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Ghent University Academic Bibliography2000-01-01T00:00+00:001dailyConfucianism and metaphysics : studies on the analects in Wei, Jin, southern and northern dynasties
https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/01HSXPPRGGX8AKDCC2H3121TJ4
Hongbing, SongDessein, BartFan, Jiang2024From the establishment of the Wei Dynasty by Cao Pi曹丕 in 220 to the conquest of the Chen Dynasty by Yang Jian杨坚 in 589, the period of Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties was the most turbulent period of political power transition in Chinese history. Academic research during this period also demonstrated the most active and critical aspects of Chinese academic history. Given the openness of interpretation, the popular orientation, and the special issues, "The Analects" provides an important perspective for understanding the changes that occurred during this period——it not only refers to the rise and fall of classical scholars and their subjects, but also reflects the evolution of problem awareness and thinking routes. Different from the research methods in the academic community that mostly adopt the approach of literature or intellectual history in studying "The Analects" during this period, this research chooses a perspective of the history of philosophy, and through in-depth exploration of the "problems" behind the annotations, it unfolds the study of "The Analects" in Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties.
The main body of the dissertation is divided into four chapters. When corresponding to the main characteristics of the study of "The Analects" during the late Han and early Wei, Cao Wei and Western Jin, Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties periods, these words also roughly summarize the main clues of the evolution of the study of "The Analects" in Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties: in the late Han and early Wei periods, Confucianism became more "fussy" 文 and the voice of "Refuting Zheng" was prevalent; under the re-evaluation of the value of returning to the origin and "Understanding the Sage" by the metaphysical scholars, metaphysics rose while Confucianism declined; after the migration to the south during the Yongjia period永嘉, although the academic community used the "teachings" to criticize the emptiness of metaphysics, it also weakened both Confucianism and metaphysics; after the Song and Chen periods, Confucianism integrated metaphysics into the interpretation of classic studies, and academic research once again returned to the " classics."
The first chapter discusses the problems and rebellions of Confucianism in the late Han Dynasty through the annotations of Zheng Xuan郑玄, Wang Su王肃, and He Yan何晏 on "The Analects". In the development of Confucianism during the Han Dynasty, which focused on the study of classics, there was intense contradiction between the two factions of schools of contemporary texts and schools of ancient texts. The outstanding scholar, Zheng Xuan, simultaneously accepted the classics respected by both factions based on the logic of "different systems in the Three Dynasties", "same path for hundreds of kings", and thus constructed a new school of comprehensive and refined studies. However, the short-lived "unification" brought about by Zheng Xuan did not receive universal recognition in the academic community at that time. The main problem of Zheng Xuan was "fussy". Under the wave of "Refuting Zheng", scholars of the old school, represented by Wang Su, launched a multi-dimensional critique based on ritual system and practice, Confucius and classical studies, among others. However, this specific critique of classical studies actually exacerbated the "fussy " in academia. Scholars of the new school, represented by He Yan, created a "collective interpretation" in "Lunyu Jijie"论语集解(Collected Explanations of The Analects), and liberated "The Analects" from the problems of classical studies by deleting old annotations and avoiding controversies.
The second chapter explores the study of "The Analects" during the era of metaphysics, and specifically discusses how metaphysicians digest "The Analects" and Confucius himself. He Yan, based on the distinction between "unity" and "multiplicity" in classical interpretation, constructed a metaphysical framework for metaphysics through the exploration of "unity." However, due to He Yan's excessive insistence on the metaphysical "Dao" 道, he inevitably neglected the focus of "The Analects" on the concrete "person". Wang Bi王弼, starting from Confucius' emotions, revised He Yan's stereotypical interpretation of the problem of the sage in metaphysics. However, this exploration of the problem of the sage was ultimately philosophical and abstract, which created tension with the concrete life of Confucius in "The Analects." Including the concrete Confucius in the abstract problem of the sage is the core task of metaphysicians in interpreting "The Analects" and the most interesting aspect of "The Analects" in the context of metaphysics. In addition, Guo Xiang's郭象 "Lunyu Tilue"论语体略 (General Outline of The Analects) in the Western Jin Dynasty specifically understands and digests the image of Confucius from the perspective of Daoist philosophy. It is worth noting that existing metaphysical studies often focus on philosophical concepts such as "Dao", "emptiness无", or "naturalness自然", but neglect the focus of metaphysicians on "person." The metaphysical study based on "The Analects" to some extent complements this research gap.
