Liu YU-hsi (772-842): a study of his thought by Kwok-yiu Wong B.Sc., The University of British Columbia, 1989 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of Asian Studies) We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard December, 1993 © Kwok-yiu Wong, 1993 _______________ ___________________________ In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. (Signature) of Department The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada Date / . / DE-6 (2/88) Abstract This thesis examines the thought of Liu Yü-hsi (772-842), a participant of the mid-T’ang (Ca. 750-850) Confucian revival movement. In this study, I have attempted to construct an approximation of Liu’s thought through the discussions of two major elements in his thought: Confucianism and Buddhism. In addition, I also discuss his famous philosophical dissertation T’ien Lun” (“On Heaven”) in order to present a basic understanding of Liu’s world view. These discussions reveal that Confucianism occupied a central position in Liu YU-hsi’s thought. His major concern in life was how to “bring benefit to the people” (“chi-wu”). Buddhism, while it occupied an important place in Liu’s life, never took charge of his inner life completely. He conceived that Buddhism and Confucianism share a similar goal in their teachings. In particular, Buddhism should form a complement to Confucianism. Hence, he selected elements from various Buddhist schools that best fit his major concern in life. In this way, Buddhism and Confucianism co-exist in a harmonious and connected fashion in his thought. To achieve the goal of “chi-wu,” Liu also believed that humans are totally responsible for their own future. The phenomenal world, according to Liu, is regulated by a pair of concepts -- shu (numerical dimensions) and shih (conditions). These concepts explain the basic principles behind which events occur in the world. If human beings are to optimize the state of their existence, they have to exert themselves to construct a well-regulated society. Such a society can be achieved by the use of laws that are based on Confucian moral values. Therefore, Liu’s thought can be characterized by his social concern. 11 Table of Contents Abstract ii Table of contents iii Introduction 1 Chapter One: A biographical sketch of Liu Yü-hsi 5 Chapter Two: Liu Yü-hsi as a Confucian 26 Chapter Three: Liu Yü-hsi’s outlook on Buddhism 68 Chapter Four: Heaven & Humanity 103 Conclusion 135 Abbreviation 139 Glossary 140 Selected Bibliography 156 111 Introduction Liu Yü-hsi (772-842), a famed poet and essayist of his time, is the focus of this study. However, the aim of this thesis is not to study his literary achievement, but, rather, to present the main thrust of his intellectual tendencies. Ever since the outbreak of the An Lu-shan rebellion (755-786), Tang intellectuals were confronted with a major crisis. The Tang empire, in the aftermath of the rebellion, was on the brink of disintegration.’ The devastation of the rebellion presented the Tang intellectuals with the task of re-building the empire. Many literary intellectuals, with growing concerns about the situation, sought to re-establish a stable political environment through an attempt to re establish morality. A major consequence of the efforts of these like-minded intellectuals is manifested in the form of the mid-Tang Confucian revival.2 By the early ninth century, this attempt to revitalize Confucianism as the guiding principle of both state and personal affairs reached its apogee with the emergence of cardinal intellectual figures like Han Yü (768-824), Li Ao (774-836), Liu Tsung yUan (773-8 19), and Po ChU-i (772-846). Our protagonist, Liu YU-hsi, was not only a contemporary of these figures, but was good friend of some of them, and can be viewed as a participant in their movement to revitalize Confucianism. However, he has attracted little attention from scholars in this respect. Most of the studies by Chinese scholars in pre modern times on Liu’s intellectual tendencies focused mainly on his literary ‘For the background of the An Lu-shan rebellion, see Edwin G. Pulleyblank, The background of the rebellion of An Lu-shan. London: Oxford University Press, 1966. For a brief outline of the rebellion and its aftermath, see Michael T. Dalby, “Court politics in late T’ang times,” (in Denis Twitchett ed. The Cambridge history of China, vol. 3. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1979), pp. 561-571. 2For a discussion of intellectual atmosphere in the early and middle T’ang dynasty, see chapter one of Chen Jo-shui, Liu Tsung-yUan and intellectual change in T’ang China. 773- New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993. (Henceforth: Liu Tsung-yUan). 