The Transformation Of Social Culture And The Status Declineof Confucious Schoolars In The Northern Dynastie

In the late period of the Northern Dynasties literature flourished and became the main trend of culture in the Southern Dynasties and Confucianism was in a state of general decline.After Emperor Xiao Wen moved the capital to Luoyang and assimilated the literature culture from the south,literature including poem became the criteria in judging the cultural level of a literati while Confucians who studied classics only were despised for they knew little in worldly affairs.However education played a key role in enlightenment.In contrast to the declination of Confucianism in the East Jin and the Southern Dynasties,not only the governments of the Northern Dynasties established by nomads paid much attention to the official school system of Confucianism and initiated the prefecture school system in the process of sinicization,private schools also became very popular.Confucian teachers holding classics and teaching could be seen at every town and village,students with bookcase on back would walk a thousand li to follow their teacher.But despite the revival of Confucianism and booming of school,Confucian scholars and students were still often despised as aforementioned in the Northern Dynasties.Why?This question and the overall cultural condition in the late period of the Northern Dynasties are what this dissertation will focus on.There were numerous cases of contempt for the doctor of Confucianism in the history of the Northern Dynasties,but most discussions on this phenomenon took a view angle of the upper class,which emphasized the cultural destruction caused by war and social upheaval.Since this dissertation focuses on the condition of social culture,it takes a view angle of lower class intellectual in observing the trend of cultural development and analyzing the consequence of the private school booming in the late period of the Northern Dynasties,which also makes a contrast to high class ruler's esteem on the main trend of culture.Although in the late period of the Northern Dynasties literature became the main trend of culture,the education of Confucianism still played an important role in acquiring cultural knowledge.Not only the nomadic rulers needed to study it for domination,but people of lower class were also keen on learning it with the development of small-scale peasant economy under the equal-field system.Meanwhile Confucian education expanded to the lower class as well which promoted the spread of culture and knowledge.Emperor Tai Wu followed Cui Hao's suggestion of restoring the tradition of Confucianism and took it as an important origin of political principles.Emperor Xiao Wen asked Cui Guang to teach the "Book of Piety",which reflected the appreciation on piety of the Northern Wei Dynasty.Su Chuo wrote the "Imperial Edict of Six Clauses",established the political and cultural ideology of the Nothern Zhou Dynasty.It intended to integrate an unsteady society with Confucian moral principles and build a society with peace and order,which even influenced the cultural and systematic choices of the Sui and Tang Dynasties.