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The development and evolution of Song Studies can be divided into three stages: the period from the beginning of the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty of Renzong qing was the formation stage of Song Studies, and the representative figures were Mr. Song Chusan (Hu Yan, Sun Fu, Shi Jie), Li Qian, Ouyang Xiu, etc., with Fan Zhongyan as the core figure; Renzong's later years to the Shenzong period were the stage of development, forming the Jinggong School, the Su Shu School, and the School of Science represented by Luo (Ercheng) and Guan (Zhang Zai), and the Jinggong School had the greatest influence; after the Southern Song Dynasty, Song Studies entered the stage of evolution, and after Yang Shi, Hu Anguo, The active efforts of Hu Hong's father and son, especially the attack of Emperor Gaozong of Song on the Jinggong school, were won by the Ercheng School of Science during the years of Emperor Xiaozong Qiandao and Chunxi (1165-1189), followed by Lu Jiuyuan's psychology and Zhu Xi's theory. The theory represented by Zhu Xi occupied a dominant position in the academic and ideological circles of the Southern Song Dynasty, but there were still Zhejiang Eastern Schools of Meritorious Service represented by Lü Zuqian, Chen Liang, Chen Fuliang, and Ye Shi.
(1) The formation stage of Song Xue
Hu Yan, Sun Fu and Shi Jie were known as "Mr. Song Chusan", and they pioneered the scholarship of the Song Dynasty and were the pioneers of Song studies. Hu Yan initiated the study of "bright body and use", taking the father and son of the monarch and the benevolent and righteous lile as the body, taking the initiative of the world and enriching the people as the use, emphasizing the importance of moral cultivation, which is one of the important contents of the science. In view of the important position of morality in Hu Yao's theory, Hu Yan's views can be reduced to a kind of moral-based thinking, and his "bright body" learning is actually the study of moral life. Sun Fu ruled the "Spring and Autumn" famously, and in the "Spring and Autumn Zun Wang Fa Wei", he focused on clarifying the "micro purpose" of the Zun King, correcting the name and dividing the great righteousness, emphasizing the reconstruction of the Gangchang ethics, and maintaining the hierarchical system to consolidate the centralized rule. Sun Fu's idea of governing the scriptures was adhered to by the Confucians of later generations, and Zhu Xi also praised him for correctly understanding the intentions of the "saints". Hu Yan's "Ming Body Attainment" and Sun Fu's "Micro Purpose" of the Emperor Zun both contain elements of the political and ethical view of science, which became the precursor to the subsequent study of life and morality of the Rational School. Comparatively speaking, Shi Jie's thought has more obvious academic overtones than Hu Wei and Sun Fu. He said that he must call it "Dao unification", and tried to combine monarchy with Taoism, declaring that "since Fufu Fuxi, Shennong, Yellow Emperor, Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, Zhou Gong, Confucius and even today, the world is one junye, China is also a religion, there is no other Taoism", trying to show that "one religion" (Confucianism) and "one jun" complement each other, and the monarchy and Taoism are unified. He believed that the "Tao" was the root of all things in heaven and earth, running through all things, and that heaven and earth and the human world, nature and society were governed by the "Tao". This view of his is very close to the subsequent ontology of "reason" with "reason" (or "Tao") as the highest category, and we can see the beginnings of the system of rational thought.
In the process of Song Xue's innovation, Fan Zhongyan played an indelible and important role and was the core figure in the establishment stage of Song Xue. According to the "History of Song", "many sages under the Zhongyan Gate, such as Hu Yan, Sun Fu, Shi Jie, and Li Qian's disciples", several scholars who had an important influence on the establishment of Song Xue had a close relationship with them, they were more or less promoted by him, and Zhang Zai, the founder of Guan Xue, finally embarked on the academic road under the guidance of Fan Zhongyan, and finally became self-reliant in the academic forest. Zhu Xi praised Fan Zhongyan for "inspiring many meritorious scholars" and the Song Dynasty scholar style "to Fan Wenzhengfang's incorruptibility and morale". The "Biography of Fan Zhongyan of Song Shi" said that "for a while, the scholar and doctor corrected the style of the festival, and advocated it from Zhongdrown", which fully affirmed Fan Zhongyan's status and role as the leader of the establishment stage of Song Xue. In addition, Fan Zhongyan himself has also made high achievements in academic thought, he has a general understanding of the "Six Classics", especially the study of the "Yi", can get rid of the annotations of predecessors, from the aspect of righteousness, expounding, citing the "I Ching" in the "poor change, change is general, the general rule is long" to seek theoretical basis for social change, reflecting and leading the Song Xue Tongjing to apply the wind.
