China History Podcast

Confucius Reborn1 min read

Part eight in the History of Chinese Philosophy podcast series

This is an all Neo-Confucian episode. Last episode, Laszlo introduced three of the five founders of Neo-Confucianism: Zhou Dunyi, Shao Yong and Zhang Zai. This time we finish off with the remaining two founders: the Cheng Brothers, Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi. And taking this rich harvest to the next level is Zhu Xi. The basic tenets of Neo-Confucianism are introduced, with a focus on (principle) and xīn (mind) and how these two concepts caused a great divide in the two main schools of Neo-Confucianism.   (life-force) is also examined, and how that fits into the big picture. The episode closes with an introduction to the extraordinary life Wang Yangming, and his contributions to Neo-Confucianism:

Previous episodes in the series: 
Episode one: The History of Chinese Philosophy
Episode two: There’s Something About Confucius
Episode three: Book of Ch-ch-ch-Changes
Episode four: A Hundred Schools of Thought
Episode five: Follow the Law
Episode six: Follow the Dao
Episode seven: The Tang of Philosophy
Laszlo’s Chinese philosophy infographic, click to view the full size version: