Confucian School Research Articles

An Outline of the History of Korea in <i>The Primer for Children</i>

In traditional Korea, The Primer for Children (Dongmong seonseup 童蒙先習) was a basic textbook studied in Confucian schools. It introduced students to the basics of Confucian ethics and to the main events of the history of China and Korea. The text is composed in literary Chinese and marked with Korean auxiliary verbs and affixes written in Chinese characters using the gugyeol method. The Korean Collection of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg) includes a xylographic edition of this textbook (C 64), which was printed in the year gyechuk 癸丑 (1793 or 1853) and entered the funds of the IOM, RAS, as part of the collection of Academician M.F. Brosset (1802–1880). The paper contains the first partial Russian translation of this textbook presenting the outline of the history of Korea from ancient times to the mid-16th century. The translation is accompanied with a commentary and a brief preface.

간쟁(諫諍)의 교육적 함의: 교육학적 관점에서 본 간쟁

This article aim to define an educational implication inherent in an expostulation on King by investigation about the theoretical and historical basis of it. As we know, Confucian school prepare the theoretical ground about scholarly official’s expostulation on King and it derive from sense of ethics that is represented the admiration on the culture of Chu(周) Dynasty. According to this, expostulation mean the embodiment of benevolence(仁) and the performance, standing on the basis of ethical emotion and practising the equivalent exchange on ethical value in relationship. Since then this is mentioned ‘Xunzi(荀子)’, Xunhwang(荀況)’s book, and ‘The Scripture on Filial Duty(孝經)’, a writing in Han(漢) Dynasty and this is required as a ethical duty on officials and sons consistently in all Dynasty adopting Confucianism. However the institutionalization of this idea is generally achieved a way guaranteeing the independence of advisory officials’(言官)s duty and advisory route(言路) after 10 Century.
 The historical record about institutionalization on scholarly officials’ expostulation is appeared since Korye(高麗) Dynasty. Certainly there are advisory officials under the office of senior ministers(門下省) and invigorating a royal education system(經筵) for King since King Yejong(睿宗) in Korye Dynasty. Especially a royal education system in Korye Dynasty is composed by scholarly officials belong to many departments such as royal literary organization(寶文閣) under King’s control until the last period of Dynasty. This means containing expostulation as an educational work.
 An expostulational system is established the ideal way to realize the scholarly King(君師) as an ideal type of king for confucian scholars after Chosŏn(朝鮮) Dynasty. This system aim to bring up King’s virtue(薰陶) and guarantee to advise his opinions freely in the face of King. On this account, royal literary organizations(集賢殿, 藝文館, 그리고 弘文館) in Chosŏn Dynasty are also developed as a consultative one. Therefore it generate the opportunity of the appearance of public politics(公論政治) and factions(朋黨). It is because of a Neo-confucian school who provide the theory to appear the isomorphism between education and expostulation.

Demystifying Women’s Affordances in Spaces towards Nurturing Noetics An Analysis of the Movie Thappad (2020)

Thappad by Anubhav Sinha is a movie which tells us about the struggles of various aspects of being a woman affecting them in the societal and domestic praxis. The article investigates the availability of space in the context of Indian women to tend their mind for their well being as portrayed in the movie. It also contrasts the realization of women performing their gender as they lose their individuality. The search of ‘self’ is a modern concept in Indian literature often associated with women after long years of being daughter, wife and mother. Gender is a repetitive performance according to Judith Butler. Scholarly debates show that the kitchen tales all around the world signifies the unending entrapment loop of women in the kitchen space still. Though there are women achieving great heights, there are movies like this showcasing the demarcation of gendered spaces and entrapment of women. As Confucian school of thought with its theory of mind helps us to foster the authenticity of mind for the well being of humans. Mencius claims the mind as an entity that exists in space. Its dimensions can be altered with human experiences in turn affecting its horizon. Psychologist Gibson also expresses that space is what constitutes the mind. And the visualizable spaces affecting the mind. Space here has no disparity of physical,mental,and temporal dimensions. Qualitative analysis of space as a category for the mind’s wellbeing and self realization of women losing their self portrayed in the movie is discussed in the article.

