Distinguishing the Way (Bendō)

Introduction

Ogyu Sorai wrote this short essay in 1717, together with the longer Distinguishing Names. He argues that the Way of the sages is not a natural principle but a human creation: the rites, music, punishments and institutions that the ancient kings of China devised to bring peace to the realm. It can be understood only by reading the ancient texts in their original language, which is why Sorai founded a school of “ancient words and phrases” (kobunjigaku). He criticises both Zhu Xi and Ito Jinsai for turning the Way into a matter of inner morality. The political scientist Maruyama Masao later read Sorai’s separation of political order from private morality as a step towards modern political thought in Japan.

Connections

Builds on

• Xunzic. 240 BCE · Xunzi

Criticizes

• The Meanings of Terms in the Analects and Mencius (Gomō jigi)1683 · Itō Jinsai

Taken up in

• Commentary on the Kojiki (Kojiki-den)1798 · Motoori Norinaga
• Studies in the Intellectual History of Tokugawa Japan1952 · Maruyama Masao