Chapter 22 - Confucian Learning and Influence

Summary

During the Eastern Han (25–220), Confucianism had become the guiding philosophy of both governance and social life. But as political infighting, peasant rebellions, and warlordism tore apart the Han Empire, many intellectuals lost confidence in Confucianism and looked to other systems of meaning for guidance and solace. To make sense of their chaotic, dangerous, and evanescent world, some turned to xuanxue (Dark Learning), or to Buddhism, or to organized Daoism. Based on these changes, Western scholars have concluded that, at the end of the Eastern Han, Confucianism was passé and its influence was in steep decline. If the fall of the Han state truly discredited Confucianism and educated men looked for meaning elsewhere, how, then, did Confucianism survive? Why did early medieval literati continue to view Confucianism as valuable? Admittedly, Confucianism was not important in the philosophical salons; it offered little in terms of the current understanding of ontology or metaphysics, nor did it help secure one’s postmortem welfare.