(2) The stage of development of Song Studies
After the years of Emperor Renzongqing, the science of science entered a period of great development, and there was a situation in which the schools of Wang Anshi Xinxue, Su Shishu Xue, Zhang Zaiguan xue, Zhou DunyiLianxue, and Ercheng Luoxue debated each other. They talked about sex and heavenly tao, paid attention to ethical principles and moral cultivation, and established a relatively complete theoretical system from the concept of nature to the theory of moral cultivation.
Wang Anshi (1021-1086), courtesy name Jiefu, was a native of Linchuan, Fuzhou (present-day Linchuan District, Fuzhou, Jiangxi). Wang Anshi was once given the title of Duke of Jingguo, and his school was also named "Jinggong Xinxue". Wang Anshi's cosmology is materialistic, and "Tao" is the highest category of his philosophical thought. He believes that the origin of the universe is the "Tao", and the essence of the "Tao" is the material "Yuan Qi", that is, the subtle and invisible particles "Pu", rather than "nothing" or spiritual things. The "Tao" differentiates into yin and yang, which in turn produces the "five elements" of the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, and everything in heaven and earth evolves from the "five elements". Proceeding from this materialist concept, Wang Anshi put forward the Theory of Heavenly Dao, which is "the heavens and the earth and man are not related", believing that heaven is the nature of matter, has no will and emotion, and its changes are carried out in accordance with its own laws, not based on the will of man, and has nothing to do with social affairs. Man cannot passively follow the path of heaven, but must actively exert his subjective initiative to transform the world.
In terms of epistemology, Wang Anshi emphasized that the human form is the material basis of all spiritual activities, people are born with the ability to know, the objective world is knowable, all natural laws can be recognized, and people's learning and exercise the day after tomorrow are also very important. In terms of the theory of human nature, Wang Anshi's view is closer to Confucius's proposition that "sex is close, habits are far away", and put forward the theory of human nature that "sex is used by nature". The so-called "sex" refers to the natural performance of human beings, which naturally exists when the human form is formed, while "feelings" are the manifestations of people's feelings and desires, and are the external reflection of "sex" under certain conditions. There is no distinction between good and evil in "sex", and only after "sex" produces "feelings" can good and evil be distinguished, that is to say, the good and evil of people depend on the habits and cultivation of the day after tomorrow.
Wang Anshi's thought shines with dialectical brilliance. He believes that both nature and human society are in motion, which is the result of their internal contradictions. Contradictions are universal, there are contradictions between and within all things, and things are interconnected and develop in universal contradictions. Everything has its opposite, and if one side is lost, the other does not exist. According to this simple dialectical point of view, Wang Anshi put forward his political outlook and historical outlook, and he criticized the viewpoint of historical degeneration, pointing out that history is constantly advancing and developing, has an objective inevitability that human beings cannot reverse, and must constantly change the old system in order to adapt to and promote the development of history.
Wang Anshi's scholarship epitomizes the pioneering and innovative spirit of song xue, he is based on Confucianism, but not stuck to the old tradition of Confucianism, dares to break through the old framework, explores meaning, and innovates to explain the classics. While striving for righteousness, Wang Anshi strives to apply the scriptures to provide a theoretical basis for advocating innovative and change methods. Liang Qichao commented on the new doctrine: "The study of Jinggong is the knowledge of fate on the inside, and the application of the outside in the world, and all those who stand up for themselves and do themselves, and those who are in power with their husbands, are also learned." He keenly grasped the essence of the new learning and the internal connection between the "application of the world" and the reform of the law, and pointed out a major prominent feature of the new learning.
The reason why Song Xue was able to show extremely strong vitality, flourish, and widely absorb other schools of thought is an important reason, and Wang Anshi's scholarship reflects this characteristic. He adopted an eclectic attitude towards various teachings outside Confucianism, pointing out that in order to understand the true meaning of the scriptures, it is necessary to have a broad academic vision, so he reads everything about the hundred schools of thought and even medical books and novels, and the farmers and female workers do everything, absorbing a large number of ideas from various schools and absorbing the strengths of all, so as to improve their own understanding and enrich their own doctrines. The "Jinggong New School" had a great influence at that time, and for a considerable period of time it was dominant in the academic community, and once its doctrine was proposed, it was immediately echoed by the people of the time, who believed that Wang Anshi's doctrine could be compared with Mencius's theory. The materialism and dialectics in Wang Anshi's thought have made great contributions to the development of theoretical thinking in China, and his philosophical thought is an important link in the history of the development of Chinese philosophy.
