Title

On the Theory of Duality and the Theory of Unification in Neo-Confucianism

Author

Yang Rur-bin

Genre

Article

Pages

249-302

DOI

10.6503/THJCS.202206_52(2).0002

Download

PDF

Language

Chinese

Key words

Ruan Yuan 阮元, the theory of duality, the theory of unification, body-qi subject, the theory of the substance of the dao, pantheism

Abstract

This paper re-expounds the theory of duality (xiang’ou lun 相偶論) and the theory of unification (yiti lun 一體論) from the standpoint of the Neo-Confucian theory of self-cultivation (gongfu lun 工夫論). The theory of duality is a moral theory proposed by Ruan Yuan 阮元 (1764-1849), who considered true morality as established in the ethical relationships between human beings. He moreover regarded the doctrine of principle and the nature (xingli shuo 性理說) as a product of Buddhism, and thus it was irrelevant to Confucianism. This article argues that the theory of duality needs to be enhanced in two ways.

First, in the context of anti-Neo-Confucianism, it must be aligned with the concept of the “body-qi subject;” the theory of duality cannot be based solely on social relations, but must also be rooted in the idea that the subject consciousness has an “inner other.” This viewpoint should be derived from the broader sense of the theory of duality represented by Dai Zhen 戴震 (1723-1777).

The second enhancement is tied to the theory of transcendence. From the perspective of the “body-qi subject” and the daoti lun 道體論, i.e. the congenital theory of material force, this article argues that the experience of embodying dao 道 has to be transformed and generated on the basis of “body-qi subject.” In this way, even at the highest level of moral cultivation, i.e. at the level of “innate subjectivity,” there is still a minimum amount of psycho-physical nature in the mind and body. The reason why the theory of unification cannot be separated from theory of duality is that moral subjectivity in Neo-Confucianism refers to the transcending ground of individuality; that is, it refers to both persons and objects.

Confucianism does not establish a “theory of identity” without the existence of qi 氣, nor does the concept of the “heaven-endowed nature” detach itself from the nature of qi as the basis of existence. If Neo-Confucianism is based on the mutual transformation of the theory of finite and infinite human nature, then the theory of unification and the theory of duality are paradoxically identical.