School (Cotrism)

A school (Yen: 宗) is a broad doctrinal division and denomination of Cotrism. In contrast to the sect, a school is not governed by formal authority or even a specifically organized movement, and is distinguished based almost entirely on differences in approach to a major field of Cotric theology. It is typically in practice a cluster of different sects sharing some sort of broad doctrinal consensus. Today most sects part of the same school can trace origins to a single sect where the main ideas and approaches of that school was formulated. It is comparable to the madhhab in Irsad.

The centralization of doctrinal authority under the Preceptor in Cotric history has made existence of different denominations very rare, and those that did emerge during the Preceptorial period were minor, temporary, or heretical. It was not until the Schismatic Wars of the 16th century did major theological deviation occur in the different self-proclaimed Preceptor-Empires to strengthen their own legitimacy. The detachment of northeastern Yen from the southern political center due to rule by Tangkuo served to bolster the development of different schools. By the fragmentation of the Hong dynasty, a number of different schools each competed for a following in the Cotric world, and soon district-state politics of the various East Cataian states led to the co-option of and identification with a school's teachings as state policy.

Weishan school

• Main school of the northeast, emphasizes the codes and customs formed by the collective Cotric community in its history

Yoon school

• Emphasizes the classics followed by the Sage and then his disciples

Mingdak school

• Emphasizes the classics, the Sage, the disciples, and the consensus of early ideal Cotric society
• conservative and establishment-like, Confucian

Lionyong school

• Like the Mingdak school, consensus and opinion of an early ideal Cotric society is favored, but they disagree on which one it is
• More legalist
• Qyred's main school

Noigok school

• "Inner Awakening" - emphasis on the internal, the soul
• rejects identification of the Sage and the disciples as anyone else other than examples and the classics as manuals

Jingdao School

• Emerged from Noigok during the war of the preceptors
• Dominant school in Yunlin
• Sometimes considered heretical

Ju school

• Mohists
• based on an intuitive reasoning of the Tao, which justifies meritocracy, impartial love, etc.
• material, external-focused