In the political field, Sima Guang and Wang Anshi are tit-for-tat; in the field of academic thought, the two are also diametrically opposed in many respects. For example, in the Tiandao, Sima Guang inherited the Tiandaoism and mandate of Heaven since Mencius and Dong Zhongshu, believing that heaven is the "father of all things", with its own will and personality, and people must act according to the mandate of heaven, otherwise they will be punished by heaven, thus opposing Wang Anshi's idea of victory over heaven. Based on the fundamental differences in the concept of Heavenly Taoism, the two men were separated and debated each other on a series of issues such as the theory of human nature, the theory of moral integrity, and the concept of wealth and poverty. Sima Guang's greatest academic contribution was the elaboration of "neutralization" and "gewu zhizhi". The so-called "neutralization", that is, "moderation", is the core part of Sima Guang's philosophical thought. He believes that "neutralization" is the fundamental road under the heavens, that all things in heaven and earth cannot violate the law of "neutralization", and that benevolence, wisdom, etiquette, government, and punishment in the world must also follow the path of "neutralization". With the theme of "neutralization", he expounded on natural phenomena and even people's body and mind, and finally extended to the theme of governing the country and the world, which was song Xue's creation of this problem. Sima Guang gave a new interpretation of it, pointing out that the key lies in "self-cultivation", and the problems he explored involved all things in heaven and earth, personnel and society, and were also associated with moral issues such as sincerity of heart and self-cultivation, reflecting that his pursuit lay in the supreme goodness of Ming morality, and had a precursor to the relevant teachings of the later Ercheng and Zhu Xi.
In the process of the development of Song Studies, the Su Shu School occupied a place with its unique characteristics. The founder of the Shu school was Su Xun, who was late in his studies, and only at the age of twenty-seven did he begin to read angrily, so he learned the Six Classics and the Hundred Schools. Su Xun has discussed poems, books, and ritual classics, and his "Treatise on the Six Classics" has novel viewpoints and unique insights. His path of governance is similar to what is said today to take the path of seeing the big from the small, and he is good at starting from one side or one point of a certain thing or a certain problem, traversing the ancient and modern, and hooking up and down, Zhu Xi once pointed out to the point: "The father and son of Lao Su have obtained it from the "Warring States Policy" in history, so they have all discussed it from a small place. "Shuxue continued to develop under the impetus of Su Shi and Su Rui. Su Shi wrote "Dongpo YiChuan" to complete his father's unfinished ambitions, and another twenty volumes of "Dongpo Shu biography" were handed down. Su Shi himself attached great importance to the three works of "Dongpo Yichuan", "Dongpo Shuchuan", and "Analects of Sayings", believing that they could fully reflect his academic thinking. Su Rui has written many treatises, especially the "Lao Tzu Xie" as the best, and his books are mediated by the study of Lao Tzu, bringing together confucianism and Buddha's theory, using the Buddha to understand the old and understanding Confucianism, unifying the three schools, and expounding a new Confucianism. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhu Xi had a lot of denials about Shu studies, criticizing Su's father and son for coming from the "Warring States Policy" and being deeply influenced by the interpretation and old age, and the main foothold was that Su's scholarship was not pure. Although there is no lack of portal prejudice, what Zhu Xi pointed out is precisely the academic characteristics of the Shu school, based on Confucianism and taking from other schools of thought, Confucianism, Interpretation, and Lao Zhuang "three religions in one", which is its own style. In addition to the Father and Son of the Su Family, the representative figures of the Shu School also include Huang Tingjian, Chao Shuzhi, Qin Guan, and Zhang Qian. Generally speaking, the achievements and influence of the Shu school in literature are amazing, representing the tributaries of the Song schools that are more focused on the direction of literature. Ouyang Xiu once praised, "Meishan is thousands of miles in the southwest, and one day the father and son are secretly famous in the Beijing Division, and the Su article is good at the world."