The third chapter studies the turning point and new ideas in the study of "The Analects" after the migration to the south during the Yongjia period. The so-called "turning point" refers to the reflection and criticism of the emptiness of metaphysics by the literati with the idea of "intellectual discussions harming the country", and as a replacement, they incorporated "Dao" into "teachings" and embarked on a path of integrating Confucianism and metaphysics. However, the weak central government was unable to support the revival of Confucianism, and the so-called "clarifying teachings" failed to provide specific practical solutions. In this context of neither metaphysics nor Confucianism, Jiangnan scholarship not only provided an opportunity for the dissemination of foreign studies, but also allowed many traditional disciplines to achieve their own academic self-awareness, resulting in a situation of multiple disciplines and coexistence of multiple values. The new ideas here not only involve the interpretation of "The Analects" in the style of Buddhism, history, and literature, but also the ornamentalization of annotations themselves. However, these so-called new ideas, due to the lack of attention to the "Dao", inevitably reduced the study of "The Analects" then to one of the many arts.
The forth chapter specifically explores the shift of the study of "The Analects" to classical studies after the Southern Dynasties. It is worth mentioning that the "classical studies" here does not refer to the practical studies for governing the country in the Han Dynasty, but rather the replication of the study of Buddhist scriptures in Confucianism. This interaction between Confucianism and Buddhism stems from the acceptance of local scholars by Master Huiyuan 慧远of Mount Lu 庐山under the backdrop of political turmoil in the late Jin and early Song Dynasties. As a result, it gave rise to the study of annotated editions of Confucian classics. As for metaphysics, considering that it had lost its vitality in the Southern Dynasties, the interaction between Confucianism and metaphysics during this period mainly manifested as how Confucianism digested metaphysics. In response to this, scholars of then integrated metaphysical principles into the interpretation of classics, bringing metaphysics back to its birthplace: the interpretation of classics. Of course, for Confucianism itself, the realization of the transformation of classical studies at the social level also lies in its no longer insisting on the impractical "teachings." As a substitute, the scholars of the Southern Dynasties, centered around Huang Kan皇侃, shifted the focus to the "learning" of Confucius.从曹丕称帝建魏(公元220年),到杨坚南下灭陈(公元589年),魏晋南北朝的这三百多年时间是中国历史上政权更迭最频繁的时期。处在这种动荡局面下的学术研究也同样展现出中国学术史上活跃而深具批判性的一面。鉴于诠释的开放性、大众化的面向和所附带的特殊问题,《论语》这部经典便为窥析此中的流变提供了一个重要视角:它不仅有经典研究者和研究对象的迭兴,还包括问题意识与致思理路的沿革。不同于学术界在研究魏晋南北朝《论语》学史时多采用文献学或思想史的研究方式,本文选择以哲学史为视角,通过深度挖掘注家背后的“问题”以展开这段时期的《论语》学研究。
