Title

Chu Hsi’s Interpretation of Mencius’ Concpets of Yen and Ch’i: a Historical Perspective  

Author

Chun-chieh Huang 

Genre

Article  

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Abstract

    This paper is an attempt at an analysis of Chu Hsi’s interpretation of the Mencius II: A.2 with special reference to Mencius’ concept of “theories” (yen 言) and ch’i (氣). Mencius II: A.2 articulated his theory on the interaction between self and society, the inseparability between body and mind, and the inter-subjectivity between the natural and human worlds. Chu hsi represented the Mencius II: A.2 in the intellectual perspective of the Great Learning as interpreted by Chu himself. It was Chu Hsi’s bifurcation of li (理) and ch’i (氣) that induced vehement attacks from Confucian scholars in China, Japan and Korea since the sixteenth century.