"Mr. Song Chusan" Hu Yan, Sun Fu, and Shi Jie are regarded as the pioneers of science, who pioneered the scholarship of the Song Dynasty, provided some pioneering materials for the formation of the theoretical system of science, and also unveiled the prelude to the later establishment of its own theoretical system with the help of Confucian classics. However, the three are still in the pioneering period of theory, and their ideas have not yet formed a complete system and have not established a complete theory. The true founders of Rigaku and the founders of rigaku's ideological system were Zhou Dunyi and Zhang Zai. Zhou Dunyi (1017-1073), courtesy name Maoshu, was a native of Yingdao, Daozhou (present-day Daoxian County, Hunan). In his later years, he taught at the Lianxi Academy under the Lotus Peak in Lushan Mountain, and was known as Mr. Lianxi, whose learning was called "Lianxue". Although there are not many works left by Zhou Dunyi, only a few such as "Taiji Tushu" and "General Book", the problems and philosophical categories he raised in these works have had an important impact on the development of Song Ming's philosophy. He aided Buddhism and taoism into Confucianism, so that Buddha, Taoism, and Confucian classic works such as Yi and Zhongyong penetrated into each other, established a philosophical logical structure of speculation, opened up a new way for theoreticians to enter and leave the Buddha and the Tao, and provided a model for the establishment of a theoretical system. In the Taiji Tushu and the General Book, Zhou Dunyi concisely and completely constructed a cosmic generation model and the whole process of human development that integrates nature, society and life, and discussed human nature and moral ethics from the height of ontology, making his doctrine rich in philosophical rational speculative characteristics. Zhou Dunyi's doctrine provided a theoretical basis for the formation of Song Ming's theory of Science, and was regarded as a classic by later agents. The philosophical categories he used, such as Wuji, Taiji, Yin and Yang, Five Elements, Motion and Stillness, Sex, Fate, Lile, Sincerity, Hue, Reason, Qi, etc., have been repeatedly cited and played by later theorists, among which Taiji, Reason, Qi, Sex, and Fate have become the basic categories of Song Ming's theory. Zhou Dunyi played a very important role in the history of philosophy in the Song Dynasty, proposing a series of new concepts and new categories, and establishing an idealist theoretical system that had begun to take shape, which had a broad and profound impact on the philosophy of China for the next six or seven hundred years.
Zhang Zai (1020–1077), courtesy name Hou, was a native of Fengxiang County (present-day Mei County, Shaanxi Province). He has been lecturing in Hengqu Town, Fengxiang Province, Shaanxi Province for many years, and is known as Mr. Hengqu. Zhang Zai is one of the main founders of the science of science, and the school he founded is called "Guan Xue" because it is located in Guanzhong, and its doctrine has a unique style and has a major influence on the establishment of the system of rational thought. Zhang Zai's academic thought has formed a complete framework from ontology and morality to epistemology, and many propositions of science have appeared in his doctrine. Zhang Zai's ideological system has both materialism and idealism: on the one hand, he regards the material entity "qi" as the ontology of the universe and establishes the materialist cosmology of qi ontology; on the other hand, he also takes "heart" as the origin of all things, and finally unifies his philosophical thought on the basis of "heart", moves toward idealism, and thus establishes his theoretical thought. He attributed the ethical concepts of the world to the attribute of "qi", "nature" (reason), and communicated ontology, morality, and epistemology through the structure of the trinity of heaven, earth, and man, laying the foundation for theoretical theory. But he did not regard "reason" as the only spiritual ontology and master of the universe, nor did he regard "heavenly reason" and "nature" as the spiritual ontology coexisting with "qi", but made the attribute of "qi", "nature", have an ethical nature and possessed some characteristics of "reason" in rational thought, and in this way, answered the central question of "nature and heavenly way", which is the theory. Zhang Zai put forward the propositions of "the nature of heaven and earth" and "the nature of temperament", taking them as the root of good and the root of evil, respectively, and the "nature of temperament" hindered the "nature of heaven and earth", and there was a distinction between good and evil. This proposition was later inherited and developed by Ercheng and became an important part of their theoretical ideological system. Zhang Zai's theoretical thought is mixed with its materialist thought, reflecting the immaturity of the founding period of rationalism, but nevertheless, he is still an indispensable link in the development of science, and it is the necessary stage for the transition of Confucianism from religious to philosophical, and from personification to abstraction. Zhang Zai's teachings pay attention to the application of learning, and prominently display Song Ru's spirit of "taking the world as his own responsibility"; his famous words "establish a heart for heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the people, continue to learn for the saints, and open up peace for all the worlds", which was sung by Later Generations of Confucians, showing his great ambition of having the world in mind and worrying about the country and the people.
