The obscuration and rediscovery of the original Confucian thought of moral politics: Deciphering work on the Guodian, Shangbo and the transmitted versions of Ziyi
The obscuration and rediscovery of the original Confucian thought of moral politics: Deciphering work on the Guodian, Shangbo and the transmitted versions of Ziyi
HU Zhihong
Research Center of Chinese Traditional Culture, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
By analyzing the author of Ziyi 缁衣 (Black Costumes) as well as Ziyi’s transmission and evolution by studying and analyzing the ancient text, one can see that Ziyi was a work of Zisi or the Zisi and Mencius School. Comparing the similarities and differences between the transmitted version of Ziyi and its Guodian 郭店 and Shangbo 上博 versions, one finds that the original version of Ziyi had been significantly revised by Confucian classics teachers in the unstable political and social climate during the Western Han Dynasty, specifically, the thought of moral politics of the original Confucians contained in the work was garbled and concealed, and the idea of law and the legal system was highlighted accordingly. The uncovered Guodian and Shangbo versions of Ziyi have removed the shroud that Confucians in the Han Dynasty had spread over it for 2, 000 years, revealing the thought of moral politics of the original Confucians.
Corresponding Author(s):
HU Zhihong,Email:huzh_54@163.com
引用本文:
. The obscuration and rediscovery of the original Confucian thought of moral politics: Deciphering work on the Guodian, Shangbo and the transmitted versions of Ziyi[J]. Frontiers of Philosophy in China, 2008, 3(4): 535-557.
HU Zhihong. The obscuration and rediscovery of the original Confucian thought of moral politics: Deciphering work on the Guodian, Shangbo and the transmitted versions of Ziyi. Front Phil Chin, 2008, 3(4): 535-557.
