Influence of Interaction: A Study of Zhu Xi’s Reading of the Taijitu Shuo and the Tongshu

Zhu Xi, as a great leader of Neo-Confucianism, established the succession of the Way and raised Zhou Dunyi to the position of successor of Mencius. Zhu Xi drew attention to Zhou’s thought and wrote a commentary on his Taijitu Shuo 太極圖說 (Discussion of the Taiji Diagram) and Tongshu 通書 (Penetrating the Scripture of Change). During the process of annotating these two works, Zhu discussed the texts with scholars such as Li Tong, Lü Zuqian, Zhang Shi, and Lu Jiuyuan to improve his annotation. The suggestions from other scholars affected Zhu’s explanation of Zhou’s works. This essay studies the interaction between Zhu and his friends and attempts to explain how Zhu’s commentaries on the Taijitu Shuo and Tongshu were affected by other scholars’ suggestions.     

The spirit of the school of principles in Zhu Xi’s discussion of “Dreams”—And on “Confucius did not Dream of Duke Zhou”

Dreams were a topic of study even in ancient times, and they are a special spiritual phenomenon. Generations of literati have defined the meaning of dreams in their own way, while Zhu Xi was perhaps the most outstanding one among them. He made profound explanations of dreams from aspects such as the relationship between dreams and the principles li and qi, the relationship between dreams and the state of the heart, and the relationship between dreams and an individual’s moral improvement. He summarized previous generations’ understanding of dreams and infused a new dimension from the School of Principles, pointing out a direction for individuals’ moral cultivation and spiritual pursuit. Zhu Xi also examined the opinions of Zhang Zai, Cheng Yi, Hu Hong and other thinkers on Confucius not dreaming of Duke Zhou in his later years, revealing differences between thinkers in the School of Principles. An analysis of Zhu Xi’s thoughts on dreams will provide deeper insight into the research on the School of Principles.     

Between Virtues and Blessings: A Discussion on Zhang Jiucheng’s Thoughts

As an important thinker in the early South Song dynasty, Zhang Jiucheng differed in his thinking from the School of Principles of the Song and Ming dynasties, which was the mainstream at that time, and was thus excluded by Zhu Xi and his followers. The relation between virtues and blessings was a characteristic part of Zhang’s thought. By analyzing concepts like Heavenly mandates, virtues, blessings, luckiness and unluckiness in Zhang’s thought, this essay re-defines the complicated but manifest relations between virtues and blessings; clarifies the trajectory of Zhang’s thoughts on Heavenly mandates, virtues, and blessings; and displays the efforts of the Neo-Confucians of the Song dynasties to stress the value of human nature in the tension between Heavenly mandates and virtues.     

浅谈栗谷的四端七情论

关于“四端七情”的问题在中国儒学尤其是朱熹哲学的心性论方面占有核心的位置 ,但并没有被朱熹以后的性理学者们继续关注 ,却得到韩国朝鲜王朝 ( 1 392— 1 91 0年 )的性理学者们的吸收及发挥。退溪与栗谷并称为韩国性理学的双璧 ,虽然他们都受到朱熹哲学的影响 ,不过在朱熹哲学的基础之上两位学者都建立了自己独特的哲学体系。栗谷的“四端七情说”在理气之妙、理通气局、气发理乘等理气论的基础上发挥了朱子学 ,他反对退溪理气互发的观点 ,对朱熹哲学作出了自己的理解和诠释     

Inquiry into the transcendence of Tang dynasty Confucians to Han dynasty Confucians and the transformation of traditional Confucianism in terms of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lunyu Bijie</Emphasis>

Neo-Confucianism of the Han and Tang dynasties is an indispensable part of the history of Chinese philosophy. From Han dynasty Confucians to Tang dynasty Confucians, the study of Confucian classics evolved progressively from textual research to conceptual explanation. A significant sign of this transformation is the book Lunyu Bijie 论语笔解 (A Written Explanation of the Analects), co-authored by Han Yu and Li Ao. Making use of the tremendous room for interpretation within the Analects, the book studied and reorganized the relationship between “the study of literature” and “the Dao and principles.” It clearly shows an inevitable development of Confucianism, shifting its focus from phenomena to the nature of the heart-mind in order to comprehend nature and heavenly Dao, both of which “cannot be heard (from Confucius).”     

