Abstract:

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.

Key words: cultivating the mind, governing the state, The Great Learning, Zhu Xi