Buddhist Interpretation of and Ultimate Return to Confucianism ——Yuan Zongdao's Understanding of the Four Books

Yuan Zongdao was the first of the School of Gong-an to bring in a new atmosphere; his interpretation of the Four Books became an academic authority for literary trends in the late Ming dynasty. Unlike Li Zhi and Yuan Hongdao who were fanatically obsessed with Buddhism, Yuan Zongdao interpreted the Four Books from the Buddhist perspective but finally returned to Confucianism. The congenial yet distinct postures of Yuan Zongdao and Yuan Hongdao reflect the divers ways the School of Gong-an thought about literature.