Xuanxue

Xuanxue (), sometimes called Neo-Daoism (Neo-Taoism), is a metaphysical post-classical Chinese philosophy from the Six Dynasties (222-589), bringing together Taoist and Confucian beliefs through revision and discussion. The movement found its scriptural support both in Taoist and drastically-reinterpreted Confucian sources. ''Xuanxue'', or "Mystic Learning", came to reign supreme in cultural circles, especially at Jiankang during the period of division. The concept represented the more abstract, unworldly, and idealistic tendency in early medieval Chinese thought. ''Xuanxue'' philosophers combined elements of Confucianism and Taoism to reinterpret the ''I Ching'', '' Daodejing'' and '' Zhuangzi''.

Definition

The name first compounds ''xuan'' () "black, dark; mysterious, profound, abstruse, arcane." It occurs in the first chapter of the '' Daodejing'' ("，"). The word ''xuan'' literally depicts a shade of deep, mystical, dark red. ''Daodejing'' speaks of the ''Dao'' as ''Xuan'', more specifically underpinning the depth, utter impenetrability, and the profound mystery of the '' Dao''.

''Xue'' () means "study, learn, learning"; thus, ''xuanxue'' is literally the "learning" or "study" of the "arcane", "mysterious", or "profound". Therefore, the meaning of ''xuanxue'' can be described as "study of the mysterious or profound".

In Modern Standard Chinese usage, ''xuanxue'' can mean "Neo-Taoism", "esoteric", "metaphysics", "spiritualism" or "mysticism". ''The New Treatise on the Uniqueness of Consciousness'' by Xiong Shili defines ''Xuanxue'' as "dark/obscure/mysterious/profound learning". The concept can be described by such abstractions as "to initiate no action", "emptiness", "one and the many", "root and branches", "having and not having", and the "emotional responses" and "pattern".

In modern Chinese, ''Xuanxue'' is also taken to refer to astrology, geomancy and other popular religious arts. Another translation of ''xuanxue'' could be "learning of the dark."

History

Xuanxue arose after the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) in early Medieval China. It is mainly represented by a few scholars, namely Wang Bi (226-249), He Yan (d. 249), Xiang Xiu (223?-300), Guo Xiang (d. 312) and Pei Wei (267-300). In general, these scholars sought to reinterpret the social and moral understanding of Confucianism in ways to make it more compatible with Taoist philosophy.Chan, Alan
"Neo-Daoism"
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. ''Xuanxue'' philosophers of the Han dynasty were concerned with restoring unity and harmony to the land, not by condemning the teachings of the sages, but by interpreting them in new ways. ''Xuanxue'' thinkers thereby developed their theories by reinterpreting the relationship between Taoist and Confucian texts through an appreciation of their common themes. Through this syncretic movement, the "Way of Mysterious Learning" (''Xuanxue'') emerged.

Two influential ''Xuanxue'' scholars were Wang Bi and Guo Xiang, editors and leading commentators on the ''Daodejing'' and '' Zhuangzi'', respectively. For instance, the ''Daodejing'' exists in two received versions named after the commentaries. While the "Heshang Gong version" explains textual references to Daoist meditation, the "Wang Bi version" does not. Richard Wilhelm said the Wang Bi commentary changed the ''Daodejing'' "from a compendiary of magical meditation to a collection of free philosophical '."

One of the major defining features of Zhengshi Xuanxue is the " Pure Conversation" () gatherings that took place among political and intellectual elites from the 3rd century onward, through which intellectuals questioned tradition and shared their ideas during the Wei- Jin and Six Dynasties periods. These sessions were transformed versions of the more politically charged "Pure Criticism" () protests of the later Han, which were, in turn, continuations of political remonstration practices. Much of Xuanxue had become divorced from the realities of life and afforded an escape from it.

During the 5th-century CE, ''Xuanxue'' formed a part of the official curriculum at the Guozijian, together with Rú (Confucian learning), Literature, and History. Although ''Xuanxue'' does not represent one monolithic school of thought, it does encompass a broad range of philosophical positions.

Function

The goal of ''Xuanxue'' is to bring to light the nature and function of ''Dao'', which appears dark and impenetrable. It started from the assumption that all temporally and spatially limited phenomena (anything "nameable"; all movement, change, and diversity; in short, all "being") is produced and sustained by one impersonal principle, which is unlimited, unnameable, unmoving, unchanging, and undiversified. Rather than a school of set doctrines, ''Xuanxue'' is a broad, dynamic intellectual front. Many ''Xuanxue'' scholars argued that "words cannot fully express meaning," as meaning transcends the limiting confines of language. ''Xuanxue'' seeks to bring together Confucian and Daoist ideologies with fresh annotation and discourse, working with the classical definitions, doctrines, and rules set by previous philosophers.

The concept of '' Wú'' is central to ''Xuanxue''. It is translated as " nothing", "nothingness", " non-being", and " negativity". The Tao can literally only be described as nameless and formless, not having any characteristics of things. That the Tao is the "mother of all life" is also central to ''Xuanxue'' ideology. Because of the Tao being the beginning of all things, while simultaneously being indescribable and non-being, the Tao is said to be "dark" or "mysterious" (''xuan'').

Misinterpretations

''Xuanxue'' should not be misinterpreted as interchangeable with the ''Dao''. Rather, ''Xuanxue'' is the study of the mystery and darkness of the intangible. ''Dao'' represents ''xuan'', the mystical that is central to the philosophy. The ''Dao'' supplies the subject matter/basis for the "Mystic Learning" that underpins the thinkings and teachings of ''Xuanxue''.

''Xuanxue'' aims at unlocking the mystery of the ''Dao'', but should not be confused with a revival of preceding schools of Taoism. ''Xuanxue'' is committed to analytic rigor and clarity in explicating the meaning of ''Dao'', employing the new, contemporary language of the time. However, critics sometimes condemn it as "dark" because they judge it as obfuscating and detrimental to the flourishing of ''Dao''. They use phrases like "dark words" (''xuanyan'') or "dark discourse" (''xuanlun'') in a pejorative sense, indicating that to them ''Xuanxue'' was nothing but convoluted empty talk. In these contexts, ''xuan'' may be translated as "abstruse", "obscure" or words to that effect.

To classify ''Xuanxue'' as merely "Neo-Taoism" misleadingly reinforces suggestions that Wei-Jin thinkers were only "reinterpreting Confucianism through the lens of Taoism" (Chan 2010: 5). Chan points out that since ''xuan'' () is already something "obscure" and "insubstantial" in Chinese, ''xuanxue'' can be left "untranslated, though not unexplained" (Chan 2010: 6). ''Xuanxue'' is also often classified as "Profound Learning". Although "profound" is more appropriate than "dark", ambiguity is still an issue with this classification.

''Xuanxue'' is not a kind of scholasticism that pitches one school against another. Instead of seeing them as attempting to reconcile Confucianism with Taoism, it may be suggested that they were primarily concerned with the substantive issue of the relationship between '' mingjiao'' and '' ziran.''

References

Further reading

*
* Littlejohn, Ronnie
"Daoist Philosophy", section 11 "Neo-Daoism"
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
*

External links

"Philosophy and Religion in Early Medieval China"
''sunypress.edu''.

{{Chinese philosophy

Chinese philosophy
Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern dynasties