“경(經)의 제국” : 동아시아 유가경학의 보편사적 함의

Abstract

The Confucian classics and classical learning had continuously functioned as the basic theory of good government for over two millennia throughout the history of the Chinese imperial state and beyond in East Asian civilizations. As such, the triumph of Confucian classical learning should be considered one of the most dramatic stories in the global history of ideas. In broad view, this paper heeds the tension between the administrative structure of the Chinese imperial state (the bureaucratic junxian model) and the idealized model of government (the decentralized fengjian model) suggested in the Confucian classics. The obvious tension between classical ideals and real politics had generated heated debate among classicists, thinkers, and statesmen. Far from being the unitary imposition of statist values, classical learning in Chinese history served as forum for public debate amongst those who shared the Confucian classics. This paper argues that their sustained discourses on this obvious gap between classics and realities made possible the endurance and universalization of Confucian classical learning in East Asian history.