Abstract
This paper begins with an analysis of zongzhi (philosophical doctrine), a widely used concept in the middle and late Ming Confucianism. The paper argues that it was the fundamental notions of achieving learning by oneself (zide) and the discourse of philosophical doctrine that drove the creation of original arguments and scholastic activities more generally in the sixteenth century.
The Daxue (great learning), the most important Neo-Confucian classic in late imperial times, has circulated in a large number of versions since Northern Song times. I first analyze the most cited versions, identifying especially the differences between Zhu Xi’s orthodox version and the so-called Old Text derived from the classic Record of Rites. The latter version gained ascendance from the late fifteenth century when Wang Yangming’s school strongly advocated it. To distinguish himself from both Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming, Li Cai provided a new version of the Great Learning by rearranging the texts of the Old Text and Zhu Xi’s version. Li formulated his own philosophical doctrine from this new version and summed it up with the term zhixiu, an abbreviation of the phrases zhi yu zhishan (abiding by the supreme good) and xiushen (self cultivation), phrases that denote key notions in the Great Learning. This study finds that three elements were common and crucial to the founding of a new philosophical school in the middle and late Ming times: the new version of the Great Learning, the attention to key, terse expressions of doctrine, and organized lectures.
Keywords
discussion of learning, zongzhi (philosophical doctrine), Daxue (great learning), Wang Yangming School, Li Cai
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