A preliminary discussion of Dai Zhen’s philosophy of language

Dai Zhen’s philosophy of language took the opportunity of a transition in Chinese philosophy to develop a form of humanist positivism, which was different from both the Song and Ming dynasties’ School of Principles and the early Qing dynasty’s philosophical forms. His philosophy of language had four primary manifestations: (1) It differentiated between “names pointing at entities and real events” and “names describing summum bonum and perfection”; (2) In discussing the metaphysical issue of “the Dao,” it was the first to introduce a syntax analysis of linguistics, clearly differentiating between the different roles of predicate verbs “zhi wei” and “wei zhi” in Classical Chinese; (3) In criticizing Confucian thought during the Song and Ming dynasties, it adopted specific philological skills such as the analysis of phraseology, the meaning of sentences and the thread of words in texts; and (4) It re-interpreted the meaning of Confucian classics by studying characters and language, adopting a positivist and philological manner to seek metaphysical sense in philosophy. In this way, his philosophy was different from the scholars of the School of Principles during the Song and Ming dynasties and from the goal of Western linguistic philosophy in the 20^th century, which refuted metaphysics. Accordingly, it helped to develop 18^th century Chinese philosophy as it turned towards linguistic philology.     

宋代理学家的犯罪心理学思想研究

以二程和朱熹为代表的理学家的犯罪心理学思想比较丰富,对后世的犯罪心理学思想的发展具有重要影响。这里,我们拟从人性与犯罪、人欲与犯罪、刑罚与教化等三个方面对宋代理学家的犯罪心理学思想作一些初步探讨。     

朱熹"太极"观对前人的超越

宋代以前的易学中,“太极”一般被解释为“气”或“元气”;亦或被释为虚无实体．而宋代朱熹对“太极”进行了新的阐释,超越了前人的“太极”观,通过阐释“太极”,确立了理本体论,完成了理学派的本体论的体系．     

《孟子》对戴震《原善》的影响

《孟子》在义理和话语两方面深深影响到戴震的《原善》。戴震将《易传》的“继善成性”与孟子的性善论区别为两个问题,前者是泛论,后者专论人性。受孟子断言“天之生物使之一本”的鼓舞,戴震严厉批评宋儒所谓性分义理、气质两种的学说犯了“二本”的错误。《原善》关于心的论述,关于“仁义礼智圣”和“条理”话语的使用,都鲜明表现出《孟子》的启发和影响。     

朱陆“心学”及其异同的几点观察

朱熹尽管批陆为禅,其学亦吸收了佛禅的“明心见性”思想。陆九渊虽自谓“心即理”之说得自孟子,实亦受到程朱影响。要之,二人都讲道德本心,分歧只在“尊德性”与“道问学”的关系上。朱子强调二者相辅相成,实则在“道问学”上用力较勤。象山强调“先立乎其大”“发明本心”,但亦未尽废“道问学”。朱批评陆自信太过,陆则以朱为支离。然而正是这些差异,使得朱陆之学得以相辅而互补。     

言·意·理——朱熹的《四书》诠释方法:语言——文献

《四书》是先秦的历史文本 ,理学是两宋的时代思潮 ,它们之间存在着历史时代的差异。朱熹将《四书》诠释过程规定为 :先达之言→圣人之意→天地之理 ,就是希望通过“语言———文献”的诠释方法 ,来解决《四书》诠释中历史性与时代性的差别问题。朱熹的《四书》学诠释获得了巨大的成功 ,这不仅是由于他的理学适应了两宋以后思想文化变革发展的时代性需要 ,同时也因为他的《四书》学重新发现了那已经失传的儒学学统。     

Disputes over Philosophical Views in the First Half of the Twentieth Century and Development of Contemporary Chinese Philosophy