Evolution of the ontology of ancient Chinese music

The subject of the study is the ontological ideas of ancient Chinese music in the context of the formation of philosophical schools of Ancient China, which make it possible to identify a number of philosophical categories that underlie traditional chinese music and outline different approaches to its understanding and interpretation. Most Chinese researchers in the field of musical aesthetics focus on the art of music, rare to pay attention to the philosophical origins of the categories of music that past thinkers wrote about when analyzing laws of existence of the universe. Restoring and rethinking these values in the context of the philosophical and cultural analysis of ancient Chinese music is key to this work, which allows us to gain an understanding of the specifics of ancient Chinese culture and its musical heritage. The novelty of the work lies in carrying out the correlation of genesis of the musical ontology of Ancient China with the dynamics of the formation of the philosophical schools of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, their rise or fall depending on the historical and cultural situation. Musical philosophy in China has not yet become an independent discipline, so the presented work makes a significant contribution to the field of musical ontology. During the study, the authors revealed three main aspects which are basic for the ontology of ancient Chinese music: The nature of music has its source three categories: Tao, air and sound, existing both in a natural state in nature and embodied in musical structure and instruments; Sound and rhythm being the essence to any musical work, organize the sounding space in accordance with the cosmic order; The metaphysical nature of music is justified by the basic principles of Taoist philosophy and number theory.

Protecting the Musulman Children

This article draws on archival materials from late Qing Turpan Prefecture to explore Qing colonialism within the context of mass vaccination efforts in Xinjiang from 1880 to 1911. Following the reconquest of the region in 1877, Xiang Army leaders established official vaccination bureaus across Xinjiang—a colonial administration that encompassed all of East Turkestan—to combat smallpox outbreaks within Musulman (Uyghur) communities and the Qing army garrison. The vaccination bureau in Turpan, although led by Han vaccinators from Inner China, depended heavily on the labor of Musulman graduates from the region's assimilationist Confucian schools. The Turpan Vaccination Bureau reinforced the Xiang Army's broader project of colonial assimilation by training Musulman apprentices in various Chinese medical texts and using them to disseminate these ideas across the prefecture through the medium of vaccination. However, Turpan's Musulmans possessed their own sophisticated body of knowledge regarding epidemics and healing and routinely resisted the imposition of normative Qing/Chinese medical behavior.

Interweaving nationalism and cosmopolitanism in the cultivation of Confucian citizens through classics reading in contemporary China

Focusing on nationalism and cosmopolitanism as elements influencing the discourse and practice of citizenship and citizenship education, this study discusses how they are construed and implemented by contemporary Confucian educational practitioners. By analysing the theoretical discourses of Confucian classical education and the pedagogical practices of a specific Confucian school, this study reveals the interweaving of nationalism and cosmopolitanism and the pedagogical practices involved in cultivating students as Confucian cosmopolitan citizens with a Chinese national identity. These findings contribute from an Indigenous perspective to the understanding of the shaping of civic subjectivity embedded in the Chinese Confucian context, in line with the ongoing intellectual shift towards post-orientalist citizenship. The study concludes that Confucian education has the potential to inspire citizenship and citizenship education studies by contributing ideas regarding the complexities of the relationship between national identity and global awareness emerging from Chinese politico-cultural circumstances to the internationally recognized rhetoric on citizenship.

