The Research on the Concept of“Yi”in Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism---Taking Chu-zih, Wang-Yang-Ming, and Liu-Ji-Shan as the Research Objects

• Main Authors: Hu-Chung Wang, 王和群
• Other Authors: Wen-Ping Lin
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2006
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/19119041653418574280

碩士 === 國立中興大學 === 中國文學系所 === 94 === The research goal of this dissertation is to take “Yi” as the starting point of spiritual activities to explore the differences of thought on ontology among Chu-zih, Wang-Yang-Ming, and Liu-Ji-Shan to make clear their disputes on the methodology. Through analyzing the connotation of “Yi” in the three people’s thought (including the nature of Yi, the function of Yi, and the good and evil of Yi), the Ch’eng-yi practice questions of “The Great Learning” entangling between Chu-zih and Wang-Yang-Ming, and Wang-Yang-Ming and Liu-Ji-Shan in the history of Neo-Confucianism can be solved. This part is the one that had not been touched upon in the past academic research, and this is the significance and value of this dissertation on the academic research. Because the three people had varied interpretation angles, therefore, there were entirely different developments on the self-cultivation of morals, and the practice of morals. Chu-zih took investigating things to be the moral practice method of “Yi,” because Yi is from the heart, it is not always good or bad. Only under the condition that “the heart has the moral principles inside” can it be good. Hence, we must take the respects to investigate things. Wang-Yang-Ming opposed to Chu-zih’s statement. He took “conscience” to be the moral code of “Yi,” and he insisted that the practice method of Yi should be “extending knowledge to the utmost,” not “investigating things.” Comparing to Chu-zih’s argument that Yi is from the heart, and we must take respects to practice in the daily life, Wang-Yang-Ming took conscience as the principle of Yi, made the concept of “Yi” not only have the meaning of noumenon, but also have the moral autonomy revealing from the noumenon. However, the good or evil feature of “Yi” is still the secret worry of moral practice. Therefore, Liu-Ji-Shan rebutted Wang-Yang-Ming’s argument of taking the conscience to be the representation and incarnating of Yi, and he elevated the concept of Yi to the metaphysical transcending level, taking “Yi” to be the master of the heart, and approving “Yi” to be the moral noumenon of the supreme good directly. Consequently, the method of moral practice is entirely on “Ch’eng-yi.” The status of “Yi” had been discussed constantly by the scholars of Neo-Confucianism, and the concept of “Yi” finally became the central thought of Liu-Ji-Shan to be from the matter of experiential level of concrete science to leap to be the moral noumenon of the heart, becoming the key that leads and guides our self-cultivation of morals, and the key of the success or failure of moral practice. What’s worthy to notice is that, for “Yi” in Liu-Ji-Shan’s thought, although the heart is the moral noumenon, we should not identify it with what Wang-Yang-Ming called conscience or what Chu-zih said about Tai-chi. In spite of the fact that Liu-Ji-Shan was not confusing the noumenon and the effect, but, from his viewpoint of emphasizing the noumenon is the effect, Yi still can not depart from the Chi activity. Therefore, what we can anticipate is that, if the concept of “Yi” in Liu-Ji-Shan’s theory does not hold the noumenon meaning, it will easily come down to the desire overflow of Chi activity. This point is the place that we should pay attention to when researching the moral question in the thought of Cing Dynasty, and this part can be the focal point of research afterward.