「儒」源於西周從事教育的職官「師儒」。早期儒家之「師」，既可能是傳道之「師」(孟子)，也可能是為治之「師」(荀子)。漢儒繼承荀子為治之「師」傳統，其「師法」旨在以經義法度為漢朝禮法制度提供經學依據與學術論證。唐宋之際發生了政治、文化的變革，儒家士大夫通過復興孟子師道精神，而重新確立自己在政教體系中的主體地位。宋儒以師道自居的責任擔當，表達了他們在文化領域、政治領域的主體意識。宋儒師道精神的形成，體現出儒家與帝國政治合作的另一種形態。

The term “Ru” (儒) has its origin in the pedagogues of the Western Zhou who were known as “Ru masters” (師儒). In early Ruism, the term “master” could refer either to “masters” qua transmitters of the Way (as for Mencius) or to “masters” qua agents of governance (as for Xunzi). The Han Ruists inherited this Xunzian tradition of “masters” qua agents of governance, and their “masterly method” (師法) was dependent upon the system of court-official academia, and was intended to provide scholarly justification and canonical precedents on the basis of the principles and legal systems of the Ruist canon, wherewith to undergird the ritual and legal institutions of the Han court. During the Tang-Song transformations, however, Ruists redefined their historical position within the traditional politico-didactic landscape, and via a revival of the spirit of the Mencian “masterly way” (師道), stood up for a sense of identity-consciousness amongst the scholar-official class. Taking themselves to be proponents of this masterly Way, the Song Ruists were thereby inspired to a spirit of bold undertaking, which further strengthened their position as a collective within the political and cultural realms. The formation of this spirit of the masterly Way embodies a different form of collaboration between Ruism and imperial politics.