Transition to Neo-Confucianism: Shao Yung on Knowledge and Symbols of Reality
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Transition to Neo-Confucianism: Shao Yung on Knowledge and Symbols of Reality
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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780804765749 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Stanford University Press |
| Publication date: | 08/01/1989 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 332 |
| File size: | 4 MB |
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Transition to Neo-Confucianism
Shao Yung on Knowledge and Symbols of Reality
By Anne D. Birdwhistell
STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Copyright © 1989 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior UniversityAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8047-6574-9
CHAPTER 1
Historical and Philosophical Contexts
Learning that does not end in delight cannot be called learning. — Shao Yung
Shao Yung (1011 — 77) was an extraordinary thinker who lived during an extraordinary age. Among the great thinkers of the Northern Sung (960 — 1126), Shao Yung was acknowledged a person of unusual knowledge and understanding. His philosophical importance was widely recognized, and his uniqueness was admitted unquestioningly. Other than the classical period of Chinese philosophy during the latter part of the Chou dynasty (1122? — 256 B.C.), few periods in Chinese history have matched the achievements of this dynamic age. During the Chou period the foundations for Confucianism and the fundamental patterns of Chinese culture were laid. In the Northern Sung, cultural elements from more than a thousand years were combined into a new system, Neo–Confucianism. This form of Confucianism dominated Chinese thought and culture until the twentieth century.
Despite the acknowledgment of Shao Yung's importance by subsequent Chinese philosophers, his role in the development of Neo–Confucian philosophy has been greatly contested. Some of his contributions have been recognized, but others have been ignored or overlooked. Shao Yung has drawn strong praise and vehement criticism. Many scholars have admired him for the breadth of his knowledge and for his unusual interests. Still, the comments of critics, both friendly and unfriendly, often were based more on Shao's reputation than on a close familiarity with his thought. Shao Yung's thought was never well understood, and even today he remains one of the most famous enigmas in Chinese philosophy.
As a thinker and as a member of society, Shao Yung was clearly a rebel intellectual. He was involved in questionable areas of thought, and he openly opposed social conventions and government policies. It would be hard, however, to find someone more representative of Chinese culture. This seeming anomaly of orthodoxy and rebellion makes him an intriguing example of the contradictions often found in Chinese history.
This study attempts to provide a perspective on the philosophical thought of Shao Yung. To understand his thinking, it is necessary to utilize a contextual as well as an analytical approach. The questions that he was addressing, the ideas that he proposed, and the implicit assumptions that he made must be examined. Also essential is a consideration of historical context — the philosophical tradition to which he belonged, the age in which he lived, and later philosophers' interpretations of him. My primary aim here is to analyze the structure of Shao Yung's thought and to show how it made sense intellectually. My efforts are guided, however, by the recognition that Shao Yung's philosophy cannot be separated from the historical and philosophical contexts.
The Historical Context
During the Northern Sung, the formulation of a number of talented thinkers resulted in the founding of a new philosophical system. The name eventually given by the Chinese to this system, which is known in the West as Neo–Confucianism, was "learning of the tao" (tao-hsüeh). This name explicitly signified a link with the ancient teachings of Confucius (551 — 479 B.C.) and Mencius (372 — 289 B.C.). At the same time, the name implied an identification that denied Taoist and Buddhist influence. Although agreement on the contributions of particular eleventh-century philosophers is not unanimous, scholars have long recognized the importance of five thinkers in the founding of this new learning: Shao Yung, Chou Tun-yi (1017 — 73), Chang Tsai (1020 — 77), Ch'eng Hao (1032 — 85), and Ch'eng Yi (1033 — 1107).
The historian and philosopher Ssu-ma Kuang (1019 — 86) was originally included in this elite group, but by the late twelfth century, Chu Hsi (1130 — 1200), the great synthesizer of Neo-Confucian thought, had removed him from the orthodox line of the transmission of the tao. Although he questioned Shao Yung's role as well, Chu was never successful in obtaining a consensus on Shao's position. Nonetheless, Chu Hsi did go so far as to omit Shao Yung from the Chin-ssu lu (Reflections on things at hand), Chu's influential anthology of the sayings and writings of the early Neo-Confucians.
Uncertain as some of the details of the early development of Neo-Confucian thought may be, its importance is hardly debatable. Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism are virtually synonymous with traditional Chinese culture. They are the cultural systems within which the government and society of China functioned from the Han dynasty (206 B.C. — A.D. 220) until the Ch'ing dynasty (1644 — 1911). Moreover, even in this century, remnants of Neo- Confucianism are embedded in Chinese culture and society.
The Northern Sung was important not only for its philosophical thought, but for advancements in many areas of scientific and technological knowledge. The economy, the political system, and the social structure experienced major changes, and developments in literature, art, and the writing of history kept pace. Printing, which had developed in the late T'ang dynasty (618 — 906), led in the tenth and eleventh centuries to publication of the Confucian classics, the Buddhist canon, and other major works. On the negative side, military weakness kept the Northern Sung from possibly greater accomplishments. Clearly, a strong foundation was laid for the far-reaching cultural developments of the Southern Sung (1127 — 1279).
