On Practicality of the Confucianism in Taizhou and Its Civic Norms

The focus of the Taizhou Confucian concern has changed to the social reality and human relations. Its theories are characterized by the striking practice. They attach much importance to the combination of cognition with application, and stress the unification between the Confucian classic doctrines and practice. In the learning issues, they emphasize the unity between knowledge and behavior, object the irrelevance between them. In life, the Confucian theorists have involved themselves in various social activities and produced vast influences. They take people's daily life as their appropriate learning, and take the saints' theories as people's daily necessity. They show great concern to civic life, pay much attention to daily life. In addition, they hold that concern should be given to ordinary people and learning is for daily life. They have changed their theoretical aims from the heaven to the practical world.