China:The Glorious Tang And Song Dynasties - Asian Art Museum ...

In the middle of the second century BCE, Confucianism was established as the official state ideology.
However, during the Tang and Song dynasties influences from Daoism and Buddhism significantly
challenged the dominant status of Confucian ideology. Confucian scholars met this challenge
by integrating elements of both Daoist and other native philosophies into a single integrative ideology
known as Neo-Confucianism. Neo-Confucianism can be described as the culmination of an
effort to integrate and harmonize several different religious and philosophical traditions that had
developed in China over the preceding thousand years, and as a way of making sense of several
diverse and sometimes competing philosophies. The Confucian emphasis on principles such as
“humaneness,” “filial piety,” and “ritual” was integrated with more abstract Daoist notions of a “the
Way” (Dao) that governed all existence, as well numerous Buddhist principles.
Neo-Confucianism is perhaps an expression of the Chinese tendency to seek “harmony” in all
things—in this case, to try to synthesize complex religious and philosophical views. What resulted
was a highly syncretic philosophy that was often very technical in nature; some ancient texts even
present what might be described as flowcharts for their readers! Yet seemingly opposed ideas were
unified by the notion of li, literally meaning “pattern,” or more specifically the “patterned markings
of a stone,” but usually translated as “principle.” Neo-Confucians sought to uncover the “pattern” of
all things, and firmly believed that all phenomena, including life, nature, destiny, indeed the
entirety of existence, were essentially a “pattern” that could be discerned if closely examined. This
fundamental premise, many people believe, underlay the Song interest in all things “scientific,”
minute, and even trivial—since even the smallest entity had the potential to reveal the underlying
pattern or li of all things.
The forerunner of the Neo-Confucist movement was an orthodox Confucian named Han Yu,
who also authored “The Girl of Mt. Hua” passage quoted above. In the later Tang, Han Yu unsuccessfully
protested the emperor’s zealous commitment to Buddhism. Han Yu’s protest failed but his
ideas inspired Song Confucian thinkers. Song philosophers assimilated certain elements of
Buddhism and Daoism in order to revitalize Confucianism. Their efforts gradually restored the
supremacy of Confucianism in China. The most important of these Song scholars were the Cheng
brothers and Zhu Xi.
CHENG HAO (1032–1085) AND CHENG YI (1033–1107)
Cheng Hao was one of the most successful and renowned Confucian philosophers in China. When
he was young, Cheng Hao studied with a Confucian scholar named Zhou Dunyi, under whose
tutelage Cheng attempted to acquire all knowledge available to him: not only Confucian but also
Daoist and Buddhist teachings. He was an individual of great ambition. He passed the civil service
exam in 1057 and enjoyed a successful official career. His younger brother, Cheng Yi, failed the civil
service exam and for most of his life rejected Confucian court service in favor of contemplation of
“the Way” (Dao). Together the two brothers formulated metaphysical theories concerning the relationship
between li (the Confucian principle of social order) and qi (the Daoist principle of vital
energies). Simply put, the Cheng brothers conceived of li and qi as the two fundamental elements
constituting a single metaphysical entity. This syncretic theory became the foundation for the rise of
Neo-Confucianism.
13