Interpretation of"Gu zhi xue zhe zi wei"(古之学者自为)in Zhongni Yue(仲尼曰)of the Anda Manuscripts
In academic circles,there are two interpretations of"zi wei"(自为)in"Gu zhi xue zhe zi wei"(古之学者自为),meaning"doing by oneself"and"doing for oneself"respectively."Doing by oneself"fails to con-trast itself with the following"wei ren"(为人),or make the past comply to the present in terms of speaking ways."Doing for oneself"shares the ultimate goal of achieving selfish interests with"wei ren"(为人),which deviates from Confucianism.However,"doing for oneself"includes not only the materialistic aspect of satisfying personal interests,but also the spiritual dimension of striving for moral fulfillment.Given Confucianism and the parallel mentioning of"zi wei"(自为)and"wei ren"(为人)in Zhongni Yue,"Gu zhi xue zhe zi wei"(古之学者自为)is likely to stand for moral fulfillment.Moreover,"zi wei"(自为)was more frequently used and discussed,and deemed as part of human nature in the Huang-Lao Thought prevalent during the Warring States period.Such a influence might have caused transcribers of Zhongni Yue to make mistakes about"zi wei"(自为)and"wei ji"(为己),which are similar in meaning.
Zhongni YueAnalects of Confucious"zi wei"(自为)"wei ji"(为己)Huang-Lao Thought
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