Search Results (8)

By reconstructing the concept of the “Mandate of Heaven”, the Zisi School grounded the universality of Confucian ethics in the ontological stipulations of Heaven’s Way, bridging the intellectual gap between Confucius’s practical ethics and Mencius’s theory of mind-nature. Central to their framework is the proposition that “Heaven’s mold imparts form to mankind; and imparts inherent pattern to objects”, which constructs a generative chain from the Mandate of Heaven to the nature of objects and human nature. The School posited that the Heavenly Way endows all objects with inherent patterns, while human nature, derived from the Mandate of Heaven, harbors latent moral potential activated through edification. By dialectically reconciling the “differentiation between Heaven and humans” with the “unity of Heaven and humanity”, the Zisi School emphasized both the transcendent authority of the Mandate of Heaven and human moral agency, forming an “immanent yet transcendent” ethical paradigm. However, theoretical limitations persist, including ambiguities in the certainty of innate goodness due to the separation of Heaven and human nature, mind-body dualism that risks formalizing moral practice, and latent fatalism in their concept of mandate. Despite these unresolved tensions, the Zisi School’s metaphysics laid the groundwork for Mencius’s theory of innate goodness, Xunzi’s legalist emphasis on ritual, and Song-Ming Neo-Confucian discourses on “Heaven’s inherent pattern”. As a pivotal transitional phase in Pre-Qin Confucianism, the Zisi School highlights the interplay between metaphysical grounding and pragmatic adaptability, underscoring the enduring dynamism of Confucian ethics. Full article

This paper challenges the conventional view that pre-Qin Confucianism represents kingly virtue politics that lacks institutional duty. By interpreting Xunzi’s notion of yi 義, particularly gong-yi 公義, as a form of public obligation, I show that Xunzi exposes yi to state institutions to oblige people to serve public ends. While institutional duty is often associated with post-Enlightenment political philosophy, this paper argues that Xunzi’s philosophy offers a comparable framework of public–private exchange. Xunzi’s gong-yi may be a public-servicing sense of duty that combines moral and civic dimensions, compelling individuals to cooperate for the collective good. Unlike social contract theories that trade private rights with public duties, Xunzi’s system relies on moral compulsion and normative reciprocity. This system posits a sensible exchange between individual duties from inner compulsion for the public good. By contrasting gong 公 (the public) with si 私 (the private), Xunzi envisions the public as an entity that is serviced through public duties and a place for human flourishing. Positioning the role of gong-yi in Xunzi’s broader institutional project crystalizes this nascent concept of a “public” and its relationships with civic duties. Full article

By examining the evolution of pre-Qin Confucian thought on the Heaven–human relationship, and a new interpretive perspective can be applied to understanding ethical relations within pre-Qin Confucianism. In the pre-Classical period, the absence of scientific explanations for human origins shrouded these origins in mysticism, leading to practices such as totem worship, ancestor worship, and the worship of Heaven. However, through continuous exploration of the Heaven–human relationship, pre-Qin Confucians began to liberate human rights from divine authority, highlighting a profound sense of humanism. In light of this transformation, this paper aims to address three key questions: first, what distinctions did pre-Qin Confucians draw between humans and animals, and how did they emphasize individual human value? Second, how did pre-Qin Confucians transform ancestor worship through the traditions of Li and Yue? Third, how did the focus of pre-Qin Confucians shift from Heaven back to humanity? These three research areas are crucial for analyzing how the ethical relations of pre-Qin Confucianism closely integrated with political order. This exploration not only illuminates the philosophical evolution of the period but also offers a deeper understanding of how early Confucianism laid the groundwork for the interplay between personal value and societal responsibilities. Full article

Both pre-Qin Confucianism and Mohism aimed to find a universalist consensus of belief in order to deal with social chaos and disunity, but they diverged at a basic level on what is the fundamental universality of humankind and how to achieve it. In the debate between Mencius and Mohists, Mohists believed that the fundamental “similarity” of humankind lies in the field of “self-interest”, so they emphasized the acquisition of Heaven’s favor through external achievements and sacrificial offerings. On the contrary, Mencius took the fundamental similarity of humans to the level of the inner heart-mind and believed that the fundamental “sameness” of humans lies in their “heart-mind” rather than in being “self-interested”, so he advocated the connection with the heavenly part within us when we follow the guidance of the heart-mind. Their differing interpretations of the fundamental question of “the similarity of humankind” ultimately resulted in the divergences and discrepancies between two religious ethical forms and their outcomes in early China. Full article

