Ghosts Exist, As Do Strange Creatures: Reevaluating Han Yu’s “Yuan Gui” and Related Writings
Resource
臺大中文學報, 32, 258-298
臺大中文學報, 32, 258-298
Journal
臺大中文學報
Journal Issue
32
Pages
258-298
Date Issued
2010-06
Date
2010-06
Author(s)
Abstract
Not many people have discussed Han Yu’s article “Yuan Gui” [On Ghosts]. Among the few that have, one better known is the Northern Song Dynasty Buddhist monk Qi Song, who asked, “Why discuss ghosts?” and blamed Han Yu for “straying from the former kings’ path” and “parting from Confucius’ teaching.” In the Southern Song, Zhu Xi also criticized Han Yu for “not understanding the truth about ghosts and spirits, but only talking about their reflections.” Clearly traditional opinion has not been kind to “Yuan Gui,” yet I question the fairness of such critique. In this paper, I first lay out the purpose and background of “Yuan Gui,” pointing out that this and Han Yu’s other article “Yuan Dao” [On Dao] were both written to “clarify the Dao of former kings”, and to “prevent foreign ideas from superseding the teachings of former kings.” “Yuan Dao” states that “ghosts and strange creatures both exist”—an idea that derives from Confucianism and the teachings of Mozi. Next, I point out that Han Yu denigrates the Buddha as a “foreign ghost,” and the Daoist spirits as “strange creatures”. He furthermore places the Confucian deities above Buddhist and Daoist spirits. He venerates the spirits of Heaven and Earth, and pays respect to the mountain and river gods of folk religion. He writes of spirits in earnest and in jest, but always within the boundaries of Confucianism; his writings aim to point out and teach the right path (Dao), and to critique Buddhism. Lastly, I review the literature on “Yuan Dao,” and show that Han Yu led the Song Confucians, including Zhu Xi, by using Confucian ideas on spirits to critique Buddhism and Daoism. He may have been only “talking about their reflections,” but his writings were humanistic and persuasive enough to revive the Confucian notions of spirits. Therefore his “Yuan Dao” deserves a more favorable review.
Subjects
鬼神、物怪、儒教、佛教、道教，spirits, strange creatures, Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism
Type
journal article
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