A Historical Review of Studies on Confucian Classics in the Ming Dynasty

The study of Confucian classics in the Ming Dynasty can be divided into two stages. The first stage is the Qing Dynasty, during which the scholars had a negative assessment of the Confucian classicsin the Ming Dynasty. They started to criticize in the early Qing Dynasty, show negation in the middle Qing Dynasty, and contempt in the late Qing Dynasty. The second stage is modern times, where scholars got influences from the Qing Dynasty, but gradually developed a positive attitude and appraised the Confucian classics in the Ming Dynasty.It is not a comprehensive and objective attitude to deny the Confucian classics of the Ming Dynasty as the after wave of the Song studies or to affirm them as the origin of the Qing studies.The 300-year long study of the Ming Dynasty classics has its own independent academic characteristics and values. The future study of the Ming Dynasty Confucian classics should be based on the study of the Ming Dynasty Confucian classics itself.