| Yen Yuan (1635-1704) has long been a controversial figure in the study of Chinese intellectual and cultural history. Marginalized in his own time largely due to his radical attack on Chu Hsi (1130-1200), Yen became elevated as a great thinker during the early twentieth century because of the drastic changes of modern Chinese intellectual climate under the impact of Western culture. However, his intellectual significance has remained controversial and his radical attack on Chu Hsi has never been critically analyzed.; In my study, I have demonstrated that the complexity of Yen's ideas and his hatred for Chu Hsi in particular need be interpreted in light of his traumatic life experiences, his frustration over the fall of the Ming dynasty, and anxiety caused by the civil service examination system. Moreover, instead of portraying Yen Yuan merely as a Confucian philosopher, I have argued that he should be better understood as a cultural critic of the lifestyle of educated elites of late imperial China. I have evaluated the cultural significance of his emphasis on bodily learning and his contempt of literary learning in the context of the educated elite culture of late imperial China.; In addition, in order to properly position Yen's intellectual status in his own time, I have investigated the characteristics of early Ch'ing Confucianism in north China. Although the mainstream northern Confucians also shared Yen's contempt for literary skills, they did not take a radical position similar to Yen's as far as the textualized Confucian tradition was concerned. Furthermore, I have examined the prominent intellectual trajectory of Li Kung (1659-1733), Yen's major disciple, to contrast and explain Yen's marginal status in early Ch'ing Confucianism.; By critically analyzing Yen's changing intellectual status and his criticism that the elite lifestyle was unhealthy and feminine, my new interpretation of Yen Yuan and early Ch'ing Confucianism serves to shed new light on our understanding of the features as well as problems of educated elite culture in late imperial China. |
