This is one of a series of pages discussing Classical Chinese philosophy during the period from before Confucius (ca 650 B.C.) to the early Han dynasty (ca 200 B.C.). This page deals with the organization of Chinese philosophy into schools of thought as conceived during the Han dynasty.
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A hollow brick from the Han Dynasty carved with the scarlet bird. Excavated at Maoling |
The classical period of Chinese philosophy extends from the earliest times, through Confucius, to the end of the Qin dynasty. It was that period of great originality and creativity in China, India, and Greece which the German philosopher Karl Jaspers called the Axial Age. In China, so numerous were the philosophers and their schools during the period from the sixth to third centuries that the Chinese called them the "Hundred Schools." During the Han dynasty (206B.C.-A.D.4), historians of philosophy attempted to group these philosophers together into schools. Sima Tan (d. 110 B.C.) produced the first and most influential classification of the philosophers into six main groups. The great scholar Liu Xin (46 B.C.-A.D. 23) produced a more elaborate but overlapping classification that attempted to account for the origins of the schools. Because there had originally been no difference between a teacher and an officer, officers being responsible for teaching their subordinates, he believed that each of the schools originated within the major ministries of the government, though in its later development each school became independent. Both scholars agreed on six fundamental schools:
1. The YinYang philosophers, who studied the nature of the cosmos and attempted to account for all its changes in terms of two fundamental principles, the Yin and the Yang. This philosophy was thought to have originated with scholars in the departments concerned with astronomy, calendrics, and meteorology.
2. The Ru scholars, who derived inspiration from Confucius. These philosophers were concerned with education and ritual in the various offices concerned with teaching and instruction. By the time of Xun Kuang, the Ru philosophers were divided into several groups, one of them headed by Xun Kuang.
3. The Mohist philosophers, who emphasized frugality, utility, and economy in all things. They were exceptionally conservative in following traditional religious notions and were thought to have originated in offices concerned with temples and sacrifices.
4. The Logicians, who dealt with the relation of names to realities. They were thought to have emerged from officers concerned with ranks and positions in the court and with the ceremonies to which such rank and position entitled an officer.
5. The "Legalist" philosophers, who emphasized the importance of legislation over tradition and custom as embodied in ritual and social practice. Liu Xin thought they emerged from among officers concerned with the application of penal sanctions.
6. The school of the Dao or Way, which attempted to understand the ultimate principles of reality and to offer a fundamentally different concept of social organization. Liu Xin thought that the archivists who studied the success and failure of various activities gave rise to this school.
To these six schools, Liu Xin added two more of importance:
7. The Agronomists, who emphasized the importance of the basic occupations-farming and sericulture-and who offered a thorough critique of contemporary society in the 4th and 3rd centuries.
8. The theorists of diplomatic strategies, who gained great importance during Xun Kuang's lifetime with their development of rhetoric and formal debates known as persuasions.
Modern scholars tend to follow in general terms the division of the early philosophers into schools such as these, but often reject the account of their origins as being simply associated with different government offices. Scholars during the 1920's and 1930's demonstrated that there were important social differences between the schools. More recent scholarship indicates that ethnic and cultural as well as social differences were involved. In the pages listed below, I introduce a number of the important philosophers of the period.
Wei's Patronage of Scholarship
The tradition of
rulers honoring scholars with high titles and providing them with
generous stipends was over two centuries old at the end of the
classical period. The tradition can be traced to the beginning
of the Warring States period (453-256). Since Wei's emergence
as an independent state, its rulers had supported many eminent
scholars. Marquis Wen, the grandfather of King Hui, patronized
the Confucian disciple Zixia as well as Li Kui, who first introduced
statistical methods into statecraft. Marquis Wu continued the
tradition and built a powerful state partly as a result of the
good advice given by his counselors. His son, King Hui, was the
heir to a tradition of patronage and also to a patrimony of considerable
wealth and power, which he squandered on ill-conceived military
adventures: "As you know, in power the state of Wei was once
second to none in the whole world. But in my own time, we have
suffered defeat in the east by Qi, where my eldest son died, and
we have lost territory 700 li in extent to Qin in the west,
while to the south we have been humiliated by Chu. I am deeply
ashamed of this and wish, in what little time is left me in this
life, to wash away all this shame."
