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Integration of Confucianism and the Legal Foundation of Royal Power in the Han Dynasty and the Loss of Subject Spirit |
CHEN Peng1, MA Lan-lan2 |
1. College of Marxism, Hebei University of Finance, Baoding, Hebei, 071051; 2.Department of Philosophy, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210023 |
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Abstract DONG Zhong-shu was a major representative of Confucianism in the Han Dynasty. Confucianism in the Han Dynasty was adjusted to conform to national unity. Confucianism in the Han Dynasty used the Mandate of Heaven or Tian Ming (天命) to justify the rule of the emperor and reinforce the authority of the monarch. According to this belief, heaven (天, Tian)—which embodies the natural order and will of the universe—bestows the mandate on a just ruler, the “Son of Heaven” of the “Celestial Empire”. The monarchy becomes the antithesis demanding absolute obedience of the subjects, which undoubtedly makes the subject spirit and independent personality difficult to manifest in the hierarchical order. At the same time, Confucianism in the Han Dynasty used heavenly principles or Tian Dao(天道) to promote benevolence and righteousness so as to implement benevolent governance or Wang Dao (王道). At this point, centering on the theory of heaven and man, the Confucian value system of the Han Dynasty was generally recognized in terms of national system, governance strategy, ideology, ethics and morality. Confucianism became the official mainstream ideology of the country, which created the opportunity and possibility for its value to be effectively implemented in political practice. To a certain extent, DONG Zhong-shu used heavenly principles to restrict the abuse of imperial power. At the same time, he proposed that the imperial courts implement policies to provide opportunities for Confucian scholars to engage in politics. However, this was intentionally ignored by the rulers, which led to the rigidity of Confucianism. DONG Zhong-shu examined the development trend of Confucianism and politics from a new historical perspective and met the demand of political ruling, while the establishment of Confucianism won the opportunity for its own development and paid the corresponding spiritual price.
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Received: 10 August 2018
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