Historians of Political Thought in the Field of Song Neo-Confucianism:Values and Methods

What role will the study of Chinese political thought play in the future scholarship? It is wise to introspect seri- ously and critically the historiography of political thought.The paper focuses on the concerned field of Song neo-Confu- cianism and explores the characteristics of theories and methodologies employed by historians.From the perspective d modem politics,Xiao Gongquan regards Song neo-Confucianism as impractical conservative political thought in the light of narrative mode ofneo-Confucianism v.s.utilitarianismthrough contextualistic method.Hou Wailu emphasizes the historical essence of Song neo-Confucianism as legitimizing thefeudalpolitical and ethical order in the light of the ana- lytical categories of class struggle and ideology accordling to Marxist classics.Yu Yingshi sheds light on the true spirit d Song neo-Confucianism as the unremitting search for order reconstruction the paper examines the relationship d historical construction and interpretation centered on the active debate aroused by Yu's masterpiece and argues a possibility of a positive and even creative tension between them.The tension may embody dialectics between value concern and theories (Dao) and methodologies(Shu) of historians of political thought,while providing a useful manual for the reinvigoration of the research field.