용암 박운의 수기지학

This article examines the system of thought concerning Park Un's philosophy of self-cultivation, based on one of his two main works, Gyukmongpyeon.
 Park Un was a representative scholar of Neo-Confucianism from the Gyeongbuk Seonsan region during the middle period of the Joseon Dynasty. He gained widespread recognition for his filial devotion to his parents. He studied under Park Young along with the Kim brothers, Kim Chwiseong and Kim Chwimun, contributing to the nationwide prominence of the Songdang school of thought. However, following the last wishes of his father, Park Jongwon, who had witnessed the tyrannical rule of King Yeonsan and the political chaos during King Jungjong's reign, he did not pursue a career in government. Instead, he stayed in his hometown, dedicated himself to scholarly pursuits, and worked to pass down his academic achievements to future generations. He also gained fame as a great scholar of his time through interactions and academic discussions with contemporary scholars like Lee Eonjeok and Lee Hwang.
 At the age of 50 (in 1542), Park Un compiled Gyukmongpyeon by selecting various sayings from the Cheng-Zhu school of Confucianism centered around Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi, focusing on ‘Geo Gyeong Gung Ri’. ‘Geo Gyeong’ refers to a self-cultivation method that targets the heart-mind to foster virtue, while ‘Gung Ri’ refers to a study method targeting principles to explore all things and expand knowledge. These two elements collectively indicate the self-cultivation philosophy of the Cheng-Zhu school that needs to be integrated to prevent the human mind from falling into desire.
 Lee Yulgok wrote in the postscript of Gyukmongpyeon: “Only after reading Master Park Un's Gyukmongpyeon did I realize how deep his research into the self-cultivation theory of the Cheng-Zhu school was, and how diligently he had studied. Had that not been the case, the sentences he selected could not have been so precise and heartfelt.
 Although we can't meet t he v arious masters o f the C heng-Zhu s chool today, Park Un has gathered all their beneficial teachings left for future generations. The grace he has bestowed upon future scholars is indeed immense.” Through compiling Gyukmongpyeon, Park Un not only succinctly and clearly organized the self-cultivation philosophy of previous sages but also significantly contributed to the scholarly activities of future generations.

龍巖 朴雲의 삶과 道學

Yong-ahm Park Woon (1493~1562) was a Neo-Confucian scholar from Seon-san, Gyeong-sang province living in the mid-age of Joseon dynasty. He passed a national exam of recruiting loyal servants but decided not to become a loyal servant, and then he had devoted himself for discipline for about 40 years. In 1646, he was enshrined in Nak-bong Confucian school located in Seon-san and positioned as a Neo-Confucian scholar representing Seon-san. Even if he did not gain a nationwide reputation, he had a large academic influence in the northern area of Gyeong-sang province. Since 50, he had written Neo-Confucianism related books especially for study of mind such as 『GyeokMongPyeon (擊蒙編)』 and 『JaYangSimHakJiRon (紫陽心學至論)』, which firstly played the role of a guide book and an introduction book for beginners. However, 『GyeokMongPyeon』 was for beginning of study while 『JaYangSimHak- JiRon』 for achievement of study. Therefore, these two books are combined; one for the former part and the other for the latter part, which means that they were written by design. Such two books of his are important data f or Neo-C onfucian h istory o f Joseon dynasty. They are highly positioned in the aspect that they suggest the way of studying for those who want to study Neo-Confucianism. His contribution to the history of Neo-Confucianism cannot be ignored.

Animals, Sages and Saints: Alfonso Vagnone’s Rhetorical Strategy in Chinese Context

Around 1632, while stationed in Shanxi Province (China), the Italian Jesuit Alfonso Vagnone published a pedagogical treatise entitled On the Education of Children (Tongyou jiaoyu) on which he had worked for several years. The book achieves a carefully crafted synthesis between Confucian educational principles, European Humanism, and Jesuit pedagogy. This is achieved through various rhetorical devices, one of them being the extensive use of animal simile, which prepares considerations about behavioral models to be found in (Pagan) Sages and (Christian) saints. This study focuses on the rhetorical and narrative methods through which Vagnone grounds a gradation and continuum between Nature and Grace, inserting his pedagogical considerations into a carefully crafted apologetics. Vagnone’s work is also remarkable by its implicit openness to various Confucian schools, while Matteo Ricci was drawing a sharp distinction between original Confucianism and the School of the Principle. In more than one way, Vagnone’s work is “ecumenical”. It makes the love for one’s offspring, found in all living species and in all nations, the ground of moral reform, itself conducive to greater openness toward revealed truths.

