The Ren Theory in Neo-Confucianism: The Birth of a New Philosophy of Life

Title

The Ren Theory in Neo-Confucianism: The Birth of a New Philosophy of Life

Author

Rur-bin YANG

Page

29-63

DOI

Abstract

"Ren" is not only the core of Lunyu, but also the kernel of Confucianism. It's in the Lunyu that "Ren" became a important concept in Confucianism. Since Confucius didn't confer "Ren" an explicit definition, "Ren" could be seen as a collective name for all virtues. When Neo-Confucianism arose, the meaning of "Ren" changed rapidly. Its meaning was defined as "giving-birth-to"（生）and that was the main discourse in the tradition of Neo-Confucianism. This article, centering on Cheng Ming-dao and Zhu Xi, points out that the Ren theory in Neo- Confucianism presupposed the standpoint of body-chi subject （形氣主體）. Furthermore, the Ren theory presupposed the continuity between the creation of nature and the creation of morality. By selecting three keywords— "giving-birthto"（生）, ability（能） and perception（感）— from the documents of Neo-Confucianism, this article seeks to re-explain the ground of the Ren theory—which tried to demonstrate the continuity between the Tao and human nature—from the viewpoint of the theory of the embodiment of the body-chi subject.

Keyword

giving-birth-to, ability, perception, Ren theory, body-chi subject

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