The Song Dynasty was a critical stage for the fluctuation and reconstruction of Confucius's status. After the chaos of the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, Confucianism was on the brink of collapse in the general understanding of early Song society, and the social status of Confucius, as the sage of Confucianism, fell along with the decline of Confucianism. Meanwhile, there was a continuous rise in the secular cognition of Buddhism and of the status its figures. During the Southern Song period, Confucius's status continued to decline, while the effect of Buddhism went far beyond it. In the social life, many architectures dedicated to Confucius were in disrepair, and the ceremonies for worshiping Confucius were often neglected and abandoned for years, and in art forms such as painting and sculpture, Confucius's status was challenged by the figures of Taoism and Buddhism. There were even actors who portrayed Confucius in plays. Both Confucius's intangible thoughts and his tangible statues faced the dilemma of losing their original reliance and status. In order to restore the status of Confucius and the authority of Confucianism, literati and officialdom of the Song Dynasty made unremitting efforts. For example, Wang Anshi achieved great innovation and surpassed the sages in Confucianism and could be compared to Confucius and Mencius; the Cheng brothers established the "Luo School" based on the wisdom of Confucius and Mencius, and spread it through subsequent generations. The evolution of Confucianism was culminated by Zhu Xi in the Southern Song Dynasty, whom developed the Neo-Confucianism into a comprehensive ideological system known as the "Li School", which equaled the contribution of Confucius. Confucians also used academies and county schools to elevate Confucius's status and compete with Buddhism and Taoism for survival space. Emperor Lizong of the Southern Song Dynasty officially elevated "Neo-Confucianism" to the orthodox position of official learning, while also being enthusiastic of Buddhism, which marked an important shift in the cognitive shift between Confucianism and Buddhism. Many scholars also favored equal emphasis on Confucianism and Buddhism, and respect all the three religions. Subsequently, the long-standing trend of imbalance in the development of Confucianism and Buddhism underwent significant changes, and the status of Confucianism and Buddhism was readjusted and reestablished, and both moved towards a balanced development trend, which made the status of Confucius rise again, and once again laid an unshakable status for Confucius and his doctrine in later generations.