The Character of Taiwanese Confucians in Qing Dynasty from the Perspective of the Confronting Duality in Confucianism

Title

The Character of Taiwanese Confucians in Qing Dynasty from the Perspective of the Confronting Duality in Confucianism

Author

Chao-Yang Pan

Page

97-133

DOI

Abstract

Confucian scholars are ideally men of moral integrity who are both learned and of great character. However, vile Confucian scholars who have neither of these virtues have never disappeared in the Confucian groups among dynasties, as historian Sima Qian especially created a section 'Biography of Sycophant' in his work Shiji. In this article, the confronting duality in Confucianism will be interpreted in the following two aspects recorded in histories: the fighting between men of moral integrity and sycophants, and the fact of Chu Hsi being persecuted by vile Confucians. The internal contradiction of the confronting duality in Confucianism was even intensified in the autocratic political structure. As Confucians were expected to be the critics of autocrats, sycophants on the contrary became the protectors of autocracy. Under the suppression of the Qing emperor, the Qing dynasty was basically a period of time when Confucians were both intellectually and morally degenerated. It was also true in the constitution of Taiwanese Confucians, as most of them were sycophants under the domination of the Qing autocracy. To illustrate this, contents of several local histories of Taiwan will be brought into this article.

Keyword

the Confucianists, Confucian Scholars, a man of moral integrity, syco- phant, Chu Hsi, Qing-Confucians

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