On the Changes and Influences of the Absolute Truth of Neo-Confucianism in Pre-Modern China

The following paper focuses on the changes and influences of the absolute truth of Neo-Confucianism in pre-modern China. First of all, Li of Neo-Confucianism attempted to replace the highest divine of Tian/Shangdi but actually became the amalgamation with the divine and the absolute truth. Through the resistance against Li by Chinese thinkers, the principles of Li were replaced by the idea of “public” as the highest truth of political ideology in the late pre-modern China. However, those thinkers did not break the “continuative mode of thought” which was the way of thinking of the absolute truth of Li, and “the public” was one of the production of this way of thinking. In the case of soulstealing crisis, “the public” was already used to oppress on the rights of minority or “private.” At the end of pre-modern China, Taiping Rebellion showed a pattern of 20th century’s Chinese revolutions which attempted to create the “completely new” political ideology. But the “Christian” ideology of Taiping Rebellion was actually formed by the features of Confucianism including ethics, political system and social structures. The historiographic statements on Taiping Rebellion in 20th century’s China also stepped into the blind faith to the concept of “completely new” and to the discussion on the savior’s essence of Taiping Rebellion.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Religious Studies

Grantor dc:publisher

Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina

Year dc:date.issued

2016

Author dc:creator

• Wang, Shengying

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Bond, Kevin
• Ren, Yuan

Committee member dc:contributor.committeemember

• Arnal, William

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

https://doi.org/10.82465/4040

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:uregina.scholaris.ca:10294/6850