To explore the development of contemporary Chinese philosophy, fundamentally, is to explore the development of Marxist philosophy in contemporary China. The disputes over philosophical views in Chinese academic circles during the first half of the twentieth century have been focused on understanding Marxist philosophy from such aspects as “what kind of philosophy Chinese society needs,” “the relation of philosophy to science,” and “philosophy as an idea to reflect on one’s life.” These explorations have provided us a significant ideological insight into the development of Marxist philosophy and contemporary Chinese philosophy; that is, in contemporary China, Marxist philosophy, as a doctrine of the liberation and all-round development of human beings, exists not only as a kind of “doctrine” or “academy” but also as a kind of widely accepted “xueyuan (academic cultivations)” among people. Translated by Zhao Zhiyi from Jourmal of Jilin University (Social Sciences), 2005:1     

广义论证视域下朱熹论辩逻辑体系的考察

近年来,广义论证视域下的中国古代逻辑史研究成为学界关注的热点,在丰硕的研究成果中,仍存在“怎样深化”与“如何拓展”等问题。在广义论证视域下对朱熹论辩逻辑体系进行考察,一方面可以打破以往研究主要集中在先秦时期的囿限,进一步拓展其研究范围;另一方面也可以在逻辑体系的构建中深化中国古代逻辑研究。从广义论证角度看,朱熹的逻辑是“名义界分”“知言穷理”等说理论证规则的集合,基于上述逻辑,朱熹同陆九渊、张栻等人围绕“太极”“仁说”等进行论辩实践,逐步建立起以名、辞理论为基础的“名、辞–辩”的逻辑体系。上述体系对后世影响深远。从广义论证角度考察朱熹论辩逻辑体系,对新时期回应如何做“中国古代逻辑”具有启发意义。     

道学话语的形成、发展与转折——以宋代"定性说"的展开为中心

The formation of the discourse of Neo-Confucianism¹ in the Song period was a result of the interactions between many social and cultural trends. In the development of the Neo-Confucian discourse, the Cheng brothers (Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi) played key roles with their charismatic thoughts and impelling personalities, while Zhu Xi pushed Neo-Confucian thought and discourse to a pinnacle with his broad knowledge and precise reasoning. In the warm discussions and debates between different schools and thoughts, the Neo-Confucian discourse proceeded towards completion and perfection, and evolved as contemporary topics and thinking modes changed. The essay argues that “ding xing 定性 (stilling the nature)” was an important Neo-Confucian topic during the Song period. The doctrine of “stilling the nature” involves much central Neo-Confucian discourse such as the definition of xing 性 (human nature), the interior and exterior aspects of human nature, nature and qing 情 (feelings, sentiments), nature and xin 心 (mind, heart), nature and ren 仁 (benevolence, humanity, humaneness) and yi 义 (righteousness), nature and shi 事 (affair) or wu 物 (thing, object), the practice of preservation and cultivation, etc. Therefore, an examination of the formation, development and evolution of Neo-Confucianism is of great importance to the study of its early history. __________ Translated by Liu Huawei from Zhexue yanjiu 哲学研究 (Philosophical Researches), 2008, (1): 47–55     

论周敦颐《太极图说》的道家学脉关系——兼论濂溪的道家生活情趣

<正>一、前言周敦颐继承了隋唐五代以来儒释道三教融合的开阔学风。从他的人生历程来看,他既有儒家入仕传统的一面,也有由庄子所开启的文人传统的一面。①作为一位由士入仕的儒者,周敦颐支持范仲淹     

Contemporary Chinese studies of Zhuzi in Mainland China

Z{uphu} Xi (1130–1200) was one of the most influential philosophers in the history of Chinese philosophy. From the beginning of the fourteenth century until 1905, when the examination system was abolished, his and C{upheng} Yi’s interpretations of the Confucian Classics were regarded as orthodox and served as the basis of civil service examinations and intellectual standards for the Chinese literati. His influence was not limited to China, as his thoughts became orthodoxy in Korea and in some important schools of thought in Japan (see Chan). Because of his great contribution to culture, Z{uphu} Xi has been honored as Zhuzi or Z{uphu} Fuzi. This paper will review contemporary Chinese studies of Zhuzi, particularly of his philosophy, that have been conducted in mainland China since 1980.     

