Fang Dongmei took a different view of the origin and claim of NeoConfucianism in the Song Dynasty, thinking it to be classics comprehending and interpreting Confucianism from a perspective extended from Zhuang Zi’s Taoism. Initially, Fang explored the origin of NeoConfucianism in terms of the skeleton of Chinese culture and thought that studies of Confucian classics could be divided into a few periods. However, for scholars in the North Song Dynasty, Fang held that Zhou Lianxi’s The General Companion expressed his noble personality and social spirit, which established Zhou as a forerunner of NeoConfucianism in enlightening scholars in the day in religious spirit. Nevertheless, he insisted that Zhou failed to digest the gist of Confucianism and what he advocated was simply the postConfucianism in times of Xun Zi and The Book of Rites. It was only Zhang Zai, a manly talented scholar from Shaanxi, who was able to carry down Confucian The Commentaries and lofty spirit of Taoism. His profound theoretical creation and grand and insightful philosophy may compensate for the partial and narrow minds of scholars in times of the North Song Dynasty.

Zhang Zai; Fang Dongmei; NeoConfucianism; The Western Inscriptions; The Theoretical Highlights of NeoConfucianism; ethical thought