Sage and great person in Zhang Zai’s thought
The idea of the Confucian sage-king can be politically dangerous if the implication is that anyone can become a sage through learning. But Confucians after the Han dynasty generally saw the task of becoming a sage practically impossible, while Neo-Confucians after the Song distinguished between the...
| Published in: | Asian philosophy |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Carfax
2022
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| In: |
Asian philosophy
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Zhang, Zai 1020-1077
/ Wise person
/ Ruler
/ Legitimation
/ History 500 BC-1100
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| RelBib Classification: | AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism AD Sociology of religion; religious policy BM Chinese universism; Confucianism; Taoism NCA Ethics TB Antiquity TE Middle Ages |
| Further subjects: | B
Moral authority
B great person B Zhang Zai B Political Authority B sage-king |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The idea of the Confucian sage-king can be politically dangerous if the implication is that anyone can become a sage through learning. But Confucians after the Han dynasty generally saw the task of becoming a sage practically impossible, while Neo-Confucians after the Song distinguished between the moral and the political authorities. Zhang Zai of the Northern Song dynasty, however, maintained both that anyone can become a sage through learning and that a sage should necessarily receive Heaven’s mandate. But Zhang had a unique concept of a ‘great person,’ which enabled him to escape the seemingly inevitable conclusion that anyone can become a king. For Zhang, a great person is practically indistinguishable from a sage, meaning that no one can testify to another person’s sagehood. This makes any claim to the political authority based on virtue groundless. Thus, despite preserving the ideal of a sage-king, Zhang Zai could deny virtually all means of replacing the current king. |
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| ISSN: | 1469-2961 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Asian philosophy
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/09552367.2021.1983951 |