| Mao Qingling is a famous scribes of Confucianism and writer of Qing Dynasty who hadbroad and profound knowledge and made great contribution to scripture, history, literary,poem, Chinese poems in Song Dynasty, phonology and calligraphy.Mao experienced thechange on Ming and Qing Dynasty. His legend life was full of frustrations. Living a long lifeand having a strong knowledge, he was really productive. He played an important role in thehistory of the study of Confucian classics. Mao was proud and insolent because of his talent.As a man of marked individuality who often spoke wildly, he is controversial. People passdifferent judgments on him. It is definitely important to make a study of such a great man.The rule of Mao Qiling’s study was in honor of the original classics and against to add inothers’thought. Zhu Xi’s compiling of The Great Learning and the Doctrine of the Mean,together with Mencius, the Analects of Confucius, is called "The Four Books". Zhu xi gaveinterpretation of the note and then it becomes a classic. However, the Notes of the Four Bookshas an obvious tendency of Neo-Confucianism and Zhu’s interpretation of some specific entryis really far-fetched. Mao Qiling’Correcting The Four Books’ mistakes point out the fallacy.During the correcting process, Mao Qiling using his rich academic accomplishment toillustrate the Four Books, trying to get rid of deviation of the interpretation ofNeo-Confucianism, straighten out the original position of the four books.Correcting The Four Books’ mistakes is formerly known as Brief Introduction on theFallacy of the Four Books which has seven volumes with one appendix. This book iscompiled by Mao Qiling’s son and protege, involving Mao’s notes about the four books, stillit has some shortcomings and was imperfect. Mao Qiling did the correction job on the book inhis later years in life, including thirty two sections that totally are four hundred and fifty oneentries. Mao divided them into twenty two volumes (twenty one volume with one appendix)and named it Correcting The Four Books’ mistakes.There are three main content of this article. First, the study of the writing process and theversion of this book; second, from analyzing this book to talk about Mao Qiling’s thought ofstudying Confucian classics; thirdly, through the study of Correcting The Four Books’mistakes to show Mao Qiling’s study of The Four Books. The first part explores thepublishing process from Brief Introduction on the Fallacy of the Four Books to Correcting The Four Books’ mistakes, does textual research on the whole story of Mao Qiling whodestroyed the block himself and how the version spread. The second part discusses theoriginal division style of the book, redistricts it into two large accounts on the rule of "textualmistakes" and "explanation mistakes" and gives some examples each. By doing this canreaders analysis the soul of Mao Qiling’s thought of studying Confucian classics and thecritical inheritance he did on Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming’s Neo-Confucianism. The third partanalyzes the ideological system of this book that starts from The Great Learning to theDoctrine of the Mean, the Analects of Confucius, Mencius and turned back in circulation toThe Great Learning. This shows out Mao Qiling’s circulation theory of the study of The FourBooks that from treating oneself to treating others and then back to autonomy and his practiceof uniting knowledge and action. In the end, this paper analyzes the transition significance ofMao Qiling’s thought of the studying of The Four Books in the scholarship History ofConfucian Classics. |
