In this video lecture, Professor Van Norden discusses two Confucian critics of other Confucians, Dai Zhen (1724-1777) and Zhang Xuecheng (1738-1801).
Previous Lecture: "Confucian Iconoclasts of the Ming Dynasty," • Confucian Iconoclasts
Following Lecture: "20th Century China," • 20th Century China
Qing Dynasty Confucian Critics of Song Dynasty Confucianism
0:55 My Cat Drops In
1:16 Introducing Dai Zhen
4:23 Two Views of “Pattern”: Indra’s Net vs. Good Order
9:25 The Rarity of “Pattern” in the Confucian Classics
13:23 The Influence of Buddhism and Daoism on “Song Confucians”
15:41 “Pattern” and the Reciprocity Test of the Analects
18:38 Using “Essential Feelings” for the Reciprocity Test
23:37 Regulating vs. Extinguishing Desires
26:07 The Necessity of Physical Desires for Morality
32:29 Summary of Dai Zhen’s Claims
37:40 Introducing Zhang Xuecheng
42:20 Criticism of the Song Confucians
45:31 The Distinction Between the Way and How Things Out to Be
48:45 The Way and the Origin of Human Societies
50:33 The Analogy of the Wheels and Their Tracks
53:14 The Analogy of a Shape and Its Shadow
55:21 The Namelessness of the Way
56:10 Summary of Zhang’s Analogies
57:50 Implications for the Confucian Classics
1:01:06 The Historicity of the Actions of the Sages
1:02:20 Comparing Zhang and Hegel
1:06:33 Left Hegelians vs. Right Hegelians
1:08:50 Venerate Kongzi’s Character, Not Kongzi’s Actions
1:11:12 Avoid “Empty Words”
1:11:30 Lecture Overview