good peasant, a ruler a good ruler, had their basis in Neo-Confucian philosophy. This guided [[sumptuary regulations]], the belief in and pressure towards adherence to a hierarchy of four classes of society,<ref>''[[Mibunsei]]'', or ''shinô kôshô'' (Samurai, Farmers, Artisans, Merchants).</ref> various Reforms aimed towards propriety, and so forth. Neo-Confucian ideas also informed attitudes towards foreign relations, including the idea of ''[[joi|jôi]]'' ("expulsion of the barbarians") in the 19th century.<ref>[[Bob Tadashi Wakabayashi]], ''Anti-Foreignism and Western Learning in Early Modern Japan'', Harvard University Press (1992), 20.</ref>
Neo-Confucianism continued to have a significant impact in the [[Meiji period]] and into the 20th century, as it remained the fundamental basis for morals/ethics curricula in public education, and to an extent as the basis and justification for government policy. Neo-Confucian understandings and justifications are seen, for example, in the [[1890]] [[Imperial Rescript on Education]]. To the extent that "Confucianism" or "Confucian values" are said to still have influence in Japan today, it is Neo-Confucianism - originally developed by Zhu Xi, and developed over time through the influences of [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]], [[Qing Dynasty|Qing]], Korean, and Tokugawa scholars - to which this refers.
==In China==
::''See [[Zhu Xi]] for more on Zhu Xi's own activities and teachings.''
Neo-Confucianism was first developed by Zhu Xi in the late 12th century in China, based on the work of the 11th century brothers [[Cheng Hao]] and [[Cheng Yi]]. Among the key ideas was an understanding of the cosmos as being composed entirely of ''[[qi]]'' (matter/essence), organized according to a fundamental principle, ''[[li (principle)|li]]''. However, Zhu Xi was also a supporter of the practical application of (Neo-)Confucian thought to political and other real-world problems.<ref name=neoconf>Bonnie Smith et al. ''Crossroads and Cultures''. Bedford/St. Martins (2012), 431.; Patricia Ebrey, ''Chinese Civilization'', Second Edition, New York: The Free Press (1993), 172-177.; "The Synthesis of Sung Neo-Confucianism in Chu Hsi", in William Theodore de Bary et al, eds., ''Sources of Chinese Tradition'', Columbia University Press (1960), 534-557.</ref>
Zhu Xi's teachings were originally seen as quite radical, and were banned in [[1196]]. But by sometime early in the following century, they were adopted by the Song Court into political practice, and into the Confucian civil service exams, becoming ''the'' orthodox set of texts and interpretations. The focus was on the Four Books designated by Zhu Xi - the Analects, the Mencius, the Great Learning, and the Doctrine of the Mean - and on Zhu Xi's commentaries on these texts.<ref name=neoconf/>
==In Japan==
Sources associated with the [[Satsunan school]] of Neo-Confucianism, based in [[Satsuma province]], suggest that Song Neo-Confucianism was first introduced to Japan in [[1241]], when the [[Zen]] monk [[Enni]] returned from China with books of Zhu Xi's teachings. However, scholars such as Takatsu Takashi point out that copies of Zhu Xi's commentaries on the [[Doctrine of the Mean]], signed by [[Oe Munemitsu|Ôe Munemitsu]] in [[1200]], are extant in [[Kamakura]] archives.<ref>Takatsu Takashi, “Ming Jianyang Prints and the Spread of the Teachings of Zhu Xi to Japan and the Ryukyu Kingdom in the Seventeenth Century,” in Angela Schottenhammer (ed.), ''The East Asian Mediterranean: Maritime Crossroads of Culture'', Harrassowitz Verlag, 2008. 254.</ref> The [[Ritsu sect]] Buddhist monk [[Shunjo|Shunjô]] ([[1166]]-[[1227]]) may have been the first to introduce Zhu Xi's teachings into Japan, some decades before Enni.<ref>Robert Morrell, "Zeami's Kasuga Ryûjin (Dragon God of Kasuga), or Myôe Shônin," ''Early Kamakura Buddhism: A Minority Report'', Asian Humanities Press (1987), 103.</ref> In this early period, however, it was difficult to study or spread Neo-Confucian teachings, as families which dominated the ''[[myokyo|myôkyô]]''<!--明経--> hereditary posts at the [[Heian period]] Court controlled the teaching and spread of Confucianist texts and thought. Study of Neo-Confucianist texts was thus limited, for a time, to those within Zen temples.
The first prominent lectures on Zhu Xi's teachings may have taken place during the reign of [[Emperor Go-Daigo]] (r. [[1318]]-[[1339]]), or that of his predecessor [[Emperor Hanazono]] (r. [[1308]]-1318).
The Satsunan school of Confucianism, based in Satsuma province, traces its origins to [[1478]], when the scholar [[Keian Genju]] was invited to Satsuma by [[Shimazu Tadamasa]], where he gave lectures and distributed texts. While Keian was clearly not the first to introduce Zhu Xi's teachings to Japan, he may have been the first to distribute Neo-Confucian texts in a ''[[kanbun|kakikudashi]]'' form, making them more readable and accessible to those less familiar with [[Classical Chinese]].<ref>Gallery labels, [[Shokoshuseikan|Shôkoshûseikan]], Kagoshima, Sept 2014.</ref>
===Tokugawa Period===
While intellectual exchange between Japan and the continent had certainly continued in the centuries prior to the Edo period, the (re-)introduction of [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]] Neo-Confucianism, as heavily influenced by the ideas of [[Wang Yangming]], and as transmitted through Korea, in the very last years of the [[Sengoku period]], is taken as significant. Particularly significant were a series of interactions between [[Fujiwara Seika]] and members of a mission to Japan in [[1590]], including especially vice-envoy [[Kim Songil|Kim Sŏngil]], a student of [[Yi Hwang]], perhaps the most famous Neo-Confucian scholar in Korean history.<ref>Doyoung Park, "A New Perspective on the Korean Embassy (Chôsen Tsûshinshi): The View from the Intellectuals in Tokugawa Japan," ''Studies in Asia Series'' IV, 3:1 (2013), 13-14.</ref>
One of Seika's students, [[Hayashi Razan]], then became the chief Confucian advisor to several shoguns, passing on that position to his son, and establishing the [[Hayashi family]] as the dominant hereditary family in that position, and the dominant school of thought. Scholars such as [[Arai Hakuseki]] interrupted Hayashi dominance at times, making very significant contributions to Tokugawa political philosophy and policy, but the Hayashi generally returned to dominance afterwards. Dubbed ''Hayashi Daigaku-no-kami'' ("Hayashi head of the academy") as their official title, heads of the Hayashi family became heads of the lead Confucian academy in the realm, the Shôheizaka gakumonjo, and the Confucian shrine with which it was associated, the [[Yushima Seido|Yushima Seidô]].<ref>"Shôheikô" 昌平黌。 ''Nihon daihyakka zensho Nipponica'' 日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ). Shogakkan. Accessed via JapanKnowledge online resource, 13 September 2011.; "[http://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%B9%AF%E5%B3%B6%E8%81%96%E5%A0%82 Yushima seidô]." ''Koku shitei shiseki kanzen guide no kaisetsu'' 国指定史跡完全ガイドの解説, Kodansha, 2013.; Plaques on-site at Yushima Seidô.</ref>
Neo-Confucianism had its detractors, however, in Japan as well, with figures such as [[Ogyu Sorai|Ogyû Sorai]] gaining considerable currency in intellectual circles.
==In Ryukyu==
{{stub}}
==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Edo Period]]
[[Category:Culture]]