Several characteristics of Northern Sung philosophical activity are particularly relevant for understanding Shao Yung's thought. Competing traditions of learning, which had previously flourished, continued to survive, but in altered form. Some traditions developed, others declined. The Yi learning (Yi-hsüeh), a tradition of knowledge based on the Yi-ching (Book of changes), was one area of philosophy that retained its vitality and importance even as it underwent significant change. Moreover, a new philosophical orientation began to emerge — an emphasis on moral philosophy.
The Yi learning, which originally developed and flourished during the Han dynasty, combined various theoretical and practical interests. Although the Yi-ching was the central text in this tradition, other works were important too. Related texts ranged from the Confucian classics and important early philosophical works to non-classical, apocryphal texts devoted to esoteric knowledge associated with symbols, theoretical systems, and numerology, all of which could be applied in astrology, fortune-telling, and alchemy. After the Han, the Yi learning did not die out, but the general emphases of philosophers changed. Many of the esoteric aspects of the Yi learning were transmitted only in secret traditions, still largely unknown. During the tenth century, however, ideas from the Yi arcana began to spread to a broader intellectual audience.
By the Northern Sung, the Yi learning had divided into two major branches: yi-li hsüeh, which emphasized moral thought, and hsiang-shu hsüeh, which focused on cosmology and the functioning of the universe. The second term, literally the "learning of the images and numbers," has sometimes been translated as "numerology." Although some aspects of this branch of Yi learning are strikingly similar to the concerns of the Pythagorean numerologists of early Greek philosophy, in particular, an interest in numbers and music, the translation numerology is too limited. Numerology conveys nothing about the concept of the images, which were as important as numbers in hsiang-shu hsüeh, and nothing about the other ideas central to this learning.
The learning of the images and numbers, part of the esoteric tradition of the Yi learning, consisted of several theoretical systems that implicitly served as explanations of the patterns of change in the universe. It emphasized various symbols, the two most important of which were the images (hsiang) and the numbers (shu). The symbols differed in their level of abstraction or their degree of generality. The numbers, for example, were more abstract than the images. The levels of abstraction that the symbols represented were, in effect, grades of theoreticity, to use W. V. Quine's term.
All the philosophical systems of the five founders of Neo-Confucianism were based on the Yi learning. Chou Tun-yi and Chang Tsai incorporated elements from both branches. The two Ch'eng brothers followed the branch of moral philosophy, and Shao Yung that of the images and numbers. Although Shao Yung thus differed from the others in not emphasizing moral thought, he was still within the broad current of the times. As the eleventh century unfolded, however, the gap between his thought and that of the moralists widened.
Not only did the thought of these philosophers have much in common, but also, except for Shao Yung and Chou Tun-yi (who apparently did not know each other), their lives were closely intertwined. Some were scholar-officials, and most spent significant portions of their adult lives in Loyang, a former capital and a seat of continuing upper-class wealth, power, and culture. In addition, as opponents of the political and economic reforms advocated by the "new" party of Wang An-shih (1021 — 86), these men sided with the more tradition-minded "old" party. Their political participation varied widely, however, ranging from the active, official involvement of Ssu-ma Kuang to the passive but sympathetic support of Shao Yung. Both politically and intellectually, these philosophers were not oriented toward radical change. Rather, their position echoed that of Confucius, who regarded himself as someone who believed in and loved antiquity.
Along with developments in the Yi learning, Northern Sung philosophy was characterized by a revival of interest in Confucianism. The newly printed editions of the classics helped to stimulate a renewal of interest in pre-ch'in and Han texts, and interest in these philosophical texts revived certain patterns of thought from early Confucianism. From the pre-Ch'in thinkers, Northern Sung thought absorbed an emphasis on practical political action and rationalistic thought, and from the Han thinkers cosmological ideas on the unity of the three spheres of heaven, earth, and humanity, as well as on correspondence, resonance, and order in the universe. Unlike some of his contemporaries, Shao Yung tended to be influenced more by Han, than by pre-Ch'in, thought.
The renewal of interest in Confucianism was accompanied by an explicit, if selective, rejection of Buddhism. The movement to revive Confucianism began in the T'ang dynasty and particularly gained momentum from the writings of the great essayist Han Yü (768 — 824) and his views on the concept of the orthodox tradition (cheng-t'ung). Applying the political concept of legitimate succession to other areas of the culture, Han Yü linked a Confucian renaissance with an overt rejection of Buddhism. By the Northern Sung, Buddhism was widely seen as alien to, and subversive of, Chinese culture and Confucian values. In particular, the supposedly pernicious effects of cultural pluralism were interpreted as being the result of Buddhist influences. The renewed interest in early Confucian texts and ideas thus was part of a broad movement that sought to preserve essential Confucian ideas and values.
