柳宗元の明道文學 : 陸淳の春秋學との關係

Abstract

Liu Tsung-yüan 柳宗元, a literary figure of the mid-T'ang 中唐 is known for his advocacy of the revival of the classic style. In fact, the literary movement he advanced was not merely concerned with style, but it involved the revolutionizing of the subject matter itself, for he believed that letters should illuminate the moral path. This idea seems to have been greatly influenced by the new methodology of Confucianism furthered at the time, especially by the Neo-Ch'unch'iu 春秋 studies of Lu Ch'un 陸淳 and his followers. In this paper, I make a brief survey of the circumstances in which Liu Tsung-yüan came to establish his view of "illuminating" literature (明道文學), as well as his relationships with Lu Ch'un and his favorite pupil Lü Wên 呂溫, and review the works of Liu Tsung-yüan in the light of their ideological implications. When we examine the content of Liu Tsung-yüan's writings from this viewpoint, we can detect certain ideological priorities in common with Lu Ch'un. First, Liu Tsung-yüan tries to restore the five classics, fallen a prey to literary and historical research, to a more prominent position in the studies of Confucian scholars. Second, he makes a sharp distinction between the five canons and other secondary books (called Chuan 傳), and criticizes the latter. Third, he places Confucius directly in the line of descent from Yao 堯 and Shun 舜, and seeks the political idea shared by these saints. These aspects prove that the essential ideas of Liu Tsung-yüan's literary movement are consistent with those of Lu Ch'un's Neo-Ch'un-ch'iu study. Liu Tsung-yüan's works should be reinterpreted in terms of his political ideology.