A Treatise on Dongjianlu: The Academic Similarities and Differences between Luo School and Guan School

Among the two Cheng Master's four most important students, Lv Yushu is the only one from Guan school. Dongjianlu, the masterpiece in which Lv Yushu records the two Cheng Masters' quotations, establishes his academic status within Luo school and Guan school. Among the rich records, the two Cheng Master's comments on Guan school is the most central part, showing the academic similarities and differences between the two schools. The two Cheng Masters' comments are mainly reflected in three aspects: purity and vacuity, heart is small heart and great nature, the cultivation of Qi. These three aspects, considered as an integral whole, shows the difference between Luo school's Li and Guan School's Great void. This is the ultimate disparity between the two schools, which is resulted from the differences of heart-nature and the method of cultivation. To be specific, compared with Guan school who believes that the Great void is greater than Qi and the nature is greater than the heart, Luo school believes that there is no Li beyond Qi, so the heart and nature can never be inseparable. Furthermore, Guan school believes that one won't be encumbered by things by keeping himself in vacuity and quiescence, therefore they should cultivate themselves in quiescence instead of in movement. In contrast to this, Luo school believes that one will be in vacuity and quiescence as soon as he cultivates himself in the method of Jing, so it is not necessary to seek more cultivation of Qi. Although there are so many differences between the two schools, both of them are converted in attacking Buddhism. Therefore, the difference between the Great void and Li eventually turns out to be subtle.