neo confucianism definition

Key Takeaway: Neo-Confucianism (理学 Lǐ Xué) is a major revival of Confucian philosophy that emerged during the Song dynasty (960–1279) and dominated East Asian intellectual life for centuries.

Neo-Confucianism (理学 Lǐ Xué) is a major revival of Confucian philosophy that emerged during the Song dynasty (960–1279) and dominated East Asian intellectual life for centuries. It synthesized Confucian ethics with Buddhist metaphysics and Daoist cosmology, centering on the concept of li (理) — the principle or pattern that structures all reality.

Within the Chinese philosophical tradition, as recorded in the classical texts that have shaped East Asian thought for millennia, Neo-Confucianism (理学 Lǐ Xué) is a major revival of Confucian philosophy that emerged during the Song dynasty (960–1279) and dominated East Asian intellectual life for centuries.

— Oriens