us and Slote, 142).After a brief period of disappearance in the third century B.C., Confucianism was revived during the Han dynasty. The Confucian works, copies of which had been destroyed in the preceding period, were restored to favor, canonized, and taught by scholars in national academies (Nivision, 99). The works also formed the basis of later civil service examinations. Candidates for responsible governments positions received their appointments on the strength of their knowledge of classic literature. As a result, Confucianism secured a firm hold on Chinese intellectual and political life (Chang, 87).The success of Han Confucianism was attributable to Tung Chung-shu, who first recommended a system of education built upon the teachings of Confucius. Tung Chung-shu believed in a close correspondence between human beings and nature. Therefore, a persons deeds are often responsible for unusual phenomena in nature. A persons deeds can take the blame for such things as fires, flood, earthquake, and eclipses. These omens can descend on earth as a warning to humanity that all is not well in this world, the fear of heavenly punishment proves useful as a curb to the monarchs absolute power (Bush, 110). However, the Han dynasty ended with political chaos. Confucianism then became overshadowed by the rival philosophies of Taoism and Buddhism. Nevertheless, the Confucian Classics continued to be the chief source of learning for scholars, and with the restoration of peace and prosperity in the Tang dynasty, the spread of Confucianism was encouraged. Confucian scholars once again ensured them the highest bureaucratic positions. Confucianism returned as a conventional state of teaching (Mungello, 58). The intellectual activities of the Sung dynasty gave rise to a new system of Confucian thought based on a mixture of Buddhist and Taoist element. The new school of Confucian is known as Neo-Confucianism (DeVous and Slote, 81). The scholars who evol...
