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The development and direction of the meaning of Confucianism and Buddhism in the Song Dynasty
Author: Li Chunxiong (International Confucian Academy of Political Science and Law in China)
Source: “History of Chinese Philosophy” 2023 Issue 4
Abstract: The meaning of Confucianism and Buddhism had a different development stage in the Song Dynasty, and in the early Song Dynasty focused on social real problems; the Northern Song Dynasty’s establishment period focused on the defense of Confucianism and Buddhism; the Southern Song Dynasty’s profound theoretical theory was carried out to conduct ideological and analysis. The complex relationship between Confucianism and Buddhism in the Song Dynasty was inconsistent because with the development of Confucianism itself, the focus of the Buddha’s pursuit and the goal of the Buddha’s pursuit are also constantly changing. From the Tang and the early Song dynasties, Confucians hoped to create space for Confucianism through the crackdown and teachings, and to eliminate Buddhism to create a Confucianism’s rejuvenation; when the establishment of theory, the important goal of Confucianism is to establish our principles, plan the line of the Qing Confucian Buddhism, and set the value of Confucianism; in the perfect and mature stage of theory, it is necessary to deeply understand the internal theory of the Qing Confucian Buddhism and establish the principle of correctness. Taking the divergent stages of the development of Confucianism as a landscape, the development and transformation of Confucianism and Buddhism in the Song Dynasty showed a clear path of logic.
Since the teachings passed on to China, the confucianism and Buddhism have experienced durable discussions, and by the early middle and early Tang Dynasty, the drama became more and more intense. After the Song Dynasty, with the rise of Confucianism, the focus of Confucianism and Buddhism has been profound and subtle philosophical analysis from the real fields of distinction between the barbarians and the Xia, customs education, political economy, etc. The Song Dynasty became a symbol of Confucianism and Buddhism in Chinese history. Under the theme of “establishing my principles”, Confucianism regarded the destruction of Buddhism as a main topic, and opened a long and profound discussion with teachings. On the one hand, Confucians in the Song Dynasty were responsible for the rejuvenation of Confucianism. By constructing subtle metaphysical and mental theory, they developed Confucianism from the beginning, so as to continue learning from the sages and restore the Confucian state; on the other hand, they rejected the priests who were prosperous in thinking and customs since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, planned the Qing Dynasty to divide the boundaries of Confucianism and Buddhism, and established Confucianism and the Confucianism. The two tasks interacted with each other, which made the arousal of Confucianism in the Song Dynasty always accompanied by the rebellious state of refusal and repurposing Buddhism.
Song representative scholars in the Song Dynasty have many Buddhists, and they have experienced learning from Buddhism, such as Ercheng, Yangqi, Zhang Jiucheng, Zhu Xi, etc. Cheng wrote in “The Acts of Teachers of Mingdao” that “income and expenditure for ten years among old people and those who have been studying for their own people”[1]. At the same time, some Song Dynasty teachers tried to deter Confucianism from Buddhism and actively sought the mutual understanding of Confucianism and Buddhism. For example, Zhiyuan called the “Domedian of the Mean” and proposed that “the Taoist Confucianism and Confucianism are integrated in its purpose”[2]; Qisong advocated that “Confucianism and Buddhism are the teachings of sages. Although their differences are different, they are equal to governance”[3]; Dahui Zonggao He went with scholars and teachers, and discussed Confucian classics… This made the relationship between Confucianism and Buddhism not yet truly clarified until the two Song dynasties. After the two Chengs, the immersion and development of the academic studies in the two years was more and more obvious. In Zhu Zi’s view, 90% of the academic studies were released under the Yangshimen, and the rise of the Confucianism in Jiangxi was caused by the failure of the Confucianism and Buddhism to clear the purity.
