The collapse of the Eastern Han and the ensuing severe turbulences destroyed the overwhelming supremacy of Confucianism and led to a flourishing of legalism and metaphysics.
The collapse of the Eastern Han and the ensuing severe turbulences destroyed the overwhelming supremacy of Confucianism and led to a flourishing of legalism and metaphysics.
The local Taoism and Buddhism introduced between the Han dynasties were particularly prosperous, posing a challenge to the Confucianism that they believed was all about ridiculous words and unchanging doctrines.
1 Metaphysics
The metaphysics that emerged between Wei and Jin dynasties respected Lao Tze and Zhuang Tzu, and advocated "void is the nature of everything" and "acting in accordance with the natural laws." The representatives like Ji Kang and Ruan Ji brazenly declared that "he despises the King Tang wang of the Shang Dynasty and King Wuwang of the Zhou Dynasty, and belittles Zhougong and Confucius," speaking and behaving beyond established ritual and legal norms. Metaphysics grew as the dominant school of thought at that time, driving forward the development of philosophical thinking and liberation of individuals. But it later developed into empty talks that didn't make sense.
2 Buddhism
Buddhism was introduced into the central plains from ancient India during the Western and Eastern Han dynasties and prospered in the Wei and Jin dynasties. Buddhism emphasizes the karma and samsara, telling people they could attain happiness in their afterlife so long as they tolerate pains and earnestly practice Buddhist rules. The doctrines allowed the maintainance of the hierarchical orders, offered converts spiritual support and was particularly attractive to the poor who were struggling in the turbulent world. The Southern and Northern dynasties saw the peak of Buddhism. As the poems of Du Fu, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, described, "Many of the 480 temples in the Southern and Northern dynasties are shrouded in mist and drizzle." In the Northern Dynasties, the number of Buddhist temples increased to more than 30,000, and monks and nuns to three million. The spread of Buddhism injected fresh elements and had a huge impact on traditional Chinese culture in such aspects as ideology, culture, art and literature.
3 Taoism
Taoism, established at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, is a local religion of China combining Taoist thought and supernatural art. It was reconstructed by Ge Hong in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and enhanced to an official position. It advocated harmony between heaven and human beings, attainment of the highest state of spiritual enlightenment and becoming immortal with cultivation and immortality pill making according to the Taoist doctrine. Tao Honging of the Southern Dynasties further established a system of immortals from Jade Emperor to City God and Kitchen God, having far-reaching influence upon ancient Chinese people.
The successive rise of metaphysics, Buddhism and Taoism greatly attacked the hackneyed Confucianism, creating an open, diverse and lively atmosphere in the ideological world and leading to competition among Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.
4 Calligraphy and painting
The Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern dynasties saw the collapse of ritual norms and social turbulence. That gave rise to calligraphy as an ideal form for scholars to express their thoughts and pursuits. Chinese character writing gradually evolved into a self-conscious calligraphic art. Wang Xizhi, who was known as the Saint of Calligraphers in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, had exquisite style and hard strokes like floating clouds and flowing water. His Preface to the Orchid Pavilion represents the spirit of calligraphic art in the Jin Dynasty and is called the "best-running script works."
The Wei and Jin dynasties were the first important developmental period for traditional Chinese painting, with the creation of paintings with marked individuality by scholars. Scholar-bureaucrats of the time admired inane disputes and stressed the spirit while evaluating a person. Gu Kaizhi, afamous artist in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was a representative of the spirit-oriented style. He insisted that the "spirit of a figure shall be expressed through outer appearances"and especially highlighted the traits of figures. While painting a Buddhist image for the Waguan Temple in Jiankang, Gu didn't draw the eyes until the rest of the painting was finished, immediately making the image extremely vivid and winning praise and adoration from all the witnesses who later gave alms to the temple in succession.
The thoughts and culture of the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern dynasties hadn't been interrupted either during the Three Kingdoms Period or in the confrontation between the South and North dynasties. On the contrary, they thrived because of the awakening of scholars and showed a pattern featuring the dominance of the culture of the central plains and a merging of diverse elements, leaving unique marks on ancient Chinese history.
