The controversy over Daoism and the aesthetic turn in the Xining Reforms
The Xining Reformswas more a fierce conflict within Confucian thought schools mainly including the Luoxue represented by the Cheng brothers and the New Policies represented by Wang Anshi than it was a political event in the Northern Song Dynasty.Existing research has largely focused on the political conflict or specific scholarly disputes.However,our in-depth analysis of their ideologies shows that they share both similarities and differences.The difference lies in the relationship between Dao and technique,or whether Dao is one or two,while the similarity lies in their dedication to the pursuit of ethical life.The Xining Reforms and its failure had a significant impact on the development of the Luoxue school and the Neo-Confucianism of the Southern Song Dynasty.From this point onward began the cultural shift between the two Song dynasties.The anxiety about aesthetics among the literati during the early and middle Northern Song Dynasty also diminished in this process.Gradually,Dao became the aesthetics standard.This was also the fundamental reason for the shift in Southern Song aesthetics.
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