1 achievements. This is likewise the case in modern studies of Liu, although a number of articles have been published in Chinese on Liu’s famous philosophical essay “T’ien Lun” (“On Heaven”). Modern studies of Liu Yü-hsi’s thought in Western languages seem minimal. I have not been able to find a single article on Liu YU-hsi in English. Perhaps Wolgang Kubin’s two-page entry in The Indiana Companion to traditional Chinese literature can be counted as the only English “article” on Liu.3 H.G. Lamont has written a two-part essay entitled “An early ninth century debate on Heaven: Liu Tsung-yuan’s T’ien Shuo and Liu Yü-hsi’s T’ien Lun.” This essay discusses quite extensively issues concerning the “debate” on Heaven between Han YU, Liu Tsung-yUan, and Liu Yü-hsi. It also provides some good discussion of Liu Yü-hsi’s thought.4 Hence our present understanding of Liu Yti-hsi’s thought is very limited. The focal point of most of these studies of Liu’s thought seems to be on his famous essay “T’ien Lun.” There is no doubt that a study of this philosophical discourse should reveal a basic characterization of Liu’s intellectual outlook. However, I feel that these studies may, to a certain extant, have decontextualized the significance of this essay from the whole of Liu’s thought. Hence, given the lack of a general understanding of Liu YU-hsi’s thought, a basic contribution of this thesis, I hope, is to provide a fair approximation of Liu’s thought. This is the basic motive of my choosing Liu Yü-hsi as the subject of this thesis. 3For Kubin’s entry see, William H. Nienhauser, Jr. ed. The Campanion to Traditional Chinese Literature. pp. 592-593. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986. 4See H.G. Lamont, “An early ninth century debate on Heaven: Liu Tsung-yUan’s T’ien Shuo and Liu Yü-hsi’s T’ien Lun,” in Asia Major, New series, part I, 18:2 (1973), pp. 181- 208; part II, 19:1 (1974), pp. 37-85. 2 While the main purpose this study aims to contribute to a better understanding of Liu Yü-hsi’s thought, I believe that this study can also enlarge our picture of the mid-T’ang Confucian revival movement, for the nature of Liu’s participation in the movement can provide us a different perspective on how some intellectuals exerted themselves in such a major project to re-vitalize Confucianism as the guiding principle to rebuild the social and political order. The basic approach of this thesis is simple. After a preliminary reading of Liu’s works, I have been able to identify two major elements in his thought: Confucianism and Buddhism. While the former, as a system of political ideology, was relatively dormant during the post-An Lu-shan period, the latter enjoyed general acceptance among the intellectual elite throughout the T’ang dynasty. One can often find among the T’ang intellectuals a tendency to maintain Confucianism as an ideology solely for the assertion of oneself in the worldly affairs, while accepting Buddhism (and/or Taoism) to take charge of one’s spirituality. Hence, the notion “Buddhism (and/or Taoism) within and Confucianism without” can be used to characterize the basic intellectual outlook of many T’ang intellectuals.5 In the case of Liu Yü-hsi, this characterization, while adequate, still seems crude. Hence, in our discussion, we will first demonstrate the significant position that Confucianism has occupied in the whole of Liu’s thought. Then we will proceed to discuss his outlook on Buddhism. This should provide a more refined characterization of how his Buddhist outlook is related to his Confucian outlook. After gaining a general understanding of what kind of roles these two major elements play in the whole of Liu Yü-hsi’s thought, we can then discuss Liu’s famous essay “T’ien Lun” (“On Heaven”). Through a discussion of how Liu views the relationship between Heaven and Humanity, we should be able to demonstrate 5See Chen Jo-shui, Liu Tsung-yuan, pp. 20-24. 3 the originality of Liu as a thinker. More important, such a discussion should further demonstrate the major concern of Liu YU-hsi’s life. 4 Chapter One: A biographical sketch of Liu Yü-hsi Liu Yü-hsi1 (style-name Meng-te) was born in 772, the seventh year of the Ta-li reign (766779).2 According to his autobiography, his clan had moved South after the outbreak of the An Lu-shan rebellion in 7553 We do not know precisely where Liu’s birthplace was, but based on his writings,4 there is no doubt that Liu Yü-hsi’s childhood years were spent in the region around Su-chou.5 1According to Ch’ü T’ui-yuan, the name Yü-hsi is from the Book of Documents, and Liu’s style-name, Meng-te, is from a text of prognostications known as Hsiao-ching kou-ming chüeh.