Han Learning
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Han learning (), or the
Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
school of classical
philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...
, was an intellectual movement that reached its height in the middle of the
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
(1644–1912) in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. The focus of the movement was to reject
neo-Confucianism Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period () and Wa ...
in order to return to a study of the original
Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...
texts.


Nature and origins

Han learning began with the " evidential scholarship" () movement of the late
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
, which was a reaction against the so-called "Song Learning", or
Neo-Confucianism Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period () and Wa ...
that had arisen during the
Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
(12th century). Neo-Confucianism had incorporated
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
and
Daoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...
influences into the Confucianist tradition, introducing a new cosmology emphasising the moral nature of the cosmos. Neo-Confucianism was adopted as Confucian orthodoxy under the Song dynasty and formed the basis of the
imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...
until nearly the end of the Qing dynasty. Evidential scholars reacted to the innovations of Neo-Confucianism by turning back to the original classics, employing philological techniques to try to authenticate the real words of Confucius. This involved the comparison of different texts in great detail. This school of learning came to be called “Han Learning” because it sought out
Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
commentaries as being closer to the original texts.


Growth of influence

The fall of the Ming dynasty and the rise of the Qing dynasty was a watershed in the development of this trend of philological thought. Scholars in the evidential scholarship tradition attacked the heterodox and subjective ideals of "Song learning" as having betrayed the true teachings of Confucius, resulting in decadence, individualism, and factionalism in the Ming court. This was blamed for bringing about the fall of the Ming dynasty. The Han Learning scholars played an important role in many intellectual works sponsored by the Qing court. They were involved in the '' Siku Quanshu'', a monumental encyclopaedic project commissioned by the
Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...
which involved the collection of the entire Chinese canon of studies on the mind, nature, government and humanity. While this work was firmly grounded in Neo-Confucian orthodoxy, the philological expertise of evidential scholars was drawn on to ensure the authenticity of the canon. Han Learning played a major role in providing annotations and evidential scholarship on regulations and edicts, together with works of philosophers. By the mid-eighteenth century, Han learning (
Yan Ruoqu Yan Ruoqu (; November 11, 1636 – July 9, 1704) was an influential Chinese scholar of the early Qing dynasty. He was born to a scholarly family in Taiyuan, Shanxi. Yan Ruoqu is most famous for proving that the "Old Text" chapters of the Confucia ...
,
Hui Dong The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the ...
) had proved that various parts of the sacred classics were in fact later forgeries of the Han dynasty. While it may appear to be concerned with philological minutiae, the debate between the Neo-Confucianists and the adherents of Han learning had considerable repercussions, weakening the cosmological underpinnings of the imperial state, although not its political dominance. Han Learning and Song Learning were eventually blended into a new school of thought during the late Qing. This Qing era revival movement called for rationalist and practical evidential research in fields such as astronomy, linguistics, mathematics, geography and technology, to counter the metaphysical speculation of Neo-Confucianism. These scholars also sought to reform the Imperial examinations which they criticised as outdated. Scholars involved included
Wang Fuzhi Wang Fuzhi (; 1619–1692), courtesy name Ernong (), pseudonym Chuanshan (), was a Chinese essayist, historian, and philosopher of the late Ming, early Qing dynasties. Life Born to a scholarly family in Hengyang in Hunan province in 1619, Wang F ...
,
Gu Yanwu Gu Yanwu () (July 15, 1613 – February 15, 1682), also known as Gu Tinglin (), was a Chinese philologist, geographer, and famous scholar-official in Qing dynasty. He spent his youth during the Manchu conquest of China in anti-Manchu activities a ...
, Yan Yuan, Li Gong,
Dai Zhen Dai Zhen (, January 19, 1724 – July 1, 1777) was a Chinese philosopher of the Qing dynasty. Hailing from Xiuning, Anhui Dai was a versatile scholar who made great contributions to mathematics, geography, phonology and philosophy. His philos ...
,
Duan Yucai Duan Yucai () (1735–1815), courtesy name Ruoying () was a Chinese philologist of the Qing Dynasty. He made great contributions to the study of Historical Chinese phonology, and is known for his annotated edition of ''Shuowen Jiezi''. Biograph ...
,
Ji Yun Ji Yun (; 1724–1805), also known as Ji Xiaolan () or Ji Chunfan () was a Chinese philosopher, politician, and writer. He was an influential scholar of Qing dynasty China and many anecdotes have been recorded about him. Ji Yun left behind a bo ...
,
Zhang Xuecheng Zhang Xuecheng (; 1738–1801) was a Qing dynasty historian, writer and philosopher. His father and his grandfather had been government officials, but, although Zhang achieved the highest civil service examination degree in 1778, he never held hig ...
,
Ruan Yuan Ruan Yuan (; 1764–1849), courtesy name Yuntai (云台), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer of the Qing Dynasty who was the most prominent Chinese scholar during the first half of the 19th century. He won the ''jinshi'' degree i ...
, and
Liao Ping Liao may refer to: Chinese history * Liao (Zhou dynasty state) (蓼), two states in ancient China during the Spring and Autumn period in the 8th and 7th centuries BC * Liao of Wu (吳王僚) (died 515 BC), king of Wu during ancient China's Spring a ...
. In the late Qing period, Han Learning appealed to many reformers and revolutionaries such as
Kang Youwei Kang Youwei (; Cantonese: ''Hōng Yáuh-wàih''; 19March 185831March 1927) was a prominent political thinker and reformer in China of the late Qing dynasty. His increasing closeness to and influence over the young Guangxu Emperor spar ...
, who eventually became a monarchist;
Tan Sitong Tan Sitong (, March 10, 1865 – September 28, 1898), courtesy name Fusheng (), pseudonym Zhuangfei (), was a well-known Chinese politician, thinker, and reformist in the late Qing dynasty (1644–1911). He was executed at the age of 33 when ...
a fervent anti-Manchu polemicist; and
Liu Shipei Liu Shipei (; 24 June 1884 – 20 December 1919) was a philologist, Chinese anarchist, and revolutionary activist. While he and his wife, He Zhen were in exile in Japan he became a fervent nationalist. He then saw the doctrines of anarchism as ...
a devout nationalist who was first a revolutionary and an
anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
then a supporter of
Yuan Shikai Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 1859 – 6 June 1916) was a Chinese military and government official who rose to power during the late Qing dynasty and eventually ended the Qing dynasty rule of China in 1912, later becoming the Emperor of China. H ...
. Cui Shu went further and rejected Han learning in an attempt to recover pre-Han Confucianism.