Mou Zongsan and Tang Junyi on Zhang Zai��s and Wang Fuzhi��s Philosophies of Qi: A Critical Reflection

As the founders of Contemporary Neo-Confucianism, Mou Zongsan and Tang Junyi developed different interpretations of Zhang Zai’s and Wang Fuzhi’s philosophies of qi. In this essay, both the strength and weakness of their interpretations will be critically examined. As a contrast, an alternative interpretation of the School of qi in Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism will be outlined. This new interpretation will uncover that, like Leibniz, Zhang Zai and Wang Fuzhi introduced a non-substantivalist approach in natural philosophy in terms of an innovative concept of force. This interpretation not only helps to show the limitations of Mou Zongsan’s and Tang Junyi’s understandings of Zhang Zai’s and Wang Fuzhi’s doctrines of qi, but also indicates a way to bridge the traditional Chinese philosophy of nature and modern physics. More generally, our critical discussions will bring to light a new angle with which to re-appreciate Mou Zongsan’s and Tang Junyi’s contributions to the development of Confucianism.     

Are animals moral?: Zhu Xi and Jeong Yakyong’s views on nonhuman animals

One significant feature of Jeong Yakyong’s丁若鏞 (1762–1836) thought is his deconstruction of Zhu Xi’s 朱熹 (1130–1200) moral universe based on li 理 and qi 氣. For Zhu Xi, the world in its entirety was a moral place, but Jeong Yakyong distinguished nonmoral domains from the moral domain. One question that follows in pursuing a comparison of their philosophies on this topic is what each thinker meant by ‘moral’ and, in particular, whether they meant the same thing. In this paper, I delve deeper into this topic by comparing their respective perspectives on whether nonhuman animals are moral. Interestingly, they held exactly opposite views: Zhu Xi believed that certain actions on the part of nonhuman animals manifest moral values, whereas Jeong Yakyong claimed that none of the actions of nonhuman animals has moral value. In comparing their views, I introduce Mark Rowlands’ distinction between ‘moral subjects’ and ‘moral agents.’     

Taking on proper appearance and putting it into practice: Two different systems of effort in Song and Ming Neo-Confucianism

Both “jianxing” 践形 (taking on proper appearance) and “jianxing” 践行 (putting into practice) were concepts coined by Confucians before the Qin Dynasty. They largely referred to similar things. But because the “Daxue” 大学 (“Great Learning”) was listed as one of the Sishu 四书 (The Four Books) during the Song Dynasty, different explanations and trends in terms of the “Great Learning” resulted in “taking on proper appearance” and “putting into practice” becoming two different systems of efforts. The former formed a vertical kind of representation and a complete system of practice by “developing the sincerity of intentions inside and taking on proper appearance and looks outside” in “shendu” 慎独 (self-discipline when alone) and “chengyi” 诚意 (developing the sincerity of intentions), and the latter developed into a horizontal system of practice through the interdependency of zhi 知 (knowing or knowledge) and xing 行 (doing or practice). The “interdependence between knowledge and practice” promoted by the Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi represented the vertical practice of moral understanding, while the “integration of knowing and doing” advocated by Wang Yangming represented using the way in “developing the sincerity of intentions” to adjust and transform the representation of the relationship between knowledge and practice. The ideas that were frequently stressed, such as “the same effort” and “naturally being so,” were all from “developing the sincerity of intentions” and “taking on proper appearance,” and they were all the representation of “really making intentions sincere.” In fact, the confusion over “the integration of knowing and doing” reflected the tension between two different systems and inconsistency in their thoughts.     

Moral Emotions,Awareness, and Spiritual Freedom in the Thought of Zhu Xi (1130–1200)

It is well known that the Neo-Confucian thinker Zhu Xi (1130–1200) particularly emphasizes the role of emotions in human life. This paper shows that the four ‘moral emotions’ (e.g. feelings like ‘compassion’ and ‘disdain’ as described in the Mencius) are central to Zhu's thinking, insofar as only their genuine actualization enables the individual to achieve spiritual freedom. Moreover, I discuss the crucial notions of ‘awareness’/‘perception’ (zhījué) and ‘knowledge’/‘wisdom’ (zhī), in order to reveal the complex dynamic that moral emotions are said to create in the moral agent. I also analyse two important passages from the Mencius (1A/7 and 2A/6) and examine how Zhu Xi, in his exegetical glosses, defines the conditions of virtuous agency as based on the moral emotions. Finally, I explain the reasons why Neo-Confucians like Zhu Xi have sometimes been described as Kantian thinkers avant la lettre.