Abstract
This chapter concentrates on the philosophy of moral education in the School of the Principle of Neo-Confucianism during the Song Dynasty. The moral education concepts and approaches of five Confucian philosophers are discussed in detail. The chapter explores and analyzes Zhou Dunyi’s cosmology of the Supreme Ultimate, Zhang Zai’s cosmic concepts of qi and the role of the heart in governing nature and the sentiments, the Cheng Brothers’ ontological framework of the heavenly principle and their contribution to compiling moral education textbooks, Chu Hsi’s proposal of preserving the transcendental li and eradicating human desires, and his moral education approach to investigating concrete objects and events to attain moral truth.
Flying dragons in the sky is a famous metaphor in The Book of Changes. The authors use it to extoll the five philosophers for their lofty achievements in the philosophy of Chinese moral education.
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- 1.
The word “li” refers to the underlying reason for the cosmos, moral principles or the heavenly principle in Neo-Confucianism. Although rite (li) and the Neo-Confucian heavenly principle (li) have similar connotations and are pronounced the same in the Chinese phonetic alphabet, they are in fact represented by two different Chinese characters. While rite denotes more the proper external regulations of people’s conduct, the heavenly principle leans towards people’s internal moral virtue and reason.
- 2.
The concept of the Non-Ultimate first appeared in Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching , where it indicated the primordial void before the universe comes into being. The concept of the Supreme Ultimate first appeared in the commentaries on The Book of Changes , denoting the state of undifferentiated absolute and infinite potential of the universe before the emergence of the duality of Yin and Yang. There are two different explanations of their relationships. One is that the Non-Ultimate (nonbeing) goes before the Supreme Ultimate (being). The other is that both concepts are actually two names for one thing, namely the substance of the universe. The authors of this book believe the Supreme Ultimate is the turning point from nonbeing to being.
- 3.
The Great Path (Tao) denotes the ultimate truth or the moral principle (li) in Neo-Confucianism.
- 4.
The imperial examination (keju) was a civil service system starting in the Sui Dynasty to select candidates for the state bureaucracy. As the content of the exam was based on knowledge of Confucian classics, it greatly enhanced the influences of Confucianism in ancient China, and was a clear manifestation of the integration of politics and moral education.
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You, Z., Rud, A.G., Hu, Y. (2018). Flying Dragons in the Sky: The Philosophy of Moral Education in the School of Principle of Neo-Confucianism. In: The Philosophy of Chinese Moral Education. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56434-4_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56434-4_8
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