Political activity

According to B. Elman, many Han Learning proponents were involved in opposition to
Heshen Heshen (; ; 1 July 1750 – 22 February 1799) of the Manchu Niohuru clan, was an official of the Qing dynasty favored by the Qianlong Emperor and called the most corrupt official in Chinese history. After the death of Qianlong, the Jiaqing ...
's clique (1746–1799), thus suggesting that typical portrayal of this group as apolitical should be reconsidered.Elman, Benjamin A. ''Classicism, politics, and kingship: the Chang-chou school of New Text Confucianism in late imperial China''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990:283-4

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Medicine

A remarkable parallel to the revival of Han learning in the late imperial period is provided by development of the Han medicine (
Kampo , often known simply as , is the study of traditional Chinese medicine in Japan following its introduction, beginning in the 7th century. It was adapted and modified to suit Japanese culture and traditions. Traditional Japanese medicine use ...
in Japan). Same as Han learning stood in the opposition to the intellectual trend of the three previous dynasties, Han medicine was a reaction against the standard of Song-Ming medicine (the so-called "neo-Confucianization of the body")


See also

*
Neo-Confucianism Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period () and Wa ...
*
Old Texts In Chinese philology, the Old Texts () refer to some versions of the Five Classics discovered during the Han Dynasty, written in archaic characters and supposedly produced before the burning of the books. The term became used in contrast with Mode ...


References

{{Authority control Confucian schools of thought