From Neo-Confucianism to the Kobunji-ha

Another popular Chinese classic is the “Tangshi xuan”, a selection of poems from the Tang period of China (7th and 8th centuries C.E.).

Let us trace its reception in Japan by looking at trends in scholarship in the 17th and 18th centuries, from Shushigaku (Neo-Confucianism) to Kobunjigaku (the study of archaic words and phrases school).

Concepts of Neo-Confucianism

• Reason (li [J. ri])：fundamental principle behind all phenomena
• Matter (qi [J. ki]): matter as directed by reason which makes up all things
• Nature (xing [J. sei]) : reason as manifested within each person
• Emotions (qing [J. jō], “nature” in action

Keywords introduced in the video

• Zhu Xi
• Song
• Itō Jinsai (1627-1705）
• Ogyū Sorai (1666-1728)
• Razan
• Edo period
• Five Classics and the Four Books
• Kobunji-ha
• Ming
• Qin
• Santishi

Keio University books introduced in the video

• Tangshi xuan, Kan’ei 7 (or Ansei 1, 1854), private collection.