Just Curious

Neo-Confucianism

Although I do consider myself a practicing Christian, I have always felt that I have not lived up to what a Christian ought to be. In some sense, I am almost hypocritical, who profess the faith that he does not possess. It is through my studies in neo-Confucian philosophy that I realize the means to realize that of God in my heart, and become what Christ would call the true Israelite who has nothing but truthfulness in his heart.

I have almost finished reading the first book of Chuan Xi Lu, written by Wang Shouren (1472-1529), a.k.a. Wang Yangming. Wang was one of the foremost neo-Confucian scholar, and his school of thought is known as Xin Xue, the "study of the heart" in medieval China. I will elaborate more about his thoughts before mid-October. It suffices to say now that his thoughts had immense influence on both the Chinese and Japanese culture, and that it lays down one of the philosophical foundations for the Meiji Reformation in 19th century Japan.

posted by James Chang @ 12:13 PM