A groundwork for normative unity

Junghwan Lee

My dissertation explores the doctrinal and textual history of the "Learning of the Way" tradition in its formative stage and Zhu Xi's theoretical reformation of the tradition, thus identifying a sharp turn in its history. This project's thematic foundation is Zhu's theoretical groundwork for norms and values, the central concern of his response to the reigning tendency of the tradition. Through this approach, my work also offers a single consistent framework for analysis of Zhu's philosophical paradigms and social and cultural practices. This study explores the textual and doctrinal aspects of the early Learning of the Way tradition, which had stood as a gap in the field of Chinese intellectual history. This tradition at its formative stage is characterized by deficiencies in the textual, social, or political foundations required to develop it into a systematic movement. First- and...