勞思光（1927- ）曾對宋代儒學復興運動有一整體之觀察，其謂「此一運動有一基本目的，即是要求歸向先秦儒學之本來方向。」史華慈（Benjamin Schwartz， 1916-1999）亦嘗認為唐宋以來所興起的新儒學的領袖們都極為認真地致力回復原初的願景，並使其在當下給予其實現。正是因為原先曾經存在過的美好願景之傾毀或對理想價值系統之背離，方促使宋代儒者致力將其「恢復」或「回歸」，從而產生了對中國學術文化影響深遠的宋代儒學復興運動。本文試圖用「返本論」一詞來指稱這類返回原本理想狀態或價值系統的種種理論企圖與學思努力。 在宋代儒學之復興運動中，上承中唐韓愈（768-824），下啟宋代新學風的歐陽修（1007-1072）之作為與貢獻是極值得注意的。他一生的學術成就與特色適與其儒學返本論有著密不可分的關係，他不但在儒學研究中自覺地展現「返本論式」的思維方式，而且也將其具體地運用在儒學的探索活動中，包括在經典考辨與詮釋層面上之表現及對儒學返本論的實質內容與其社會文化意蘊之思考等。本文就分別從這三個層面對其儒學返本論展開深入的分析與探索。

Lao Sze-kwang(1927-) tried to observe all aspects of the renaissance of Sung Confucianism and he stated, “This movement possessed a fundamental aim, that was to return to the original direction of Pre-Qin Confucianism.” Benjamin Schwartz(1916-1999) also considered that the leaders of Neo-Confucianism beginning with the Tang and Sung dynasties all strove to restore the original vision and to implement it. The choice between the destruction of the glorious vision that once existed or the deviation from the ideal system of values is precisely why Sung Confucianists made the effort to ‘restore’ it or ‘return to’ it. This generated the renaissance of Sung Confucianism, which profoundly affected Chinese scholarship and culture. This paper uses the word, ‘fundamentalism’, to indicate various theoretical attempts and scholarly efforts to return to the original state of ideals or the system of values. During the renaissance of Sung Confucianism, as the one person who served as a link between Han Yu and new academic current of the Sung, Ou-yang Hsiu’s (1007-1072) deeds and contributions are highly significant. There is an intimate relation between his academic achievements and his Confucian fundamentalism. He was able not only to present the fundamentalist way of thinking consciously in his Confucian research, but to apply it specifically to the research activities of Confucianism as well. This included the textual research, interpretation of Classics, and deliberation on the substance and the socio-cultural significance of Confucian fundamentalism. This paper analyzes and explores in depth how Ou-yang Hsiu’s Confucian fundamentalism unfolded from these three aspects.