From the perspective of Confucianism, Song Dynasty has experienced a process of establishment and gradual perfection. The relationship between Confucianism and Buddhism in the Song Dynasty appearsThe reason for the recurrence is precisely because of the development and needs of the science of science itself that the focus of the Buddha’s pursuit and the goals of the Buddha’s pursuit are constantly changing. Compared with Zhu Duke of the Northern Song Dynasty and Zhu Zi’s destruction of Buddhism, we can clearly see this change. In the early Song Dynasty, the focus of the great efforts of the Buddhas was on real problems; the second Cheng and Zhang Yu’s destruction of Buddhism were on the defense of Confucianism and Buddhism, and established the main position of Confucianism and Buddhism; when Zhu Zi of the Southern Song Dynasty, the establishment of theory was required to deeply plan the Qing Confucianism and Buddhism in thinking and theory, which was also a need for Confucianism to clear the doors and establish the correct principles. It was precisely in this meaning that Zhu Zi said: “Since Yiluo was the master of justice, Mr. Zu also heard a lot about the destruction of Buddha. However, he finally said that he would not be able to lose his name, and he did not know the point of losing his name.” [4] Zhu Zi praised Mr. Zu after Yiluo that he was not allowed to be led by the Buddha, but in fact, it was because the focus and goal of the destruction of Buddha had changed.
Regarding the characteristics of Confucianism and Buddhism in the Song Dynasty, Zhu Xi’s Historical World pointed out: “When he was different from Korea in the Tang Dynasty and Li Jing in the early Song Dynasty, Taoist scholars such as Zhang Xu and Er Cheng did not have a direct conversation with the church; the target they directly attacked was definitely not monks, but masters of the scholars and officials who were studying at home.”[5] There was a problem in this discussion, and Zhang Xu and Er Cheng both directly promoted Buddhism. The differences between the Tang and Song dynasties pointed out by Yu Yingshi were unable to pay attention to the stage of the differences in the Song Confucians’ refutation of Buddhism. The focus of repelling Buddhism was moved from the Confucianism to the inside of the Confucianism. This was not completed during the Zhang Xiu and the Second Cheng period, but was presented in the Southern Song Dynasty, especially during the Zhu Zi period. The reason for this difference is not that the Song Confucians were not clear about Buddhism and could not communicate with the church head-on. Some scholars pointed out that Song Confucians had only a little understanding of Buddhism, or even completely misunderstood and imagined the enlightenment of Buddhism, which was unfair. Many Confucian scholars of the Song Dynasty had experience in learning Buddhism, and many of them interacted with teachers and were familiar with Buddhist scriptures and scholars [6]. The bottom layer of this difference has changed due to the focus and goals of Confucianism and Buddhism in the Prayer of Buddhism. During this process, the relationship between Confucianism and Buddhism in the Song Dynasty changed at most two times. Although the Northern Song Dynasty scholars represented by Zhang Xiu and the Second Cheng have increasingly resisted Buddhism’s differences with Korea, they are not “not having a direct confrontation with the religion”, but they are just not aggressively attacking secular religions (customs, rituals, politics, economy, etc.), and focus on distinguishing Confucianism and Buddhism from the value standpoint. In the Southern Song Dynasty, out of the need to plan the Qing Confucian and Buddhist worlds within the theory and establish the principles and learn the correct principles, the focus of refuting Buddhism turned to the Confucian and Buddhist scholars as important targets.
The development and transformation of Confucianism and Buddhism in the Song Dynasty can be divided into three stages: in the early Song Dynasty, he was represented by Sun Shi, Shi Jie, and Liu Hui, and then changed in the European and Yang period. In the period of the founding of the Neo-Confucianism, he was represented by Northern Song Dynasty Neo-Confucianists such as the Second Cheng and Zhang Xiu; in the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhu Xi was represented by Zhu Xi. The following will analyze it one by one.
1. In the early Song Dynasty: Social real problems
The education of the Church has always been accompanied by discussions with Confucianism and Taoism since it entered China. Discussions on the relationship between the three religions have continued to continue in the history of Chinese thinking, but there are differences in the side of each era. Since Korea became more and more powerful in refuting Buddhism, the relationship between Confucianism and Buddhism has become the main topic in the Tang and Song dynasties. From Korea to the early Song dynasty, Confucianism has focused on the social reality of the church, so the criticism has focused on the two generous aspects of political economy and social customs. Faced with the style of the priest, Korea increasi TC:
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