Song studies

It is a general term for the academic thought that arose in China during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), but it particularly refers to Neo-Confucianism, which was revived under the influence of Buddhism and Taoism, and in particular, it is often used to refer to Zhu Xi's philosophy, which is the culmination of Neo-Confucianism.

Confucianism stagnated ideologically from the Han to the Tang dynasties as the focus shifted to the interpretation of scriptures. Meanwhile, Buddhism and Taoism developed their own doctrinal systems, fulfilled people's ideological desires, and became an essential part of the education of intellectuals. Song learning excluded Taoism and Buddhism from this trend and revived the traditional teaching of Confucianism as the orthodox ideology of the nation. Its distant predecessors were Han Yu and Li Hu of the mid-Tang dynasty. Song learning moved from its traditional focus on the Five Classics to the Four Books, and responded to the ideological demands of the new era, such as an academic style of free interpretation of scriptures, but it is notable for its inclusion of not only ethics and history, but also cosmology, ontology, and metaphysics, and the construction of something that could rival Taoism and Buddhism. The founder of Song studies was Zhou Dunyi of the Northern Song Dynasty, and Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi emerged from his school to form the foundations of Song studies. Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu, Hu Yan, Sun Fu, and Shi Jie were its pioneers, and Shao Yong, Sima Guang, Wang Anshi, Su Shi, and Zhang Zai emerged in the same generation. Zhu Xi (Zhu Xi) of the Southern Song Dynasty compiled Song learning by focusing on the learning of the Zhou and Cheng schools and by rejecting the learning of the various Confucian scholars of the Northern Song Dynasty, but he also confronted Buddhism, especially Zen, the Lu Xiangshan school of thought, and the utilitarian studies of the Yongka and Yongkang periods, and established a vast and sophisticated academic system (Neo-Confucianism). Song learning (Neo-Confucianism) reigned as the mainstream official academy from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, and had a widespread influence in East Asia.

[Shigeo Fukuda]

"A Study of Confucian Thought in the Song and Ming Periods" by Kusumoto Masatsugu (1962, Hiroike Gakuen Publishing Division)" ▽ "The Formation of Zhu Xi's Thought" by Tomoeda Ryutaro (1969, Shunjusha)" ▽ "An Introduction to Song and Ming Philosophy" by Okada Takehiko (1977, Bungensha)" ▽ "The First Volume of the Zhu Xi Series: An Introduction to Zhu Xi's Philosophy" by Morohashi Tetsuji et al. (1974, Meitoku Publishing)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、宋代（960～1279）におこった学術思想の総称であるが、とくに、仏教、道教の影響を受けて復興された新儒教（Neo-Confucianism）をさし、なかでも、その集大成である朱子学のことをいう場合が多い。

　儒教は、漢から唐にかけて経典解釈学が中心となったため思想的には沈滞化した。一方、仏教や道教は独自の教理組織を充実し、人々の思想的欲求を満たし、知識人必須(ひっす)の教養となった。こうした風潮のなかから道・仏を排除し、伝統教学である儒教を民族の正統思想として復興させたのが宋学である。その遠き先駆として中唐の韓愈(かんゆ)や李翺(りこう)がいる。宋学は従来の五経(ごきょう)中心から四書(ししょ)中心へと進み、経典の自由解釈の学風など、新時代の思想的要請にこたえたが、とくに倫理学、歴史学のみでなく、宇宙論、存在論、形而上(けいじじょう)学などを包摂して、道・仏に対抗しうるものを構築した点に特色がある。宋学の始祖は北宋の周敦頤(しゅうとんい)で、その門に程顥(ていこう)、程頤(ていい)が出て宋学の基礎ができた。范仲淹(はんちゅうえん)、欧陽修(おうようしゅう)、胡瑗(こえん)、孫復(そんぷく)、石介(せきかい)はその先導であり、同代に邵雍(しょうよう)、司馬光(しばこう)、王安石(あんせき)、蘇軾(そしょく)、張載(ちょうさい)らが輩出した。南宋の朱子（朱熹(しゅき)）は、周、程の学を中心に、北宋諸儒の学術を取捨して宋学を集大成したが、さらに仏教とくに禅学、陸象山(りくしょうざん)心学、永嘉永康(えいかえいこう)の功利の学などと対決し、広大にして精緻(せいち)な学問体系（朱子学）を樹立した。宋学（朱子学）は、元、明(みん)、清(しん)に至るまで主流的官学アカデミーとして君臨し、東アジアに広範な影響を与えた。

［福田　殖］

『楠本正継著『宋明時代儒学思想の研究』（1962・広池学園出版部）』▽『友枝竜太郎著『朱子の思想形成』（1969・春秋社）』▽『岡田武彦著『宋明哲学序説』（1977・文言社）』▽『諸橋轍次他著『朱子学大系第一巻　朱子学入門』（1974・明徳出版社）』

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