Moral metaphysics as philosophy of culture in Tu Weiming’s Boston Сonfucianism

New Confucianism is a philosophical movement which seeks to combine Confucian tradition with Western philosophical thoughts. The idea appeared to some extent due to ideological motives. For instance, New Confucian Mou Zongsan formulated the concept of moral metaphysics, which was supposed to compete with Kantian transcendentalism. Moral metaphysics is further developed by Mou Zongsan’s follower Tu Weiming, who belongs to Boston school of New Confucianism. His moral metaphysics is essentially different from that of Mou Zongsan. It is based on the notion of “self-enlightenment” (cheng). It presents an idea that in some cases interpretation can serve as a research method and be more precise than analysis. The focus of investigation is not the way how something first emerged and developed, but how it was examined and interpreted afterwards. In other words, the key to understanding is the “second birth” of things which happens during the interpretation. But to interpret correctly, we should possess the full knowledge of “ourselves”. However, “oneself ” also turns out to be not a separate body subject to analysis, but an aggregation of interpretations offered by others. The drawn conclusion is that everything exists only when it has an opportunity to interpret oneself during interaction. And in this sense “self-enlightenment”, according to Tu Weiming, is a “certain form of metaphysics”. This article, however, suggests narrowing this conclusion to cultural existence. Unlike Mou Zongsan, Tu Weiming does not intend to prove that the Chinese philosophical thinking is better than the Western one. We can view his moral metaphysics as a certain type of philosophy of culture. It does not offer a precise analytical approach, but it does present a certain pattern of thought, which deals with embracing the form of one’s cultural existence.

근대이행기 전통도시 읍치의 종교적 장소성 변화

It can be said that the religious placeness of Eupchi(邑治), a traditional city, was formed by Sajikdan(社稷壇), Seonghwangdan(城隍壇), and Yeodan(厲壇) centered on the Hyanggyo(鄕校, local Confucian school). Gongju and Daegu Eupchi, which were selected as case areas, are representative Eupchi in Chungcheong-do and Gyeongsang-do in the late Joseon Dynasty. For these two traditional cities, the changes in the religious placeness of Eupchi during the modern times were examined. First, I looked at the movement of the pivot in the religious landscape related to the dissolution of Eupchi. At the same time, focusing on the missionary strategies of religions newly introduced during the modern times, I also examined the preferred location for each religion and the relationship with residential areas by ethnicity. Next, I analyzed the placeness of each religion introduced during the modern times by inertia of place, appropriation of place, power of place, and cohesion of place. From this point of view, the unique religious placeness of the two traditional cities was changed by the new religious pivot formed by the foreign religions. This resulted in displaceness.

The influence of Confucianism on China's dulcimer performance

Confucianism is an important theoretical support of the Chinese national spirit. It started with the Confucian school founded by Confucius. After the continuous enrichment and creation of Confucianism, it gradually formed an important guiding ideology covering people, people, society, people and nature, which had a far-reaching impact on politics, economy, literature, social life, and other fields. In the 1980s, the stable social environment brought by the reform and opening up provided a good external condition for developing dulcimer art in China. The increasing communication between Chinese and western cultures and ideas has brought new ideas for developing dulcimer art in China. Yangqin, in the form of "singing, dancing and telling stories,” shows the living state and ideal pursuit of literati in the Yuan Dynasty by shaping specific events and characters, thus being regarded as a "living fossil" that reflects the social outlook of the Yuan Dynasty. There is no doubt that the culture of Chinese dulcimer is based on Chinese traditional culture. It has obvious characteristics of the cultural orientation of Confucianism and Taoism and is also the result of the interaction between Chinese and Western cultural trends. This cultural orientation will involve the future development trend of Chinese dulcimer culture and will profoundly impact Chinese dulcimer culture in the 21st century.

