Zhu Shunshui on the Nature of Confucian Learning in China and Japan

Journal article

The stor y of Zhu Shunshui 朱舜水 (1660–1682) in Japan is well known: émigré from China who settled in 1660, and from 1665 onwards spent the remainder of his life in Edo, in service to Tokugawa Mitsukuni 徳川光圀 (1628– 1701) as teacher and advisor, assisting with the implementation of Confucian teachings and ritual in Mito and also Kaga domains. Much has been written about Zhuʼs activities and legacy in Japan, but for purposes of this article, the focus will be on how Zhu himself perceived the nature of Confucian knowledge and study as it existed in China, in particular as revealed by what he said was lacking or wrong in how it was understood and practiced in Japan. This study forms part of a wider investigation of what Zhuʼs writings reveal about the culture and practice of Confucianism in China and Japan, and the quite different ways it manifested in both places

Authors: Chard, R

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo
• Journal: Toyo Bunko Institute Bulletin
• Volume: 168
• Pages: 277-320
• Publication date: 2015-12-31
• DOI: 10.15083/00026820
• ISSN: 0563-8089
• Language: English
• Keywords: SBTMR