CONCEPTUAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE TRANSFORMATION OF CHINESE PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT: CONFUCIANISM – NEO-CONFUCIANISM

Abstract

The scientific article is devoted to the analysis of the main stages of the genesis and evolution of the philosophy of Neo-Confucianism as an important component of the spiritual culture of China.  The ideological, theoretical and cultural origins of its formation, which go back to Confucianism, are identified, and various options for defining this phenomenon are considered.. The socio-historical reasons for the emergence of the philosophy of non-Confucianism are revealed. The position is substantiated that the ethical dominant of Confucianism was transformed in Neo-Confucianism into ethical universalism.

An analysis of the teachings of Zhou Dunyi “The Lost Path of the Perfectly Wise and Worthy” is carried out. The concept of the Cheng brothers, known under the formulation “finding the hidden secret of inheriting the heart of ancient rulers and sovereigns,” is considered. The emphasis is on the definition of Neo-Confucianism as “the teachings of the Song Confucians” and “restoration of the legacy of Mencius”, proposed by Zhu Xi. The emphasis is placed on the role of the schools of the Cheng brothers - Zhu (Xi), Lu-Wan in the formation of Neo-Confucianism.

The relevance of the problem under study is due to: firstly, the aggravation of the spiritual situation in the sociocultural space, therefore philosophers and scientists are increasingly turning to the problems of improving the existential components of the human world;  secondly, the anthropogenic factor becomes the source of all the problems of the era of neo-globalism and disharmony of relationships in the “person-society-state” system; thirdly, the teachings developed by thinkers of Eastern and Western philosophy should become the core around which all theoretical and applied research will be concentrated; fourthly, it is the “East-West” synthesis that will be able to return spiritual perfection to a person, to heal human nature, to restore an integral picture of the world, and orient towards achieving the ideal of “Great Harmony”.