Abstract: After the Ming-Qing dynastic transition,some unofficial scholars switched their academic camp from the Yangming school to Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism.This paper argues that some officials in the early Qing Dynasty absorbed the quintessence of non-governmental Neo-Confucian learning through their scholarly or social contacts,and then introduced it inside and outside the court and official circles.Through memorial communication and classic lectures to the Emperor Kangxi,Wei Yijie,Xiong Cilv and other officials guided the Emperor Kangxi's favor for the Confucian learning to the Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism,and made it Confucian orthodoxy.Consequently,the court's cultural cultivation shifted from the ritual performance like Confucian worshiping ceremony to a more practical emphasis on the Dao.The Neo-Confucian scholars in the early Qing Dynasty generally strived for practice as well as “stayed humble and reverence”,and probed into Neo-Confucian principle.However,the Emperor Kangxi's interpretation emphasized more on its “statecraft” and “loyalty”.Hence,the court's Confucianism and its orthodoxy were only a matter of cultural policy,but not a scholarly faith.Moreover,the contemporary interpretation of the Confucian orthodoxy was completely dominated by the imperial court in the post mid-Kangxi period.As the court turned its emphasis of Confucian learning to the Dao,which was merged with the statecraft,this reflected the process of the court's acceptation and differentiation of unofficial scholars' perceptions.

Key words: Neo-Confucianism in the early Qing Dynasty, Neo-Confucian officials, unofficial scholars, the Emperor Kangxi, Confucian orthodoxy