Cheng Hao (1032-1085), also known as "Mr. Ming Dao"; Cheng Yi (1033-1107), also known as "Mr. Yichuan". Ercheng was a native of Luoyang (present-day Luoyang, Henan Province) and had long lived and lectured in Luoyang, and his school was known as "Luoxue". The system of science was formed in the second course, and the "Luoxue" they pioneered laid the foundation of science and was a typical form of science. The main feature of "Luoxue" is the theory of heaven, which holds that "reason" is the origin of all things in the universe, the sum of social ethical and moral norms and social hierarchies, and the norms on which all things are based. Taking "Tianli" as the highest category in the cosmic ontology and the system of science, it has pioneering significance in the Science of Song Ming, with "Reason" as the core, the Ercheng brothers constructed the idealistic system of rational monism, thus completing the System of Song Dynasty Theory. Proceeding from the theory of heaven, the two-way system constructed the theory of human nature and put forward the proposition of "sex is reason", which made the theory of human nature not only limited to the problem of good and evil in ethics, but raised it to the height of ontology. Ercheng believes that "reason" is the general root of all things in heaven and earth, personnel and society, and sex is the embodiment of reason, from a logical point of view, it should be good, and what it thinks is evil is due to being covered by external things, which is "human desire". Based on this, Ercheng put forward their moral theory of "extinguishing selfish desires" and "tomorrow's reasoning", shifting the theory of human nature to the theory of moral cultivation, and advocating "self-denial and retribution" in order to eliminate "human desires" and restore "heavenly reason". This theory places the whole life of man under the domination of Heavenly Reason, and requires people to obey Heavenly Reason and settle for righteousness, and Heavenly Reason becomes the spiritual shackles of people, which is a very negative philosophy. In the two-way system of thought, the theory of knowledge is an important component. The so-called "thing" does not refer to the real objective existence, but to the "reason" (that is, the feudal ethical and moral norms). The purpose of the so-called "qualities" is not to know the laws of objective things, but to restore the "heavenly reason" in people's minds, so that people realize that everything is the authority of heavenly reason, so that their thoughts and actions can adapt to the requirements of "heavenly reason". This epistemology of the second course is closely related to its ontology and human nature, and is an idealistic epistemology. It is worth noting that the second course is still different in some aspects: for example, Cheng Hao put forward that "the heart is the reason, the reason is the heart", emphasizing the role of the "heart", as long as the "heart", you can "know the nature" and "know the heavens", showing the tendency to reflect the psychology of the heart; and Cheng Yi highlights the principle of one thing is the principle of all things, "the world is only a reason". The difference between the two laid the groundwork for the separation of the two schools of "science" and "psychology" in the future.
(3) The evolutionary stage of Song Studies
At the turn of the two Song Dynasties, social history underwent drastic changes, and profound changes were also produced in academia. Since the Yuan Dynasty, Wang Anshi's new learning began to be attacked, and after Emperor Qinzong, the official status of the new school was abolished, and the new school declined day by day. The failure of political reform and the threat of minority regimes have led people to reflect on themselves and try to solve the problems they are facing by strengthening their inner moral cultivation. In this context, Song Xue entered an internal evolutionary process, academic research was disconnected from social reality, and the study of righteousness that strived to be applied through the scriptures degenerated into a sex theory that focused on reflexive introspection, and Song Xue moved toward silence. The Daoist studies represented by Ercheng, which arose during the Xining and Yuanfeng dynasties, gradually flourished in response to changes in the situation and people's needs, and in the Southern Song Dynasty were divided into two major factions: Zhu Xi Lixue and Lu Jiuyuan Xinxue. Zhu Xi's culmination of theory gradually occupied a dominant position in the middle and late Southern Song Dynasty, opposed to Lü Zuqian's Jinhua School, Chen Liang's Yongkang School, and the Yongjia School represented by Xue Jixuan, Chen Fuliang, and Ye Shi. The three schools of Jinhua, Yongkang, and Yongjia are also collectively known as the Zhejiang Eastern School of Merit.
Zhu Xi (1130-1200), courtesy name Yuan obscure, literally "Zhong obscure", "obscure", "obscure", and "obscure", was born in Wuyuan County, Huizhou (present-day Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province), and was born in Youxi, Nanjian, Fujian (present-day Youxi County, Fujian Province). Zhu Xi's four dynasties of Gaozong, Xiaozong, Guangzong, and Ningzong spanned nearly fifty years, but his actual political time was only more than ten years, and his main energy was concentrated on writing books and lecturing. The core of Zhu Xi's theoretical system of thought is the theory of heaven, and the theory or heavenly theory is the highest philosophical category of Zhu Xi's theoretical thought, which is not only the essence of the universe, the root of all things in heaven and earth, but also the source of social moral norms. All the norms and etiquette of feudal morality are the embodiment of reason or heavenly reason. He demonstrated the absolute supremacy and universal inevitability of reason through logical links such as the succession of rational qi, the movement of rational qi, and the difference between rational and one points, thus establishing a huge idealist philosophical system of rational monism. Based on the theory of heaven, Zhu Xi put forward his theory of human nature, the basic concept of which is the "mind system temperament". He believes that sex and emotion are two aspects of the mind, sex is the body of the heart, emotion is the use of the heart, and the heart is the totality of disposition. In addition, Zhu Xi inherited Zhang Zai and Ercheng's idea of human nature, analyzed the nature of the Mandate of Heaven and the nature of temperament, and believed that the nature of the Mandate of Heaven was pure and supreme in terms of reason, and the nature of temperament was composed of reason and qi, so there was a duality of good and evil. In Zhu Xi's philosophical system, moral and ethical thought occupies an important position, and its main content is the distinction between "rational desire" and "righteousness and profit". Zhu Xi regards "Heavenly Reason" and "Human Desire" as a pair of moral and ethical categories, linked them with ontology and political theory, further elaborated the argument, and became the core link of moral and ethical thought. He further put forward the general program of "tomorrow's theory and extinguishing people's desires", and gave play to and revised the two-way "extinguishing selfish desires" and "tomorrow's theory". The so-called "righteousness" means doing what should be done according to the requirements of heavenly reason, while "profit" is the selfish desire of people, and the moral concept of "emphasizing righteousness over profit" should be adhered to in dealing with righteousness and profit. In terms of epistemology, Zhu Xi put forward his own theory of "theory of the poorness of qualities", and he absorbed some of the contents of the theory related to the second process and developed it, so that his doctrine had more dialectical ideas.
