We move on now to the second part of our exploration of Daoxue, Self-Cultivation and here our guide will be Curie Virag, Self-cultivation as Praxis in Song Neo-Confucianism. Curie Virag summarizes the Daoxue synthesis of Zhu Xi as constituting: one, a rejection of the dualism of self and other characteristic of Tang Confucianism. Two, a return to origins with a focus on Confucius and Mencius. Three, a recognition of the ethical significance of emotions as a necessary facet of moral life. As we'll see, it's really the third point that she is most interested in focusing on because it is there precisely that the rejection of the dualism of Tang Confucianism becomes most clear. Self-cultivation is central to this synthesis because it is the means to unite theory and practice. Remind you that the definition of religion that we've given from the very beginning is the practice of structuring values. In the section on Confucian thought, we've talked about those values, those structuring values as they understood and described them. Now, we're talking about the practice that enables the individual practitioner adherent of Daoxue to interiorize these truths. "Self-cultivation as praxis," says Curie Virag, "Refers to the philosophical commitment on the part of Neo-Confucians to an ethical ideal in which true understanding necessarily translates into action, and action necessarily arises from and embodies true understanding." She goes back then to Zheng Xuan. The great Han commentator on the classics whose dates are 127 to 200. She suggests that the roots of Tang dualism go back to this great Han commentator, Zheng Xuan. She quotes, "That man is still quiet, at birth is his heaven-endowed nature." Zheng Xuan central these ideas heaven-endowed nature are to Daoxue. "That man is still at birth is his heaven-endowed nature. That he is set into motion having been stirred by things [inaudible] is his idea of arousal come back to it. He stirred, moved, by things are the desires of his nature. When things arrive, there is knowing and when there is knowing, liking, and disliking become manifest. When liking and disliking are not moderated within, and one's faculty of knowing is enticed by what is outside, one cannot return to oneself [inaudible] , and heavenly principle is destroyed. So, they're describing this fall from original heavenly nature, which is still and not moved, not enticed, not seduced by the things outside. "Now, the things that stir man are endless," says Zheng Xuan, "And if man's likes and dislikes are not moderated, then when things arrive, man is transformed by the things." Zheng also talks about this. [inaudible] to be thingified by things rather than to [inaudible] to thingify things. When things arrive, if likes and dislikes are not moderated, man is transformed by things, and when man is transformed by things, he destroys his heavenly principle and fully indulges in his desire. After Zheng Xuan, the next great commentator on the classics is Kong Yingda whose dates are 574 to 648, so early Tang. While in Zheng Xuan, both stillness and activity, emotions are expressions of human nature, in the sub-commentary of Kong Yingda, they are distinguished precisely as nature and feelings, xing-qing. Kong Yingda says, "When man is first born, he does not yet possess feelings and desires. What is spontaneously so of itself is called nature, xing. Coveting and desiring is called the feelings, qing." But now comes the key. "To counter these feelings, concludes Kong, rites, music, punishments, and administrative measures are necessary." Here, we have a kind of legalist, Fajia approach. Okay, the [inaudible] , the rights do not go down to the people. For the people, there are the laws, and so this sociological dualism is rooted also in this ethical dualism between the nature on the one hand and the feelings. To counter these feelings, we need rites, music, punishments, and administrative measures. The last pre-Song figure that we'll look at very quickly is Li Ao whose dates are 772 to 841. Li Ao radicalizes this basic duality, making it virtually ontological in nature. He says, "That by which a person becomes a sage is his moral nature. That by which one's nature becomes deluded is the feelings. Joy, anger, fear, sadness, love, hate, and desire are all brought about by the feelings. When the feelings obscure it, the nature becomes hidden." All of the feelings are lumped together as dangerous. When the feelings obscure it, the nature becomes hidden and he even goes so far as to say, "Feelings are the corruption of the nature." The word translated here corruption is [inaudible] , which is used to describe heterodoxy. Heterodox teachings, heterodox religion that must be suppressed. "If one understands how this corruption comes about, this corruption would have no basis. If the mind is still and unmoving, corrupt thoughts would cease by themselves." So, his way is to stick to that still and unmoving natural self and that's exactly what we will see Jushi overcoming this dualism by his openness, his approval of gan of the being moved by things. Both Zhou Dunyi and Cheng Yi basically concurred with the negative view of feelings. Cheng contrasted those who imposed the nature upon the feelings, that's very nice in Chinese. [inaudible] , nature by their feelings. Those are the enlightened, the [inaudible] , the awakened. With those who do the opposite [inaudible] that is to say, "feeling nice" their nature, they are the stupid. You have the enlightened versus the stupid. Although, Cheng Yi would later moderate his views. His approach to self-cultivation remained dualistic. At least, in part because the cultural institutions of antiquity had disappeared. Very interesting, this is what he says. "It was easy for those who learned in antiquity, but difficult for those who learn today. The ancients entered elementary school at age eight, and the school of great learning, Daoxue at age 15. There were rich decorations to nurture their visual sense; sounds, music to nurture their hearing, impressive rites to nurture the movements of their four limbs and moral principle to nurture their minds. Now all of these things are lost and there is only moral principle to nurture their minds. How can we not make an effort." So, a sense of loss, this ideal antiquity. All of which was embodied in rites and music that have long since disappeared.
