The Thought And Its Influence Of Xu Heng

Xuheng was a great thinker, statesman and educator of ancient China in the 13th century, who has also achieved great accomplishment in astronomy. Born in times of disorder and turbulence, he was passionate about the study of Confucian classics. After his philological study of ancient texts, he believed in the Neo-Confucianism and subsequently developed his own ideology. At that time, the minority Mongolian aristocrats established a new regime in central China. In this case, Xu abandoned Yanxia's policy of defense and chose to corporate with the Yuan regime. In the early period of Yuan Dynasty, with the Han culture and Mongolian culture clashing fiercely with each other, Xuheng, in political terms, actively assisted Emperor Shi(世祖)Hubilie in practicing the law of Han people and also influenced the political development with the cultural and political standpoints of Confucianism. He also popularized Neo-Confucianism through a lot of educational practice and introduced it into Yuan's highest institution of learning-the Imperial Academy. During Yuan dynasty, Xuheng 's Neo-Confucianism thoughts integrated the highlights of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, which served as a bridge in the transition from Neo-Confucianism to YangMing philosophy of mind. Advocated and propagated by him, Neo-Confucianism was officialized with it being included in the official subject of imperial examination. Xuheng also advanced the theory of 'Zhisheng' to make up for the emptiness in academic air since Song dynasty. His political ideology greatly promoted the unity and assimilation of different peoples and then accelerated the feudalization of Yuan Empire. His educational practice and thoughts improved the educational system of Yuan dynasty. Furthermore, worked out under his instructions represented the scientific and technological level achieved by Yuan dynasty in astronomy .