An emphasis on comprehensive systems was another characteristic of eleventh-century intellectual activity. Although some scholars have interpreted this behavior as compensation for the Sung's military and territorial losses, in the realm of philosophy, at least, more plausible reasons can be found. In rejecting Buddhism, Northern Sung philosophers focused on pre-Buddhist thought, that is, on Han learning. Consequently, Han ideas on the unity of the realms of nature and of human beings and the belief that events in one sphere affected events in other spheres easily entered much of Sung philosophy.
These ideas were accepted by Han philosophers as different as Tung Chung-shu (ca. 179 — ca. 104 B.C.) and Yang Hsiung (53 B.C. — A.D. 28), and they had an explicit basis in the Yi-ching and in the various Han commentaries and texts associated with it. These views were fundamental not only to Confucian thought, but also to Taoist thought and the related esoteric traditions, which included such works as Wei Po-yang's (fl. A.D. 142 — 67) Chou Yi ts'an-t'ung-ch'i and Kuan Lang's (3d century A.D.) Tung-chi chen- ching. In addition, many Buddhist writings presented a comprehensive view of the universe.
In the Sung, philosophers were not the only ones to attempt a grand system uniting all of reality. Historians also specialized in synthesis and wrote comprehensive works, including some of China's most important encyclopedias and histories. The Tzu-chih t'ung-chien (Comprehensive mirror for aid in government) by Ssu-ma Kuang is, for example, one of the most famous works of this period.
These characteristics of Northern Sung thought constitute an important part of the background of Shao Yung's thought. Within this historical context, Shao Yung's general emphases and ideas were, on the one hand, neither unusual nor even idiosyncratic. He shared many tendencies and assumptions with his contemporaries. On the other hand, Shao Yung clearly was different. He utilized ideas from the entire range of the intellectual heritage, including some that had developed in the esoteric traditions and had not been public knowledge before. Other ideas were well-known ones that he used in new ways.
Shao Yung's uniqueness, however, did not result merely from the breadth of his thought or from his distance from the increasingly dominant emphasis on moral philosophy. Rather, it arose in large part from the theoretical problems that concerned him. He pursued questions and suggested answers that anticipated views of later philosophers, some even hundreds of years later. It is not surprising that many of his contemporaries claimed not to understand him.
The Philosophical Context
The philosophical context, especially some of the characteristics of the tradition of Chinese philosophy, offers another perspective on Shao Yung's thought. The absence of a tradition of metaphilosophy in premodern Chinese philosophy is particularly important. Simply stated, metaphilosophy is formal thought about philosophy aimed at making the rules and conditions of philosophical discourse explicit. It consists of the guideposts that aid one in understanding. Two important criteria for determining the presence or absence of metaphilosophy are the style of argumentation and the organization of philosophical writings.
Chinese philosophers rarely commented explicitly on what they or other philosophers were doing. With few exceptions, they did not systematically define key terms or openly state primary assumptions. In many cases, writers did not even state the philosophical problems they were addressing. From the Han to the Ch'ing, tightly organized arguments were uncommon. In the development and argumentation of ideas, Chinese philosophers seldom followed a linear pattern and rarely tried to show that alternative views entailed contradictions.
Although seldom, if ever, stated, the premises and rules of evidence were nonetheless present for those who sought them. These elements could have been stated explicitly had the philosophers wanted or felt the need to do so. However, explicitness of a degree expected by Western philosophers was not part of the Chinese tradition. The dominant mode or task of discourse was not an examination of the logical relationships between assumptions and conclusions. With the notable exception of the Ch'ing period, Chinese philosophers did not even stress new evidence.
Metaphilosophical concerns were, by and large, seen as the responsibility of commentators and readers. Weighing and analyzing the elements of beliefs also became an important task for historians of thought. Readers were expected to know the philosophical problems and the implications of the different points of view. A writer presented his ideas to a public that he expected to be conversant with the ideas and the tradition of such writing.
One of the chief difficulties in deciphering Shao Yung's thinking lies in his method of presenting ideas. Numerous passages in his major philosophical work consist of correlations, which can be highly ambiguous unless one knows the theoretical meaning of the items correlated and the intent of the correlations. Shao's sets of correlations may be compared to graphs and tables without identifying labels. Fortunately, commentators have provided the information necessary for interpreting the correlations.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Transition to Neo-Confucianism by Anne D. Birdwhistell. Copyright © 1989 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. Excerpted by permission of STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS.
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Table of Contents
Contents
Copyright Page,Dedication,
Acknowledgments,
1 - Historical and Philosophical Contexts,
2 - The Background,
3 - Beginning a Theory,
4 - The Theoretical Structure of Reality,
5 - Concepts of Change: A Focus on Cosmology,
6 - Concepts of Change: Human Beings and the Universe,
7 - To Recognize a Sage,
8 - To Become a Sage,
9 - Within the Intellectual Traditions,
10 - The Threads Running Through,
Appendixes,
Reference Matter,
Bibliography,
Index,