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There was a vigorous revival of Confucianism in the Song that dominated
the schools and the civil-service-examination system, as well as
political discourse.
Contributing to the diverse intellectual life of the time was one
of China's greatest poets, Su Shi (1037-1101); the historian and
conservative political leader Sima Guang; and the leaders of the
movement know in the West as Neo-Confucianism, which was to spread
throughout East Asia.
Confucianism provided a faith for people to live by, a convincing
account of the natural and human world, and a theoretical framework
for state and society. It emphasized self-cultivation as a path
not only to self-fulfillment but to the formation of a virtuous
and harmonious society and state. Some might emphasize one aspect
more than the other, but ideally, learning to be a better and wiser
person went hand in hand with service to the larger social body.
Online Reading
• First
Prose Poem on the Red Cliffs, by Su Shi
Related Web Links
• Su
Shi, poet and calligrapher [Chinapage.org] This site includes
several of the poet's works in Chinese, with their English translations,
as well as a recitation in Chinese of The Red Cliff poem
and a few portraits of Su Shi.
•
Confucianism and the Chinese Scholastic System [California State
Polytechnic University, Pomona] This site includes a discussion
of the Chinese Imperial Examination System, by which qualified scholars
were appointed to civil-service positions. Also has links to sections
on "Confucianism and the Chinese Scholastic System" and
"Ancient Chinese Science and Technology."
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