Le Van Ngu's Chu Dich Cứu Nguyen and Interpretation of Confucianism

Title

Le Van Ngu's Chu Dich Cứu Nguyen and Interpretation of Confucianism

Author

Chen-feng TSAI

Page

101-120

DOI

10.6163/tjeas.2012.9(2)101

Abstract

This paper discusses the interpretation of the Zhouyi (周易) offered in the exegetical work Chu Dich Cứu Nguyen (周易究原) by the late 19th/early 20th century Vietnamese Confucian scholar Le Van Ngu (黎文敔). Three issues are dealt with here: (1) Is there a close connection between the development of Vietnamese Confucianism after the 18th century and Zhuzi's system of thought? (2) What are the origins and the characteristic features of the cosmogony found in the Chu Dich Cứu Nguyen? (3) How does the cosmogony in this work set the basis for Le's interpretation so the Analects, the Great Learning and the Doctrine of the Mean shape his overall understanding of Confucianism? This paper finds that: (1) the development of Confucianism in Vietnam after the 18th century did not, unlike in Korea and Japan, come under the strong influence of Zhuzi's system of thought and sacrifice philosophical theorizing for a greater emphasis on practicality. (2) Le's interpretation of Confucianism revolves around the idea of "conforming man with Heaven"; as such, his moral philosophy is inseparable from the cosmogony of the Chu Dich Cứu Nguyen. Likewise, Le's cosmogony attempts to combine Chinese and Western views to build a theoretical system capable of explaining developments in contemporary optical and electrical technology.

Keyword

Vietnamese Confucianism, Le Van Ngu, Le Quy Dun, Zhuxi, Book of Changes

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