Lu Shiyi's Interpretation of Physical Nature in the Early Qing Dynasty:Concurrently Discuss His Inheritance and Development of Zhu Xi's Humanity Thought

Title

Lu Shiyi's Interpretation of Physical Nature in the Early Qing Dynasty:Concurrently Discuss His Inheritance and Development of Zhu Xi's Humanity Thought

Author

Zu-sheng SHEN

Page

1-36

DOI

10.6163/TJEAS.202112_18(2).0001

Abstract

In the context of the dematerialization of Li during Yuan and Ming Dynasty, Neo Confucianism began to acknowledge Qi monism, which has deviated from Zhu Xi's theory of Li Qi. In addition, the monism of human nature was widely accepted, which has brought challenge to Zhu Xi's theory of human nature. In the face of different arguments, how to re-explain the proposition of human nature under the premise of inheriting and developing Zhu Xi's theory had become a major concern of Lu Shiyi. Lu Shiyi inherited Cheng Zhu's definition of the category of human nature and fate, but no longer insisted on Zhu Xi's traditional saying of humanity. He began to advocate the monism of human nature theory. The connotation of Lu Shiyi's physical nature is significantly different from other Confucian in the same period. He still defended the substantiality of Li which didn't regard Li as dominated by Qi. Besides, Lu Shiyi advocated that the concept of human nature will be achieved only when Li and Qi are properly formed into combination. His conception of good nature of man discusses the possibility of moral consciousness that meshes well with Mencius's theory of nature-good. Lu Shiyi tried to distinguish the conception of good nature of man from the conception of mandate of heaven by locating the fulfillment of the goodness of human heart in the place of human nature instead of mandate of heaven level. It makes the problem which Confucian scholars of the Song dynasty do not pay attention to solved. In highlighting moral principles and its principal characteristics, Lu Shiyi made an improvement on the issue of moral subjectivity in the discourse of Confucianism.

Keyword

Lu Shiyi, Physical Nature, The Goodness of Fatality, Good Nature

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