A Discussion on Neo-Confucian Religious Philosophy in Song Dynasty

Confucian philosophy in Song dynasty treats rite as ultimate concern and so it's called Neo-Confucian religious philosophy. Theoretically it can be traced to Li Ao in Tang dynasty. He brought out a theory that revert the nature of human being, which was in fact the forerunner of Neo-Confucian religious philosophy. Zhang Zai, a great ideologist in North Song dynasty, put forward an ontology of Qi and inserted the discernment of natural truth and human desire into Neo-Confucian religious philosophy. Chen Hao and Chen Yi created an ontology of rite, thus set up a consummate ontology for Neo-Confucian religious philosophy. As a successor to Brothers of Chen, Zhu Xi, the most outstanding scholar in South Song, built up a finished and integrated Neo-Confucian religious philosophy.