A Historical Overview of the Yijing in the Ryukyu Kingdom in the Early Modern Period

Title

A Historical Overview of the Yijing in the Ryukyu Kingdom in the Early Modern Period

Author

Benjamin Wai-ming NG

Page

1-20

DOI

10.6163/tjeas.2015.12(2)1

Abstract

Confucianism in the Ryukyu Kingdom in the early modern period put emphasis on practical knowledge rather than scholarship. Introductory texts and Song commentaries for the civil service examinations were particularly well received. Ryukyu scholars relied too much on the interpretations of Zhu Xi (1130-1200) and Cheng Yi (1033-1107), and thus few demonstrated a high level of originality in their readings of Confucian classics. The Yijing was not a very popular text in early modern Ryukyu. Scholars there did not reprint Chinese commentaries or write their own commentaries. However, the yinyang wuxing theory and divination associated with the Yijing were influential in Ryukyuan folklore. Applied to geomancy, folk religion, medicine, and architecture, they were incorporated into Ryukyu traditions. Based on primary sources written in early modern Ryukyu, China, and Japan, this study aims to outline the history of the Yijing in the Ryukyu Kingdom in the early modern period, focusing on its popularity and impact. It has implications for understanding the characteristics of Confucianism and the popularization of the Yijing in the Ryukyu Kingdom.

Keyword

Yijing studies in East Asia, Confucianism in the Ryukyu Kingdom, popularization of Chinese books, localization

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