Sources of Neo-Confucian Thoughts on li in the Pre-Qin Period and Their Categorization Criteria
The implications and categorization criteria of"the principle(li)"in Neo-Confucian thoughts may primarily originate from the doctrines of pre-Qin scholars,rather than from the Taoism and Buddhism in the Tang and Song Dynasty as held by Dai Zhen.Research indicates that pre-Qin scholars have set precedents for later Neo-Confucians in their ways of approaching li.Firstly,in the"Wenyan,"li was taken as the law and rule,which was adopted by later Neo-Confucian scholars.Secondly,in the Family Sayings of Confucius(Kongzi jiayu),the Mengzi,the"Record of Music(Yueji),"and other pre-Qin texts,li was identified with human nature(xing)and the human heart(xin).It was also discussed in terms of rituals and human virtues.Later schools of thoughts represented by Zhang Zai,Cheng Yi,Zhu Xi,Lu Jiuyuan and Wang Yangming also argued along the same line,which gradually developed into the dominant way of thinking in Neo-Confucianism.Thirdly,pre-Qin literature like the Zhuangzi,the Xunzi and the Liezi,associated the dao with li.The Zhuangzi and the Liezi equated dao with li.Later,Yang Shi,Hu Hong,Zhang Shi,Zhu Xi,Lu Jiuyuan and others approached li in the same way.The Xunzi connected and equated dao and li,and added another dimension to li,i.e.ritual or rites.And thus Zhang Zai's interpretation of li came from the Xunzi and the Yueji.The Hanfeizi differentiated between dao and li,with the former superior to the latter,which was shared by Ye Shi,Chen Liang,and other members of the Eastern Zhejiang School.Fourthly,pre-Qin writings like the Kongzi jiayu,the Zhuangzi,the Xunzi,the Hanfeizi,the Guanzi,the Yanzi,and the Yueji made increasingly rigorous distinctions in the classification of the discourse on li,which can be seen as the source of some important Neo-Confucian thoughts like"fully investigating the pattern of things and events(qiongli)"and"one principle,many manifestations(liyi fenshu),"as well as the criteria for their categorization.Besides,categories like"heavenly principle(tian li),""innate laws of things(dao li),"and"human nature and principle(xing li)"that appeared in the Song-Yuan period were also based on pre-Qin literature.
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