Abstract
Through examining the development of geomancy and the role which the elite played in it, this study aims to xplore the interactions between Confucianism and practical arts during the Song period. The foci of the discussion is on how these interactions impacted on Song geomancers’social status, on Confucian elite’s attitude toward geomantic knowledge, and on the alleged distinction between “Confucian learning”and “practical arts.”This study suggests that along with the increasingly intensive concern and involvement of the Song onfucian elite, geomancy gradually shook off such marginal status as “xiaodao 小道 (byway)”and “moyi 末藝(lesser art)” and became part of the prerequisite knowledge that Confucian elite had to possess. This shift manifested itself not only in the elite’s changing recognition, but also in their practical actions. Similarly, in order to attract elite clients’attention, geomantic experts endeavored to adjust their technical performance to elite cultural
preference, which in turn contributed to the changing judgment of the elite on them. The changes occurred in both elite and mantic circles and helped abridge the perceived social and cultural gap between them, and reshape their cultural characteristics. It is worth noting that the Song elite’s participation in and recognition of geomancy as well as other practical arts paved the way for their Yuan counterparts to undertake tasks in the related realms.