A Study Of Ouyang Xuan’s Philosophy

Ouyang Xuan,as a famous writer,historian and philosopher of the Yuan Dynasty,made indelible contributions in the fields of literature,history and moralists.Later scholars have done much research on his contribution on historiography and literary.However,due to the less systematic,they pay little attention to his philosophical thoughts,which has led to the insufficient research on this distinguished historian and moralists for a long time.Therefore,this paper attempts to sort out Ouyang Xuan’s philosophical thoughts on the basis of his works and relevant literature data.Mainly because of his family learning of Neo-Confucianism,and the inheritance of academic thoughts from those surviving adherents of Song Dynasty,Ouyang Xuan made a brilliant achievement in the field of history,literature and philosophy of the Yuan Dynasty.He had learned from Xu Baiyun,with the companionship of Jielu Si.Meanwhile,he was being coached by Xuqian,who was the most eminent disciple of Jin lvxiang,a great master of Neo-Confucianism,and made himself one of the “Four Celebrities of Xu’s Disciples”.Therefore,he was deeply influenced by Neo-Confucianism.The close contacts and mutual appreciation between scholars such as Daisy and others have exerted a certain influence upon Ouyang Xuan’s academic thought.Ouyang Xuan’s philosophical thought basically originated from Cheng-Zhu Confucian School,and also inherited Xu Qian’s thought of Neo-Confucianism.His philosophical thoughts are mainly manifested in the outlook on the natural laws,which including “Heavenly Way and Human Nature”,“Respecting Heaven for Loyalty”,and “Loyal to Monarch with Heaven’s Heart".Ouyang Xuan’s outlook on the natural laws is closely linked with the concept of humanity.The purpose of explaining the natural laws is to prove the rationality of humanity,and the ultimate goal is to philosophically prove the rationality of the feudal rule of the Yuan Dynasty.As to the view of Confucian orthodoxy,Ouyang Xuan mainly inherited the thoughts of Cheng-Zhu Confucian School.By his conceiving,Kublai,the first emperor of Yuan Dynasty,was brought into Confucian doctrine pedigree.Meanwhile,great masters of Neo-Confucianism in Song Dynasty,such as Zhou Dunyi,the Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi,and neo-Confucians of Yuan Dynasty,such as Xu Heng,were also brought into the pedigree of Confucian doctrine.He constantly improves the perfectness of Confucian doctrine pedigree,and discusses Confucianism accordingly.Therefore,Ouyang Xuan’s view of ethics is manifested in two aspects,the first one is “the principle of loyalty and forgiveness”,and the second one is “the controversy between righteousness versus profitableness”.Ouyang Xuan’s philosophy is also extensively applied in the fields of politic,education,history and literature.Ouyang Xuan advocates pragmatic political theory,Confucian-learning education,historical view of heavenly principles,and writing delivering ethics.Ouyang Xuan devoted all his life to the promotion and dissemination of Cheng-Zhu Confucian School,and the further officialization of Neo-Confucianism.His philosophical thought has had a far-reaching impact on later generations.