To do this, King Hui lavishly patronized scholars who might offer
some way to recover his honor and restore the prestige of his
state. He collected at his capital of Daliang a large group of
scholars who were justly famous for their learning, making Daliang
a great center of learning and thought. Among the more important
figures were the logician Hui Shi, the rhetorician Shunyu (also
rendered Chunyu) Kun, Mencius, and possibly Zhuang Zhou as well.
But his successor King Xiang was unimpressive. "When I saw
him at a distance," observed the philosopher Mencius, "he
did not look like a ruler of men, and when I went close, I saw
nothing that commanded respect." The scholars attracted by
his father scattered, many like Mencius traveling to Qi to seek
out King Xuan.
The Jixia Academy
The intellectual
center of ancient China at this time became the Jixia Academy-named
after the Ji Gate, the western gate in the wall of the capital
of Qi, beneath which scholars gathered. Xu Gan says that patronage
of scholarship began with Tian Wu, known as Duke Huan (r. 375-358),
who "established a bureau at the Jixia, inaugurated the practice
of bestowing the title of grand officer, and extended his welcome
to wise men whom he honored and esteemed." The Academy itself
seems to have been founded by his son, King Wei of Qi (r. 357-320),
who collected from all over China the outstanding minds of the
day. Under the influence of his prime minister, Zou Ji, King Wei
patronized some 72 scholars in the Academy who "took delight
in deliberating the affairs of government," but who "treated
Zou Ji disrespectfully whenever they had occasion to associate
with him."
King Xuan (r. 319-301) founded a Scholars Hall outside the Ji
Gate. During this period, the Academy reached its zenith. The
King was fond of scholars who were accomplished in learning and
who were gifted virtuosos at rhetoric. Seventy-six such men were
associated with the Academy, were given ranks and honors, and
made senior grand officers, not to participate in the government,
but to deliberate and propound learned theories. For this reason,
"the scholars beneath the Ji Gate enjoyed a renaissance,
coming to number in the hundreds and thousands." Mencius
says of King Xuan that the "heart behind his actions was
sufficient to enable him to become a true king" and that
despite his inordinate fondness for acts of valor, money, sex,
and musical performances, he might have become great but for his
refusal to act in the proper fashion.
The Jixia scholars seem to have been free to debate with one another
without any of the responsibilities of high office, though they
were accorded its honors and emoluments. Freed from having to
put their theories into action, the Jixia scholars seem to have
delighted in displays of skill in argumentation. A few, such as
Shunyu Kun, abjured the holding of office as a matter of principle,
but most seem to have hungered for the power to act that office
alone provided. We know very little more about the Jixia Academy
and how its scholars debated one another.
This material is abridged from John Knoblock, Xunzi: A Translation and study of the Complete Works, 3 vols., Stanford, 1988-1994. Please do not reproduce without permission.
For a brief biography of the Ru, or "Confucian,"
philosopher Xun Kuang, click button 
.
For a brief history of the Xunzi text, click
button .
For a select bibliography of Western language works
on the Xunzi, click button .
For an annotated critical edition in Chinese of book
6 of the Xunzi, the "Fei shier zi," click button
.
For a select bibliography of Chinese and Japanese
works on the Xunzi, click button .
CAUTION: This file requires a Chinese display program
such as TwinBridge Partner. The character codes are Big-5. Without
such a program, the file will be nonsense.
For an introduction to the philosophy of Mo Di, click
button .
Song Xing
For an introduction to the philosophy of Song Xing,
click button .
For a brief biography of Lü Buwei and the history
of the Lüshi chunqiu text, click button .
Han Fei
For an introduction to the philosophy of Han Fei,
click button .
Pages for other important philosophers will be added
later. Presently under construction are pages for Yin Wen, Tian
Pian, and other figures active at the Jixia Academy.
| John Knoblock Department of Philosophy University of Miami P.O. Box 248054 Coral Gables, FL 33124 | Office: Ashe 723D Messages: (305) 284-4757 Fax: (305) 284-5594 email address: knoblock@umiami.ir.miami.edu 
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Last Modified 8/10/96
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