@article{ART003308310},
author={Park, Sung Won},
title={The Neo-Confucian Turn of the “Wentong” Concept in the Tang-Song Period},
journal={The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China},
issn={1738-0502},
year={2026},
number={79},
pages={361-383},
doi={10.16874/jslckc.2026..79.013}
TY - JOUR
AU - Park, Sung Won
TI - The Neo-Confucian Turn of the “Wentong” Concept in the Tang-Song Period
JO - The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China
PY - 2026
VL - null
IS - 79
PB - Korean Society of Study on Chinese Languge and Culture
SP - 361
EP - 383
SN - 1738-0502
AB - The concept of “wentong (文統, literary orthodoxy)” serves as a core term characterizing literary orthodoxy in the history of Chinese literature. Previous studies have largely been confined to the context of Han Yu’s Ancient Prose Movement or its relationship with Song dynasty Neo-Confucianism, lacking a diachronic examination of the concept's semantic shifts. To bridge this gap, this study applies Reinhart Koselleck’s methodology of Begriffsgeschichte (conceptual history)—specifically the framework of “space of experience (Erfahrungsraum)” and “horizon of expectation (Erwartungshorizont)”—to trace the evolutionary process of the wentong concept from the Tang to the Song dynasty. The research reveals that while “wentong” existed merely as a latent possibility in Liu Xie’s discourse, it was established by Han Yu as an independent literary genealogy coexisting with “daotong (道統, moral orthodoxy).” However, following a reconstruction by Northern Song Neo-Confucians, the concept eventually underwent a process of “Neo-Confucianization” under Zhu Xi in the Southern Song, becoming completely subordinated to daotong. These findings suggest that Tang-Song literary history should be viewed as a dynamic process of conceptual genesis, tension, and reconfiguration, and furthermore demonstrate the validity of applying conceptual history methodology to the study of pre-modern East Asian intellectual history.
KW - Wentong;Begriffsgeschichte;Neo-Confucianization;“Discourse on literature and Dao”;“Literature as a vehicle for the Way”
DO - 10.16874/jslckc.2026..79.013
ER -
Park, Sung Won. (2026). The Neo-Confucian Turn of the “Wentong” Concept in the Tang-Song Period. The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China, 79, 361-383.
Park, Sung Won. 2026, "The Neo-Confucian Turn of the “Wentong” Concept in the Tang-Song Period", The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China, no.79, pp.361-383. Available from: doi:10.16874/jslckc.2026..79.013
Park, Sung Won "The Neo-Confucian Turn of the “Wentong” Concept in the Tang-Song Period" The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China 79 pp.361-383 (2026) : 361.
Park, Sung Won. The Neo-Confucian Turn of the “Wentong” Concept in the Tang-Song Period. 2026; 79 : 361-383. Available from: doi:10.16874/jslckc.2026..79.013
Park, Sung Won. "The Neo-Confucian Turn of the “Wentong” Concept in the Tang-Song Period" The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China no.79(2026) : 361-383.doi: 10.16874/jslckc.2026..79.013
Park, Sung Won. The Neo-Confucian Turn of the “Wentong” Concept in the Tang-Song Period. The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China, 79, 361-383. doi: 10.16874/jslckc.2026..79.013
Park, Sung Won. The Neo-Confucian Turn of the “Wentong” Concept in the Tang-Song Period. The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China. 2026; 79 361-383. doi: 10.16874/jslckc.2026..79.013
Park, Sung Won. The Neo-Confucian Turn of the “Wentong” Concept in the Tang-Song Period. 2026; 79 : 361-383. Available from: doi:10.16874/jslckc.2026..79.013
Park, Sung Won. "The Neo-Confucian Turn of the “Wentong” Concept in the Tang-Song Period" The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China no.79(2026) : 361-383.doi: 10.16874/jslckc.2026..79.013