Zhu Xi is the master of science, he takes Confucian ethics as the core, combines the interpretation of the elderly, integrates Zhou Dunyi's "Taiji" Yangyang, Ercheng's "Reason", and Zhang Zaizhi's "Qi" as a whole, integrates and penetrates, and establishes a broad and complex logical system including nature, life, society and many other aspects, not only enriching and developing philosophical content in a broader field, but also distinguishing and analyzing these categories and the connections between them, and raising ancient philosophy to a new stage. The development of Song Ming Theory to Zhu Xi established a unique academic scale and system, laid the foundation for its invincibility, and influenced the direction of academic thought in the next six or seven hundred years. Zhu Xi's position and influence in the history of the development of Chinese science is second to none.
Zhang Yu (1133–1180), courtesy name Jingfu , also spelled Lezhai , was a native of Mianzhu , Hanzhou ( present-day Mianzhu , Sichuan ) . Zhang Yu, together with Zhu Xi and Lü Zuqian, was called the "Three Sages of Southeast China", and the Huxiang School represented by him occupied an important position in the science of the Southern Song Dynasty. In terms of ontology, on the one hand, Zhang Yu inherits the rational theory of the second course, believing that reason is the ontology of all things in the universe, and on the other hand, emphasizing that the "mind" is the master of all things. This constitutes the difference between his views and that of Cheng and Zhu, who are limited to sex and emotions and ultimately subject to reason, while Zhang Yu magnifies the dominance of "heart" to "run through all things and unify all things", and even dominates all things, thus showing the ideological tendency of "mind science". The distinction between righteousness and profit has always been an issue that Song dynasty scholars attach importance to, and Zhang Yu regards the distinction between righteousness and profit as the primary way to govern learning, which is his inheritance and development of Song Dynasty theory of thought. Zhang Yu believes that the antagonism between righteousness and profit is essentially the antagonism between heavenly reason and human desire, and aiding heaven is in righteousness and helping people is desired for profit, which is a major feature of Zhang Yu's theoretical thought. In this way, he derived his moral theory of "preserving heavenly reason and removing human desires", demonstrated the natural rationality of the feudal ethical program, and achieved the purpose of consolidating the hierarchical order. In terms of the theory of human nature, Zhang Yu inherited and played the dual theory of sex of the second course of "the nature of destiny" and "the nature of temperament". Zhang Yu is a more distinctive one among the Southern Song Dynasty thinkers, who takes "reason" as the basis of all things and emphasizes the dominant role of "heart", which can be regarded as the starting figure of the turn from "science of science" to "study of heart".
