On the Relationship between Interpretations of the Confucian Classics and Political Power in East Asia: An Inquiry Focusing upon the Analects and Mencius
Resource
The Medieval History Journal, 11(1), 101-121
Journal
The Medieval History Journal
Journal Volume
11
Journal Issue
1
Pages
101-121
Date Issued
2008
Date
2008
Author(s)
Abstract
This article focuses on the complex relationship existing between the interpretation of Confucian classics and political power in China, Japan and Korea. A wide range of materials is contained for discussion, namely East Asian scholars�� commentaries on the Analects and Mencius, questions extracted from the Book of Mencius in the civil service examinations in the Ming (1368�V1644) China, reminders which a Tokugawa Japanese scholar marked on Mencius against imperial reading, and quotations from Confucian classics appearing in the dialogues between emperors and courtiers in the Han (206 BCE�V220 CE) and Tang (618�V907) dynasties. It is pointed out that the dual roles played by the interpreters�Xas Confucian scholars and as administrators�Xhad closely connected the interpretation of classics to political power. Briefly speaking, three forms of relationship are observed: inseparability, competition, and the balance to be struck between the interpretation of the classics and political power. To sum up, the East Asian Confucians read and understood the classics through their own ��existential structures��, at the same time endowing the classics with new strategic content; they were not just playing ��intellectual games��
SDGs
Type
journal article
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