Abstract:
The relationship between ration and Qi is the core of Zhu Xi’s philosophy and also the key subject of Neo-Confucianism in the Song and the Ming Dynasty. However, Zhu Xi experienced a rather complicated process to form his theory of ration and Qi, which cost nearly the whole of his life. Roughly speaking, this process started from Li Yanping’s instructions he received, and went on by selecting from different classics of The Great Learning and The Golden Mean of the Confucian School. The transition from the old vision to the new vision of “neutralization” indicated the preliminary formation of Zhu’s vision of cosmology. His debate with Zhang Shi on “the theory of benevolence” signaled both a foundation laid for the system of his theory and the finalization of his double perspective of ration and Qi.