Lu Jiuyuan (1139-1193), also known as Zijing, was a native of Jinxi County, Fuzhou (present-day Jinxi County, Jiangxi Province), who lived and lectured at Xiangshan Mountain in Guixi, and called himself a resident of Xiangshan, known as Mr. Xiangshan. He constructed a subjective idealist ideological system that was different from Zhu Xi's thought, and was the founder of the "psychology" school in Song Ming's science. In Lu Jiuyuan's system of thought, "mind" is the highest and most universal philosophical category, he said that "the universe is my mind, my mind is the universe", equating the universe with the mind, this proposition laid the ideological foundation for his subjective idealism. He put forward the famous proposition that "the mind is the reason", which elevated the "heart" to the status of ontology. "Mind" replaces "reason" as the highest principle and master of nature and human society. In terms of epistemology, he believes that the object of knowledge is not objective things, but the "original mind", as long as you reflect on the internal seeking, understand the original mind, the principle of all things can not understand the self-understanding, thus putting forward a "self-reflexive, anti-provincial seeking" line of understanding. Correspondingly, in terms of moral cultivation, Lu Jiuyuan put forward the moral preaching proposition of "having the heart to desire", believing that as long as the original mind is cultivated and the material desires are eliminated, the clarity of the original mind can be achieved. The philosophical ideas of Lu Jiuyuan and Zhu Xi, one is subjective idealism and the other is objective idealism, although there are many differences in the ideological system, but in essence it belongs to the controversy between different schools within the scope of science, Lu Jiuyuan psychology as the main wing of southern Song Dynasty science, together with Cheng Zhu Lixue constitutes a new stage in the history of the development of Chinese philosophy.
Lü Zuqian (1137-1181), courtesy name Bogong, was a native of Wuzhou (present-day Jinhua, Zhejiang). The school founded by Lü Zuqian was called "Wuxue", also known as "Lü Xue", and later generations were also called the "Jinhua School" to distinguish it from the Chen Liang Yongkang School in Wuzhou. Lü Zuqian's philosophical thought, which is both the strength of Ercheng, Zhu Xi, and Lu Jiuyuan, and is also influenced by the Chen Liang and Ye Shishigong schools, has the element of reconciling eclecticism. Yu Yingshi called Lü Xue "a confucian model of tolerance, openness and pluralism", which refers to the characteristics of Lü Zuqian's scholarship of not being the main and taking advantage of the strengths of all. In terms of ontology: on the one hand, he inherits the philosophical thought of the second course, and regards "reason" or "heavenly reason" as the highest category of his philosophy; on the other hand, he emphasizes the role of "mind", trying to reconcile the differences between the two schools of science and psychology, in order to narrow or eliminate the contradiction between objective idealism and subjective idealism. Therefore, in his philosophical thought, there are both objective idealism based on "reason" and subjective idealism based on "heart", while in fact his thought is more inclined to "mental science", which more obviously shows the tendency of subjective idealism. At the same time, under the influence of the Ye Shi Yongjia school, Lü Zuqian's philosophical thought contained some materialist elements, which showed that Lü Zuqian's learning was not the same as the main theory, and the color of reconciliation and compromise was mixed. In terms of epistemology, on the one hand, he advocated Zhu Xi's theory of "knowing things in a special way" based on "poor reasoning"; on the other hand, he also supported Lu Jiuyuan's theory of "pointing directly to the original heart" with "clear heart" as the mainstay, and also drew on some materialist epistemological factors of the Yongjia and Yongkang schools, emphasizing the need to "carefully observe" objective things, resulting in his epistemology being contradictory and contradictory. In terms of the theory of human nature, Lü Zuqian inherited Mencius's theory of sexual goodness, and also drew on Zhang Zai and Ercheng's view of "temperamental nature" to illustrate where evil comes from, and is essentially similar to Zhang, Cheng, and Zhu. Influenced by the Chen Liang School of Meritorious Service, Lü Zuqian's thought has more factors that are useful through the ages, and he advocates the application of the history of the scriptures, advocating that "scholars should be used as useful learning", which is the difference between Lü Zuqian and those theorists who talk about moral life.
Chen Liang (1143-1194), also spelled Tongfu (同甫), was a native of Yongkang, Wuzhou (present-day Yongkang, Zhejiang), and a representative of the Yongkang school of "Zhejiang Studies". Chen Liang's academic thinking did not have a clear teacher's inheritance, and he learned from reading and traveling, and he was very close to Lü Zuqian, Chen Fuliang, Ye Shi and others, and he inspired each other academically. Chen Liang studied the Four Books in his early years, paying attention to the theory of life, and felt that he was incompatible with the science of science, so he learned the study of the merits of the world and realized a great turn in his academic thinking. Chen Liang's cosmology is different from Cheng Zhu Lixue's, in view of Cheng Zhu Lixue's idealistic view, he put forward the major propositions of "there is nothing but a thing in the universe, and there is nothing but a daily use" and "there is nothing wrong with giving up heaven and earth", regarding everything in the universe of heaven and earth as things, believing that all human activities are things, and things are the only objective existence in the universe, emphasizing that the Tao runs through things and cannot exist alone without things, criticizing what the theorists call the Tao that exists without concrete things. In Chen Liang's philosophical thinking, the word pragmatic is the most prominent feature; he opposed the abuses of Cheng Zhu Lixue's empty talk about life, vigorously advocated pragmatism, and advocated that speeches, doctrines, opinions, and so on should not be divorced from reality, and that in order to solve practical problems, it is not possible to put them on the shelf for a while. With the utilitarian idea of "practical merit," he launched a fierce polemic with Zhu Xi on topics such as righteousness and utilitarianism, the distinction between wang hegemony, and motivation and effect, which is the famous "debate between wang hegemony and righteousness" in history. Chen Liang's pragmatic philosophy brought vitality to the ideological circles at that time, enabled the study of reality to occupy a place in the source of the development of philosophy in our country, and made great contributions to the development of real science. As a pioneer of the critics of science, Chen Liang had a profound impact on later generations.
