What is an overview of the philosophical thoughts of the Sui and Tang Dynasties?

The rulers of the Sui Dynasty vigorously promoted Buddhism and also relied on Taoism and Confucianism. The Sui Dynasty philosopher Wang Tong first proposed the theory of the unification of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, advocating that Confucianism should be the mainstay and Taoism and Buddhism should be reconciled. The rulers of the Tang Dynasty continued to adopt the policy of reconciling Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, making Confucianism orthodox. They used Confucianism's "three cardinal principles and five constant principles" and "divine right of kings" to consolidate the feudal order; they used Taoism to worship Laozi as the ancestor to improve the royal family; they used Buddhism's "transcendental liberation", "karma and retribution" and "three generations of reincarnation" to Deceiving and paralyzing the people makes them content with their ruled position and will no longer rise up to rebel. The materialists Fu Yi and Lu Cai in the early Tang Dynasty wrote "Please Abolish Buddhism", "Please Abolish Buddhist Dharma Table", "Xu Zhai Jing" and "Xu Lu Ming" respectively. "Book of Burials" and others criticize the shortcomings of Buddhism and oppose superstitions such as fortune-telling, fortune-telling, funerals, and Feng Shui. However, due to its isolation and little effect, Taoism and Buddhism still developed rapidly. Taoist philosopher Sima Chengzhen wrote "Zuowang Lun" and other works, and proposed that "cultivating the mind leads to tranquility". The theory of "retracting the mind and leaving the realm" advocates that in practice, one should close the mind, keep quiet, keep things simple, and observe the truth, get rid of knowledge, eliminate desires, combine the subject and object of cognition, respond to things without being burdened by them, and achieve "form as form" The state of being like a gaunt wood, with a heart as gray as ashes, with no feeling or desire.” The rulers of the Sui and Tang Dynasties paid special attention to and supported Buddhism, which made the struggle between respecting Buddha and opposing Buddhism develop to the point where ministers opposed the emperor's belief in Buddhism. Their outstanding representative recommended Han Yu. The materialists Liu Zongyuan, Liu Yuxi and others are basically still in the stage of natural theory of vitality, and only surpass the level of Wang Chong and Fan Zhen in the early stage on some specific issues.

Buddhism was most popular during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and many sects were formed, such as Tiantai Sect, Huayan Sect, Zen Sect, etc., and these three sects are Chinese Buddhist sects. Among them, Huineng’s Zen Sect is the longest-lasting among Chinese Buddhism. , the most influential sect, and also the most typical Buddhist sect in China.