Historical Studies (Chinese Edition)

No.6, 2014

 

On the Xudu, Jian'an Order for the Restoration of Official Schools: With a Discussion of the Rise of Zheng Xuan's Classical Synthesis at the Juncture of the Han and the Wei Dynasties

(Abstract)

 

                                                                                                                      

Zhang Yan

 

The rise of Zheng Xuan's school of classical learning is an important issue for the study of the Confucian classics. Zheng Xuan's distinctive synthesis of the old script and the new script classical texts is the primary reason his exegesis gained its outstanding position in the history of classical studies. However, the reason it moved, almost overnight, from being a new trend in private learning among civilians to being mainstream scholarship and official learning cannot simply be explained from an academic point of view. An analysis of this event against background of the complex and dynamic politics at the end of the Han Dynasty may help reveal its specific historical cause. In 203, Cao Cao, on behalf of the Han court, issued an order from Xudu for the restoration of the system of official schools across the country. The evidence shows that the promulgation of this order was an important measure aimed at controlling the Han court, suppressing Liu Biao and implementing political checks and balances in scholarly and cultural institutions. This order was a turning point for Zheng Xuan's interpretation, giving it the patronage of Cao’s party and lending it the status of "official learning" for the first time. Not only did Zheng Xuan's synthesis rapidly become a critical point for scholarly debate and political contests, it also offers us a clue to understanding the rise and fall of different schools of Confucian learning from the end of the Han Dynasty to the Wei and Jin dynasties.