Form-Quality and Body-Function:A Reflection on the Study of Zhu Zi's Philosophy of Li Qi
In recent years,the study of new Confucianism's theory of mind and nature in Hong Kong and Taiwan has gradually declined,and scholars there have begun to attach importance to the"anti-rationalism trend of thought"in East Asian Confucianism,that is the"qi theory".But in fact,at the beginning of the establishment of Confucianism in the Song Dynasty,discussions about"qi","qi bing","qi zhi",and"qi zhi zhi xing"occupied half of the debate.Through investigating the research of Feng Youlan,Qian Mu,Mou Zongsan,Zhang Dongsun,Tang Junyi,Chen Lai,Yang Rubin,Yang Lihua and other scholars on Neo-Confucianism of Song and Ming Dynasties,especially Zhu Xi's philosophy of li and qi,this article points out that the understanding Zhu Xi's theory of the relationship between li and qi,especially his theory of qi,should not stay at the level of form and quality,but should go deep into the level of body and function.
Zhu Zili qi theorytheory of form and qualitytheory of body and functionFeng YoulanMou Zongsan