Ye Shi (1150-1223), also known as Zhengze, was a native of Yongjia, Wenzhou (present-day Wenzhou, Zhejiang), known as Mr. Shuixin. Ye Shi was an important thinker with Chen Liang's name, and the Yongjia School represented by him was an important school that stood on the foot of Zhu Xi's theory of Science and Lu Jiuyuan's xinxue. Ye Shi put forward the materialist view of nature that "where things are, the Tao is in the way", pointing out that "things" are the most fundamental existence between heaven and earth, and affirming the primacy of matter. The Tao dwells in things, it cannot exist without things, it cannot generalize things without understanding the Tao, and it is impossible to obtain the Tao without understanding things. Although the Tao is vast and can sum up all the truths and penetrate all things, in the end it must be attributed to "things" so that it will not "disperse." On this basis, Ye Shi formed his own epistemology, he criticized the epistemology of the theorist "Lattice Material Exhaustion", believing that the object and purpose of knowledge should be objective things, knowledge comes from objective things, without objective things there is no human knowledge, can not replace objective things with subjective consciousness, whether cognition has reached the extreme, need to be tested by objective things. Like Chen Liang, Ye Shi also pays attention to merit, he believes that righteousness and utilitarianism are linked and unified, righteousness cannot be separated from utilitarianism, righteousness can only be in utilitarianism, if there is no utilitarianism, the so-called morality is a useless empty word. Ye Shi's utilitarian morality was a powerful critique of the popular moral concept of asceticism at that time and occupied an important position in the history of ethics in China.
Although the three schools of Jinhua, Yongkang, and Yongjia differ in some specific understandings, they are basically the same in terms of merit point of view, and are collectively known as the Zhejiang Eastern School of Merit. The Meritophysical School absorbed the essence of neo-Confucianism in the Northern Song Dynasty, emphasized practicality and practical results, and confronted the science of science in terms of the concept of heavenly reason, the concept of righteousness and profit, and the concept of history, and became a unique academic school in the Southern Song Dynasty. The Meritocratic School opposes empty words, cites historical events as the basis for its arguments, and seeks a way to save the world from history, so its representative figures have achieved extremely deep attainments in the field of historiography. The so-called school of merit is only classified into one school due to the unanimous pursuit of the above three schools in the aspects of emphasizing merit and pragmatic learning, in fact, each school has different views on some specific issues, and there is no complete and unified theoretical system.
The prosperity of Wenzhi and the lack of competition in martial arts are the summaries of the historical characteristics of the Song Dynasty by later scholars. It should be admitted that the academic culture of the Song Dynasty did surpass the previous generation, achieved another prosperity of Confucianism, reached another peak after the controversy of the hundred schools of thought in the pre-Qin Dynasty, and opened the precedent of the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, and influenced it until modern times. Due to the great achievements of science and its far-reaching influence on future generations, later generations often replaced Song studies with science, ignoring the diversity of many schools in the two Song dynasties, and this view of seeing only trees and not seeing forests was actually a misunderstanding of Song studies. At the beginning of the rise of Song Xue, the various schools debated each other' difficulties, and took the application of the scriptures and the realization of the Confucian "way of the inner saint and the outer king" as the highest pursuit, which contributed to the prosperity of Song Xue. After the Southern Song Dynasty, in the torrent of profound social and historical upheavals, scholars turned to introspection under external setbacks, the development of scholarship gradually broke away from social reality, and the development of culture turned to internal precipitation. Divorced from reality, Song Xue also lost its spirit of continuous pioneering and innovation, and turned to conservative rigidity. In the middle and late Southern Song Dynasty, Science occupied the dominant position in official science, and Zhu Xi, as the master of Science, established a highly refined and complete system of Science. However, while Theory of Science reached its peak, it also heralded the crampedness of its future development space and opened the door to its decline.
This article is excerpted from You Biao's "Chasing the Song Dynasty: A Detailed Discussion of the Golden Age of Classical China", Tiandi Publishing House, April 2021, 1st edition