文章正文共分四章,分别是“汉末儒学的问题与反思”“《论语》与孔子的玄学化”“东晋《论语》学的转折与新意”与“南朝《论语》学的经学化”。在各自对应到汉魏之际、曹魏和西晋、东晋和南朝时期《论语》学的主要特征时,他们也基本勾勒魏晋南北朝《论语》学演变的主要线索:汉魏之际儒学积“文”成弊;在玄学家返本、体圣的价值重审下,玄学起而儒学衰;永嘉南渡后,学界虽以“教”弥补玄学的虚无之弊,但空言其“教”未免儒、玄皆衰;宋陈之后,儒学融玄学于经典诠释之中,学术再度返“经”。
具体来说,第一章从郑玄、王肃和何晏的《论语》注出发探讨了汉末儒学的问题与反思。以经学研究为中心的两汉儒学发展至汉代末年,其内部的今文经学和古文经学两派矛盾尖锐。经学大家郑玄在“三代异制”“百王同道”的逻辑下同时接纳了两派经学所尊信的经典,并由此构建出一套博而精的新学。然而,由郑玄新学所带来的短暂“一统”并没有得到当时学术界的普遍认可。这里郑学存在的主要问题便是“文弊”。在这场“难郑”思潮下,旧派学者以王肃为代表。他从礼制与实践、孔子与经学等角度展开了多重维度的批判,但这种具体的经学批判反而加剧学术的“文弊”。新派学者以何晏为代表,他在《论语集解》中创制了一种“集解”之体,并在删削旧注、搁置争议的思路下使《论语》从经学问题中解放。
第二章探讨的是玄学时代的《论语》学,具体论述的是玄学家们如何消化《论语》和孔子。其中,何晏基于经典诠释中的“一”“多”之辨,在探“一”的思路下构建起玄学的形而上学骨架。但由于何晏过分执着于形而上的“道”,也就不免忽略了《论语》对于具体之“人”的关注。对此,王弼从孔子的情感出发修缮了何晏玄学对于圣人问题的解读。然而,这种对于圣人问题的探讨毕竟是抽象的,这与《论语》中有具体生命的孔子存在着明显的张力。将具体的孔子纳入到抽象的圣人问题中也就是玄学家们注释《论语》的核心任务,亦为玄学语境下《论语》最具意趣之所在。此外,西晋郭象的《论语体略》还具体从道家哲学出发理解和消化了孔子的形象。值得注意的是,现有的玄学研究往往侧重“道”“无”或“自然”等哲学概念,而忽略了玄学家们对“人”学的关注。由《论语》展开的玄学研究在一定程度上补充了此项研究的不足。
第三章研究的是永嘉南渡之后《论语》学的转折与新意。所谓“转折”,指的是东晋名士以“清谈误国”为思路对玄学的虚无之弊展开反思与批判;作为取代,他们将“道”寓于“教”,转向了一条统合“儒”“玄”的路径。但是,孱弱的中央政府无力支持儒学的复兴,所谓“明教”也未能给出具体的实践方案。在这种玄而不玄、儒而不儒的背景下,江左学术不仅给了佛学传播的契机,也让许多传统学问实现了自身的学术自觉,从而呈现出多元学术并存的局面。因而,这里的“新意”也就包括了佛学式、史学式、文学式的《论语》诠释以及注释本身的绮辞化。然而,这些所谓的新意由于缺乏对于“道”的眷顾,这一时期的《论语》学也就不免沦为百术之一端。
第四章则具体探讨了南朝以后《论语》学的经学转向。值得一提的是,这里的“经学”并非两汉的经世致用之学,而更多是对佛家佛经讲授之学的复刻。这种儒佛的互动来自晋宋政治动荡背景下庐山慧远大师对本土学者的接纳。作为结果,它衍生出儒家的义疏之学。至于玄学,考虑到它在南朝已经基本失去了生命力,这一时期的儒玄互动便主要表现为儒学如何消化玄学的问题。对此,南朝学者将玄理融于经典诠释之中,将玄学带回到它的诞生地:经典诠释。当然,对儒学自身而言,它得以实现社会层面的经学化转向还在于它不再执着于无从落实的“教”。作为取代,以皇侃为中心的南朝学者将问题转向了孔子的“学”。application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.documenthttps://biblio.ugent.be/publication/01HSXPPRGGX8AKDCC2H3121TJ4http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01HSXPPRGGX8AKDCC2H3121TJ4https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/01HSXPPRGGX8AKDCC2H3121TJ4/file/01HSXPTS9TMTSNWS1S9F9AECPRchiRenmin University of China ; Ghent University. Faculty of Arts and PhilosophyInformation pendinginfo:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccessCultural SciencesWei, Jin, Southern and Northern DynastiesThe AnalectsWei-jin MetaphysicsConnections Between Confucianism and MetaphysicsLunyu YishuConfucianism and metaphysics : studies on the analects in Wei, Jin, southern and northern dynastiesdissertationinfo:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesisinfo:eu-repo/semantics/draft