漢晉儒者心中的孔子（551-479B.C.），是一玄聖素王的形象，儒者由此一聖人理解出發而研讀五經，故著重探討經典中的微言大義，而其實踐場域則集中在人倫關係的建立與政治參與等面向上。佛教傳入中國後，提出內外二教的區分，並將儒家判為外教，孔子的聖人地位亦受到質疑。佛教提出了另一種實踐的思考，即以心性的證悟為主要實踐場域。宋代興起的理學，為了能在內教領域與佛教爭勝，開始對孔子的形象進行改造，通過尋孔顏樂處、觀聖賢氣象，以及四書的建構等方式，將孔子的形象由傳統的玄聖素王，轉變為無入而不自得的樂道者，至於實踐方式，則必須兼重心性的證顯與人倫日用的參與，方能合內外之道。此一孔子形象的建立，影響了近世儒者對儒家之道的理解，也改變了其對儒家經典的解讀方向，甚至讓近世儒者的實踐方式，與漢晉儒者相比，產生了明顯的變化。

From the perspective of Han Confucians, the image of Confucius (551-479 B.C.) was mainly that of a sacred king, who served to facilitate the understanding of the Five Classics. They emphasized the general implications of the Classics, linking practice to ethical conduct and political participation. Following Buddhism's introduction into China, its followers established a distinction between internal and external teachings, and designated Confucianism as an external teaching. As a result, the practice of promoting Confucius as sacred came to be doubted. Buddhists moreover claimed an alternative understanding of practice, which identified the realization of mind as the primary realm of practice. In an effort to establish itself as an internal teaching, Neo-Confucianism, which emerged in the Song dynasty and flourished thereafter, reinterpreted the image of Confucius from that of sacred king to ＂one who finds joy in the dao.＂ Under such circumstances, their practice focused on the realization of mind and the cultivation of ethical conduct in daily life. This alternative image of Confucius impacted the understanding of Confucian practice for subsequent generations of Confucians, changing the way they interpreted the Confucian classics, and even shifting their method of practice.