Philosophical thoughts in Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Also known as Taoism. It originated in the Northern Song Dynasty, prevailed in the Southern Song Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty and Ming Dynasty, and gradually declined after the middle of Qing Dynasty, but its influence continued until modern times. Neo-Confucianism in a broad sense refers to the whole philosophical trend of thought centered on discussing the fate of heaven, including various schools; Neo-Confucianism in a narrow sense refers to the theory with reason as the highest category represented by Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi and Zhu, that is, Neo-Confucianism. Neo-Confucianism is the theoretical expression of social, economic and political development after the Northern Song Dynasty, the result of the long-term development of China's ancient philosophy, especially the direct product of criticizing Buddhism and Taoism. Neo-Confucianism occupies a particularly important position in the history of China's philosophy. It lasts for a long time, has great social influence, and discusses a wide range of issues.
Generally speaking, the main issues discussed by Neo-Confucianism are: ① Ontology, that is, the origin of the world. Although there are different answers to this question, Neo-Confucianism denies the existence of personality god and the other side of the world. Zhang Zai put forward the philosophy of "Qi-based", which holds that "Qi that is too empty" is the source of everything. Cheng Cheng established the philosophy of "heaven is reason" and thought that conceptual rationality was the origin of the world. Zhu put forward the theory that reason is fundamental and qi is a tool. Lu Jiuyuan and Wang Shouren take the heart as the foundation and think that "the heart is the reason". (2) the theory of mind and nature, that is, the source of human nature and the relationship between heart, nature and emotion. Zhang Zai put forward the theory of the nature of heaven and earth and the nature of temperament, and thought that the nature of heaven and earth originated from the empty qi. Cheng Hao put forward the proposition that mind is heaven and nature has no internal or external causes, which unified mind, nature and heaven. Cheng Yi put forward the proposition that sex is reason, and described sex as metaphysical reason. Zhu believes that the noumenon of the heart is sex, and sex has not yet been developed; The function of the heart is emotion, and emotion is the sum of things that have been sent out; Sex and emotion are physical relations, and the heart is the "master". Lu Jiuyuan believes that the heart is sex and reason. Wang Shouren put forward that the noumenon of the mind is sex, that is, the supreme good. ③ Epistemology, that is, the source and method of cognition. Zhang Zai first put forward two kinds of knowledge: "knowledge of experience" and "knowledge of virtue", and advocated exhaustion of learning, which became a topic of discussion among Neo-Confucianism. Cheng Cheng put forward the cognitive theory of "learning things and knowing things"; Zhu put forward a systematic method of "materialism"; Lu Jiuyuan emphasized "looking back"; Wang Shouren, on the other hand, put forward the theory of "To Conscience", believing that to understand by thinking about things is to make one's conscience serve things, thus completing the cognitive route from the inside out.
Neo-Confucianism schools are diverse and complex. In the mid-Northern Song Dynasty, there were Zhou Dunyi's learning, Shao Yong's image number, Zhang Zai's management of snow, Er Cheng's Luo learning and Sima Guang's master learning. In the Southern Song Dynasty, there were Zhu's Fujian studies, Lu Jiuyuan's Jiangxi studies, and some Yin and Yang studies in the mid-Ming Dynasty. Although these schools have different theoretical systems and characteristics, according to their basic viewpoints and influences, there are mainly three schools, namely, the philosophy of monism of qi represented by Zhang Zai; The monist philosophy represented by Cheng and Zhu; Mind monism philosophy represented by Lu Jiuyuan and Wang Shouren.
Neo-Confucianism, as a new ideological and theoretical system of the landlord class, once played a very good role in the development of society at that time. Its development in speculative philosophy is undoubtedly a great progress in human history. Neo-Confucianism has also had a considerable impact on the historical development of Japan and South Korea. However, with the continuous development of feudal society in China, Neo-Confucianism played an increasingly negative and even reactionary role in strengthening feudal ethics and maintaining patriarchal clan system.