The argument is that (1) the spiritual crisis that Zhu Xi discussed with Zhang Shi 張栻 (1133–1180) and the other “gentlemen of Hunan” from about 1167 to 1169, which was resolved by an understanding of what we might call the interpenetration of the mind’s stillness and activity (dong-jing 動靜) or equilibrium and harmony (zhong-he 中和), (2) led directly to his realization that Zhou Dunyi’s thought provided a cosmological basis for that resolution, and (3) this in turn led Zhu Xi to (...) understand (or construct) the meaning of taiji in terms of the polarity of yin and yang; i.e. the Supreme Polarity as the most fundamental ordering principle (li 理). (shrink)

An overview of Confucianism in the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, which many regard as second only to the classical period in philosophical importance and influence. This piece canvasses the major thinkers and schools, competing views on the metaphysics of li (pattern, principle) and qi (vital stuff), criticisms of Buddhism and Daoism, and debates about the heartmind, virtue, knowledge, and governance.

An overview of Dai's ethics, highlighting some overlooked or misunderstood theses on moral deliberation and motivation.

The topic of my dissertation is the political and philosophical thought of Lü Zuqian, one of the key players in the history of the "True Way Learning" in Southern Song China and a close associate of Zhu Xi. Focusing on core concepts in Lü’s writings like self-cultivation, imperial sovereignty, law, rites, institutions and reform, this study advances a new interpretation of Lü Zuqian's modes of thinking. The comparison of Lü Zuqian's political ideas to those of contemporaries such as Zhu Xi, (...) Zhang Shi, Lu Jiuyuan, Chen Liang and Ye Shi clarifies the political language and the political engagements of Daoxue thinkers. This case study tries to explain the fundamental nature of political Daoxue discourse between 1160 and 1180 and to shed new light on the interpretation of "Neo-Confucian" thought in general. (shrink)