The Influence Of Confucianism On History Compilation

Since the Song and Ming Dynasties,Confucianism has undergone profound changes in its ideology compared with the previous dynasties because of the changes in economic development and social background.Under this influence,the compilation of historical materials can more vividly show this feature.The overall influence of Confucianism on the compilation of historiography is to praise and belittle the classics and record the facts directly.The social class solidification and the small-scale peasant economic policy in the early Ming Dynasty enhanced the confinement of human nature by Neo-Confucianism in the Song and Ming DynastiesAt the official level,because the successor Emperor Jiajing of Ming Shizong was indifferent or even disgusted with the personal feelings of Ming Wuzong,this political influence made it impossible for the official history books to highly appraise Ming Wuzong.At the same time,the officials at that time felt the absurd political situation of Wuzong and were dissatisfied with Wuzong’s perverse behavior,which made them feel that their Confucian education had met great challenges for many years.Therefore,there is no longer a"taboo for respecting others”in the selection of historical materials,and many negative examples are used.so that the unbearable image of Wuzong in the Ming Dynasty has taken shape Similarly,during the dynasty replacement of the Ming and Qing Dynasties,the Qing Dynasty changed a series of policies and attitudes towards the pre-Ming Dynasty,which made the absurd image of Wuzong in the Ming Dynasty more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.In civil society,the outline of the image of Wuzong in Ming Dynasty is multi-dimensional.Private historians are either courtiers who serve as officials.scholars who write scripts,or the elders of the Ming Dynasty.Because of their reflections on the political situation of the Ming Dynasty and their curiosity for the great figures,and their different perspectives as people of different classes and identities,their missions are also different.The courtiers narrate the image of the Ming Emperor Wuzong truthfully;the scholars explore the versatility of the image of the Ming Emperor Wuzong;the survivors reflect on the changeability of the image of the Ming Emperor Wuzong.This also reflects the ideological background of the image change of Wuzong in Ming Dynasty.The ethical shackles of Confucianism in the Song and Ming Dynasties continued to deepen.Such shackles not only restrain civilians and officials,but also the emperor.The excessive indulgence of Ming Wuzong’s own behavior and the harsh social background of Neo-Confucianism all led to the negative image of Ming Wuzong.But in the middle of Ming Dynasty,Confucianism changed again,that is,the rise of the theory of mind.Psychology emphasizes the publicity of personality,which is contrary to the restraint of Neo-Confucianism on human nature.The rise of psychology disturbed the evaluation of Wuzong in Ming Dynasty.Make the original criticism somewhat loosened.At the end tries to acknowledge the multifaceted nature of the image of Ming Wuzong,which affirms its freedom and reveals its nonfeasance.Confucianism,as a dominant ideology in ancient China,undoubtedly had a decisive influence on the compilation of history,especially after Song Dynasty.This influence presents many aspects.The first is the influence on the position of historians.The moral law of"preserving heaven and destroying human desire"makes it impossible for historians to give a positive evaluation to the non-saintly and impossible Ming Wuzong.The second is the influence oin material selection.The official character of Confucianism makes the compilation of history based on Confucianism only depend on official records.Necessary neglect of private records.Because of the decisive influence of Conf-ucianism on historiography compilation,the change of Confucianism itself will inevitably lead to the movement of historiography compilation.For example,the variation of Neo-Confucianism centripetal theory will inevitably result in the loosening of the evaluation of Ming Wuzong who advocates individuality.This makes it particularly important for historians to balance objective historical data and subjective consciousness,and also warns historians that when analyzing the image of historical figures,they should put a right perspective and view history in an all-round way.