博士 / 國立臺灣大學 / 歷史學研究所 / 103 / This dissertation attempts to delineate a more dynamic and convoluted history of the relation between Confucian and Taoist traditions in the transitional period from late Tang to early Song Dynasty.
Intellectuals of medieval China generally recognized and appreciated the fusion of Confucian and Taoist traditions. In fact, Taoism wielded profound influence on their worldviews, political perspectives, and cultural lives. From mid-Tang Dynasty onwards, however, the relation between these two traditions was ready to shift. With the consciousness of subjectivity developed in the Confucianism Revival Movement, intellectuals such as Pi Rixiu began to advocate a stronger Confucianism oriented position, trying to establish it as the guiding principle of public affairs and delegate Taoism to private life. Nonetheless, his voice was of minority. The intellectual atmosphere in general stayed with a more tolerant one.
From Five Dynasties to early Song period, intellectuals continued to accept the fusion of these two traditions. Taoism was prevalent in both public and private domains. Not only political discourses were under its guidance. Intellectuals embraced Taoist practices and ideals in their private lives. For those who are away from politics, the line between Confucianism and Taoism were even more thin and blurred. They didn’t identify themselves with, or confine their cultural upbringing within either side. On the opposite, the intellectual genealogies descending from those paramount figures—such as Chen Tuan, Chong Fang, and Ren Fenggu—in this period, whether they were located in south or north China, have all included Taoism in their pedagogy as a major part. Contrary to the popular impression that the intellectual history of Song Dynasty began with the request to recover the “pure and authentic Confucian spirit” it was in fact breed in the soil fertilized by both Taoist and Confucian traditions.
When it came to the Emperor Renzong of Song’s reign, a significant shift took place. With Confucianism Revival Movement reaching its culmination, intellectuals of this period echoed Pi Rixiu’s position, requesting again the establishment of Confucian doctrines as the only proper principles under which the public world should be ordered. Fan Zhongyan was a prominent example. Arguing that Taoism should not be the guidance of social-political order, he demanded a political reformation based on only and solely Confucian ground. However, these endeavors do not mean that Taoism was ever since eradicated from the life of intellectuals. In fact, including Fan himself, many intellectuals continued to perform Taoist practices and aspired for Taoist ideals. Rather, the line between Confucianism and Taoism was drawn along that of “public” and “private.” Unlike their attack on it in political sphere, intellectuals of this period did not distinguish further Taoism from Confucianism on issues related to worldview and human nature.
When Wang Anshi came to power in the second half of eleventh century, he did not exclude Taoism from politics. However, Taoist influence on politics eventually faded away. But, again, the triumph of Confucianism in public domain did not prevent intellectuals from drawing Taoist resources to explore other philosophical issues. For example, in Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi was the first person that offered a systematic theory about worldview and human nature, and his vision was still loaded with Taoist elements. Wang’s position later invited intensive and widespread debates on these philosophical issues, in which the relation between Confucianism and Taoism was once again focused.
There were three major positions regarding this issue. Su Shi and Su Zhe brothers presented the first one. They held that these two traditions shared the same foundation, and had no intention to emphasize the subjectivity of Confucianism. The second position includes Shao Yong and Zhou Dunyi. Although they also inherited the long developed synthetic understanding of these two traditions, they diverted from Confucianism less than the first position. It is why they were later included in the genealogy of Neo-Confucianism. While Sima Guang, Zhang Zai, Cheng Hao, and Cheng Yi also drew intellectual resources from Taoism, they came to be much more critical towards it and believe that they are recovering the authentic spirit of Confucianism that has long lost. They represent the third position, which was most original and directly fostered the rise of Neo-Confucianism.
In short, outlining the dynamic relation between Confucianism and Taoism, this dissertation expects to offer a more complicated picture of the intellectual history during the Tang-Song transitional period. In this regard, this dissertation also expects to make contribution to the current understanding of the prehistory of Neo-Confucianism.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TW/103NTU05493009 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Chang-Yuan Lee, 李長遠 |
| Contributors | Chan-Liang Wu, 吳展良 |
| Source Sets | National Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations in Taiwan |
| Language | zh-TW |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | 學位論文 ; thesis |
| Format | 229 |
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