The thought of rule by virtue in ancient China holds a significant role in Chinese ideological history. Because of the similarity in nature and authority, morality in ancient China played a similar role to religion in Western countries. The Confucian rule by virtue thought in the pre-Qin dynasty profoundly influenced subsequent generations. During the pre-Qin period, Confucian rule by virtue thought evolved—from personal cultivation to statecraft, integrating law and ritual. Concepts of rule by rite, rule by man, and rule by virtue intertwined with the legal philosophies of Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi. Confucian moral governance focuses on human values and life quality, retaining relevance today. Constrained by historical and social contexts, it had unique dilemma and unobservable limitations. In order to eliminate the ideological dilemma, a return to virtue and law while adhering strictly to their boundaries is a feasible path for the Confucian rule by virtue thought from the pre-Qin Dynasty to the modern era. Full article

From a semantic viewpoint, “Jing 敬” emphasizes an attitude of external respect and adherence to ritual propriety, whereas “Cheng 诚” signifies the true alignment between one’s internal attitudes and external actions. An exploration of “Jing” and “Cheng” in The Analects, The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, and The Works of Mencius from a linguistic perspective reveals the following: In the ethical system of The Analects, “Jing” represents an attitude towards others, and “Cheng” is rarely mentioned, with personal morality anchored in the social order; in The Great Learning and The Doctrine of the Mean, “Jing” is seldom discussed, while “Cheng” is emphasized as a requirement for individuals, highlighting the intrinsic nature and spontaneity of personal morality; The Works of Mencius, while inheriting Confucius’s concepts, also adopts the ideas from The Great Learning and The Doctrine of the Mean and reinterprets “Jing” internally, achieving a unity between personal morality and social ethics. The shift from “Jing” to “Cheng” and the reinterpretation of “Jing” reflect the concentrated embodiment of the internal reconstruction of the Pre-Qin Confucian ethical system. Full article

The concept of wen 文 has multiple meanings, but it plays an exceptionally important role in the development of Confucianism and Chinese philosophical terms. Pre-Qin Confucianism 先秦儒学 and Song Confucianism (Song dynasty Neo-Confucians 宋代儒学/宋代新儒家) are two important representatives in the history of Confucianism. Confucius has insisted that although the heaven is not going to destroy wen, wen must exist in everyone’s xing 性, and only when placed within a community can it develop. In Pre-Qin Confucianism, wen completed the transformation from the long established social political structure of the Zhou dynasty and its corresponding moral principles to the consciousness of consummate conduct and ritual propriety based on human instinct and humanistic rationality. Song dynasty Neo-Confucians inherited this Confucian mission and developed the spirit of wen in their period. They emphasized the necessity of learning classics and then writing articles to get closer to the heart-mind of sages and then to build a cultural community together. Both Pre-Qin Confucianism and Song Confucianism have been applying their viewpoints to achieve a community, which is “this culture of ours” 斯文. Full article

This study delves into the Pre-Qin Confucian understanding of “ren 人” (human beings), focusing on the tripartite dimensions of “shen 身” (body), “qing 情” (sentiment), and “xin 心” (mind) as viewed through the lens of “li 礼” (ritual). By analyzing the works of Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi, and other significant early texts, we unravel how these early Confucian philosophers reconceptualized human beings within the framework of “li 礼” (ritual). In doing so, they presented a novel perspective on the human experience that emphasized the interconnectedness of these three dimensions, transforming the way people thought about themselves and their place in the world. This research illuminates the unique contributions of Pre-Qin Confucianism to the understanding of human beings and provides valuable insights into the philosophical breakthroughs of this period in Chinese thought. Furthermore, this understanding of human beings persisted throughout the subsequent imperial history of China. Full article