宋代新儒学的成立关联着儒家经典系统从《五经》 到《四书》 的转变。这一转变中，《大学》 的地位变化最为剧烈。《大学》 升格运动的背景是儒家学者不满于“以佛治心，以儒治世”的儒佛分工模式。基于对这一模式的批判，儒家学者试图重新开掘儒家的治心之学，并重建治心与治世的关联，正是《大学》 提供了一个打通治心和治世的思想架构。故而，韩愈以来的诸多儒家学者重新发现和诠释《大学》 ，最终经过朱子之手，《大学》 被确定为《四书》 之首，其经典地位得以确立。

The establishment of Neo-Confucianism during the Song Dynasty was associated with the transformation of the Confucian classics system from “The Five Classics” to “The Four Books”. In this transformation, the status of The Great Learning changed most dramatically. The background of this elevation was the model of functional division between Confucianism and Buddhism, i.e., “using Buddhism to cultivate the mind and Confucianism to govern the state”. By critiquing this model, Confucians sought to rediscover Confucian teachings on the cultivation of the mind and rebuild the connection between cultivating the mind and governing the state. It was The Great Learning which provided a framework that linked the cultivation of the mind with the governance of the state. Therefore, starting from Han Yu, many Confucians rediscovered and reinterpreted The Great Learning. Eventually, through Zhu Xi’s efforts, The Great Learning was identified as the first one of “The Four Books”, and in this way its position in the new classical system was finally established.