Title

“A Grand Way Excluded:” Liu Anshi (1048-1125) in the Shadow of Daoxue

Author

Genre

Pages

1-37

DOI

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Language

Chinese

Key words

Liu Anshi 劉安世, Cheng Yi 程頤, Daoxue 道學, anti-reformists, the Song Yuan xue’an 宋元學案

Abstract

The intellectual history of the late Northern Song is known for its complexity and obscurity. Under the great influence of Wang Anshi’s 王安石 (1021-1086) New Learning, many Northern Song scholars and scholar-officials searched for ways to access the ultimate Way in the last several decades of the Northern Song dynasty. During the late Northern Song, when factional struggles were in their heyday, political and intellectual threads intertwined with each other and profoundly shaped the mentality of scholar-officials. Through a detailed examination of Liu Anshi 劉安世 (1048-1125), a famous scholar-official who has been conventionally understood as an anti-reformist and a loose member of the Daoxue 道學 circle, this article explores the complex mentality of scholar-officials during the chaos of the late Northern Song. More concretely, the article investigates the historical context in which Liu Anshi resided and seeks to reveal his authentic self, especially his political stances and intellectual interests. On the basis of Liu’s words and writings collected by his students and descendants, the article casts doubt on various Daoxue narratives that obscured the real Liu Anshi. Nevertheless, the study not only reconstructs Liu Anshi independently of these Daoxue narratives, but it also calls for a methodological reflection on the deconstruction of the meta-narrative of Song intellectual history.