17~18세기 충청 지역 소론계 서원과 魯岡書院

Chungcheong-do is a place where Yulgok and Ugye schools dominate among the schools of Confucianism. Those who studied in the two groups belonged to the Seoin party. Seoin was seriously opposed after the the Noron-Soron Divergence in the late 17th century, and Seowon became the site of conflict in each region. Before 1800, 107 seowon Confucian academies in Chungcheong Province were built. Among them, there were only 11 Soron Confucian academies, and most of them were Noron Confucian academies. As Noron took the lead mainly in the central political world, Soron-line Seowon was in a difficult situation. It was also the subject of discussions on the abolition of Seowon, and Hyangjeon(鄕戰) took place. Nogangseowon Confucian Academy Altogether in Noseong, Chungcheong-do was established by SeoIn-line in 1675. Noseong Papyeong Yoon is celebrating a distinguished scholar of the Nojong faction. Since Yun Jeung, a native of this family, became the leader of Soron after the Noron-Soron Divergence, Nogangseowon Confucian Academy also became the source of Soron-sided Seowon. Therefore, Nogangseowon Confucian Academy was the strongest target of check for Noron. Nogangseowon Confucian Academy remained a symbol of Soron-sided Seowon until the end despite several crises caused by political pressure. This is because Papyeong Yoon Clan has established a strong support base for Nogangseowon by educating their descendants through Nogangseowon for more than 200 years and raising disciples to produce high-ranking officials.

A Study of The Neo-confucian Mencius View in Chinese Philosophy

First, the relevant categories are defined, and the research status is summarized. Then, to the new Confucianism of the Republic of China mencius view of the formation of the social historical background and political background, do a general exposition. Moreover, the author makes a case analysis of the mencius view of the three representatives of the newly emerged Confucian school in the Republic of China. Xiong Shili's view of Mencius was formed in the system of "new only knowledge", in which the inner sage and the outer king were promoted simultaneously, which made up Liang's hole in the cultivation of kung fu but failed to specify how to "open up the new". Feng Yulan interprets Mencius' thought mainly in his "Three Histories" and "Six Books" and reveals the other aspect of his philosophical methodology, namely, the return to intuition, by the "negative method". Finally, the author expounds the views of Mencius of other neo-Confucian scholars in the Republic of China (including Zhang Junli, He Lin, Qian Mu, etc.). Through the in-depth study of the concept of Mencius in the Neo-Confucianism of the Republic of China, we can not only master the mental schema of the neo-Confucianism of the Republic of China through its various concepts of Mencius but also see the new orientation and development trend of the concept of Mencius in the Period of the Republic of China through the development of the thinking mode of Mencius in the neo-Confucianism of the Republic of China.

An Investigation on English Translations of Culture-Loaded Words in The Analects of Confucius from the Eco Perspective: A Case Study of the English Translation of Lectures on China’s Traditional Political Thoughts

The Analects of Confucius are classic works of ancient Chinese Confucian school, which contains a lot of culture-loaded words. And James Legge, Gu Hongming and Arthur Walley’s English translation of Analects is widely spread and highly recognized. Therefore, this paper will take Lectures on China’s Traditional Political Thoughts as an example to study the translation of culture-loaded words in three translated versions of The Analects of Confucius from the eco perspective. Relying on the Chinese ideological and cultural terminology Library under the project of “Chinese ideological and cultural terminology communication project”, this paper mainly combs and sums up the culture-loaded words in The Analects of Confucius respectively translated by James Legge, Gu Hongming, Arthur Waley. Based on the perspective of eco translatology, this paper makes a comparative study on translation methods of different schools from the perspectives of language, culture and communication, so as to improve the academic preciseness and accuracy of the translation.

