Ogyu Sorai
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Ogyū Sorai (荻生 徂徠) (1666, Edo, Japan – 1728, Edo), also known by the pen name Butsu Sorai, was a Japanese Confucian philosopher. He has been described as the most influential such scholar during the Tokugawa period. His primary area of study was in applying the teachings of Confucianism to government and social order. He responded to the economic and political failing that were happening at the time in Japan, as well as the culture of mercantilism and the dominance of old institutions that had become weak with extravagence, which used teachings such as the Way to justify their actions as he felt it. Sorai rejected the moralism of Song Confucianism and instead looked to the ancient works. He argued that allowing human emotions to express themselves was important and nurtured Chinese literature in Japan for this reason. Furthermore, he opposed the Tokugawa order, but was a proponent of the samurai class, which he felt were best able to overcome the longterm problem of weakening leadership. Sorai attracted a large following with his teachings and created the Sorai school, which would become an influential force in further Confucian scholarship in Japan.
Life
He was born the second son of a samurai who served as the personal physician of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, who would become the fifth shogun. Sorai studied the Zhu Xi version of Song Confucianism, and by 1690 he became a private teacher of Chinese classics. He went into the service of Yanagisawa Yoshiyau, a senior councillor to Tsunayoshi, in 1669. He left in 1709 after the death of Tsunayoshi and would turn away from the teachings of Zhu Xi to develop his own philosophy and school.Shirane, Haruo (May 12, 2006). Early Modern Japanese Literature. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231109903. pps 367-8.
Teachings
Sorai would write several influential works. In them he identified two fundamental weaknesses in the philosophy of Song Confusianism. The first was in the bafuku-domain system, which by the eighteenth century was in trouble. As a result he doubted whether the reliance on finding an individual's ethical good was sufficient. As such he argued that the political crisis of the time required more than perfecting moral character. Moreover, he saw the ancient Chinese sage-kings as concerned not only with morality but also with government itself. His second disagreement with Song Confucianism was that he felt putting too much emphasis on morality repressed human nature, which was based on human emotion.
However, these weaknesses he felt stemmed not from a deficiency in Confusianism itself, but rather from a misreading of classic works of the Four Books and the Five Classics by Song Confusianists, which he insisted "did not know the old words." Sorai went back to the ancient works for more reliable knowledge, stating "The ultimate form of scholarly knowledge is history." To him, these historical works were the ultimate source, even for an ever-changing present. Sorai thought that study of philosophy began with the study of language. In this he was highly influenced by the Ancient Rhetoric school of the Ming period, which was a neoclassical movement that saw the Qin and Han periods as the model for prose, and the Tang period for poetry. The Sorai school introduced Selections of Tang Poetry, a work thought to have been edited by Li Panlong, a founder of the Ancient Rhetoric school, to Japan, where it became very popular. As a result, his school is today sometimes also known as the Ancient Rhetoric (kobunji) school. However it differed in that he saw it mostly as a means of accessing the Five Classics. He would also accuse other Confucianists in Japan, such as Hayashi Razan, of relying too heavily on Song sources such as Chu Hsi.Totman 1982, p. 155
Sorai further differed from the Song Confusianist viewpoints in other aspects. One was that the Way was not a predetermined principle of the universe, but rather an establishment of men, of the ancient sages who described it in the Confucianist classic works. These works provided for the Way, which was divided by rites (rei) and music (gaku). The former gave social order, while the latter was inspiration for the heart. In this it directly allowed for the flow of human emotions, something denied by the moralist philosophy of Song Confucianism. Sorai argued for the opposite, allowing one to be enriched through music and poetry. As a result of his teachings in putting emphasis on literature as a fundamental form of human expression, Chinese writing would begin to thrive in Japan, becoming an accepted artistic pursuit. His school would thus produce several such great writers of Chinese composition at that time.
Sorai was furthermore a supporter of the samuari class. Institutions that were once under great leadership will later decline and more able men will be less likely to come to power. However he felt the lower class, or samurai, would react better to a system of rewards and punishment. Specifically he saw this as a problem with the Tokugawa order that ruled Japan at the time, which had reached excess while the lower classes were impoverished. He also saw problems with the merchant class at the time, which he accused of conspiring together to fix prices. He was not, however, a great supporter of the lower classes. He states:Totman 1982, pps. 181-3
Some later scholars criticised his work and found his teaching to be impractical. Goi believed that Sorai was motivated to surpass Ito Jinsai, another Confucianist who had influenced him a great deal, and that Sorai took his arguments to a level of abursdity for this reason. Had any of his teachings actually been implemented, Goi felt it would have caused extensive damage to moral philosophy.Najita, Tetsuo (January 1, 1998). Visions of Virtue in Tokugawa Japan. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0824819918. p. 130.
Master Sorai's Teachings is a record of his teaching and exchanges with his students. The text was edited by his own students and contained their questions followed by his answers to them. The work was not released until 1724, but is thought to have actually taken place around 1720. In it he reinforces that literature is not so much intended for the purposes of instruction in morality or governance, but rather it simply allows for the flow of human emotions. From this, answers on the former topics may be found, he argued.
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.Master Sorai's Teachings
Works
Notes
References
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