During the neo-Confucian renaissance of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, a metaphysical dimension was added to fill a gap exposed by Buddhism’s inroads into China. Thereafter, a good Confucian could, with untroubled conscience, scorn the Buddhist renunciation of the world.
在11和12世纪新儒教复兴中，又增添了一个形而上的层面，以弥合儒教在佛教传入中国的过程中所暴露出的不足。至此以后，凡有着平和良知的儒教追随者都会蔑视佛教徒的出家。这一对根本原则的重述，重新确立了儒教在中国以及其邻国中整整700年至高无上的地位。