Resurgence of Confucian education in contemporary China: Parental involvement, moral anxiety, and the pedagogy of memorisation

ABSTRACT The resurgence of Confucian education in present-day China has received increasing academic attention over the last two decades. However, certain aspects of this trend remain poorly understood, particularly parents’ involvement in their children’s Confucian education. Based on a qualitative study conducted at a Confucian school, this article sheds light on why some Chinese parents today send their children to learn the Confucian classics. The parents interviewed criticised China’s examination-oriented state school system, which they regarded as too practically oriented to realise students’ personal and moral development. Instead, they wanted their children to cultivate Confucian virtues and moral suzhi (‘quality’). Also, Wang Caigui’s theory of ‘children reading classics’ education strengthened the parents’ confidence in the Confucian pedagogy of memorisation. Based on these findings, the article argues that using the critique tool, parents who advocate Confucian education have emerged as critical citizens who reflect on how not to be governed by the mainstream state education.

Right, righteousness, and act: why should Confucian activists be regarded as citizens in the revival of Confucian education in contemporary China?

ABSTRACT This article explores three core elements of citizenship – right, responsibility, and act – and their implications for the rise of Confucian activists in the revival of Confucian education in present-day China. Adopting an empirical research approach, the author draws from two sets of resources: public speeches by a leader in contemporary Confucian classical education, and interviews with teachers and parents at a Confucian school. A critical discourse analysis of the data is conducted to examine the emerging themes. First, the study identifies the widespread circulation of the discourse of right (quanli) to education within the field of Confucian education. Second, focusing on the emerging discourse of righteousness (yi), it reveals how this particular Confucian ideology, articulated through local terminologies, generates a sense of civic responsibility and obligation. Third, it investigates the Confucian idea of “extending innate knowledge” (zhi liangzhi) and its contribution to the conversion of internal, individual ethical reflection to creative, civic acts. Based on the findings, this study challenges the popular characterisation of Confucianism as a contradiction to citizenship. The revival of Confucian education offers an opportunity to explore a more nuanced understanding of the effects of Confucianism on the formation of the “Confucian citizen”.

Individual Self, Sage Discourse, and Parental Authority: Why Do Confucian Students Reject Further Confucian Studies as Their Educational Future?

Throughout the twenty-first century, Confucian education has rapidly expanded among the grassroots in China. This study focuses on the most influential style of Confucian education, dujing (classics reading) education, and on a very understudied group, the students, in the Confucian education system. Using data collected at a Confucian school, this study aims to elucidate dujing students’ genuine thoughts and feelings toward their plans for future education. The findings suggest that dujing students exhibit an individualistic outlook, which is characterized by their personal aspirations, self-determination, independence, and self-pursuit, as well as a reluctance to pursue further Confucian studies. Their self-identity is further strengthened by resistance to the authoritarian discourse circulating in the domain of dujing education and by a shifting relationship with imposed parental expectations. This study argues that the development of Confucian individualism in students’ dujing experience must be understood within the broader social contexts shaping Chinese individualisms and subjectivities.

Data Collection Practices for Compiling Confucian School Library Book Lists in Ming and Qing Local Gazetteers

Local gazetteers are a key source for Chinese history, but relatively little is known about how compilers obtained the information they presented in their finished works. Examining data collection practices for gazetteers is not only important to understanding the production processes and contents, but also can shed light on a variety of questions related to locality and geographical knowledge in imperial China. Tensions between standardization and localization may be revealed, the politics of geographical knowledge can be highlighted, and who was served by geographical knowledge may be shown through analysis of collection practices. This article explores data collection for Confucian school library book lists in the Ming and Qing and argues that list data came from various sources: accounting registers, on-site inspections, transcriptions of stelae and wooden plaques that recorded book acquisitions, other gazetteers, and court publications. List compilers approached their lists in different ways and lists could be comprehensive, selective, or normative in nature.

Trends in the Construction of Local Confucian School from the late Goryeo Dynasty to the early Joseon Dynasty

Trends in the Construction of Local Confucian School from the late Goryeo Dynasty to the early Joseon Dynasty