This dissertation probes into Chunqiu Scholarship in the Yuan Dynasty by addressing how Yuan Confucians interpreted Chunqiu and how they inherited and introspected the Chunqiu Scholarship of Song Confucians. Therefore, the following four issues shall be discussed in the dissertation:
1. Through the analysis of answer templates for imperial examinations, this study shows the trajectory of academic development and the expanding influence of Chunqiu Hu Shi Zhuan.
2. Yuan Confucians who followed Hu Anguo's Chunqiu Scholarship would emphasize his specific interpretation, which involves interpreting the significance of Chunqiu with "Li."
3. By contrast, other Yuan Confucians who were unsatisfied with Hu Anguo's interpretation of "Li" would endow "Li" with new meanings. These scholars would often reject the notion of "praise or criticize with a single word," exhibiting their introspection of Chunqiu Scholarship in the Song Dynasty.
4. Most Yuan Confucians followed Song Confucians' concept of deciding which parts of the Three Commentaries on Chunqiu to use based on their own ideas. In contrast, Cheng Duanxue, Huang Ze, and Zhao Fang took a different approach. However, they also focused their scrutiny on the Three Commentaries. This means that Yuan Confucians, while inheriting the existing interpretative context of Chunqiu Scholarship in the Song Dynasty, also attempted to go beyond it and embark on new research endeavors.
Based on the above research results, this dissertation points out that although Yuan Confucians had different approaches to interpreting Chunqiu, they all shared the idea of caring about the " where the significance come out" of the classics. This situation significantly differs from previous assessments made in the field of research. Furthermore, this dissertation also reveals that Yuan Confucians were primarily engaged in exploring the grand principles of the significance of Chunqiu within the academic context established by Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi. They shared a common concern to fill the gap in the system caused by the lack of interpretations of Chunqiu by Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi.