EMOTION IN PRE- RUIST MORAL THEORY: AN EXPLANATION OF " BEGINS IN QING"

Tang Yijie Departmentof Philosophy,Peking University Translatedby BrianBruya and Hai-mingWen Departmentof Philosophy,University of Hawai'i

There is a view that holds that Ruistsnever put much emphasis on qing '1l and that they even regardedit in a negative light. This is perhapsa misunderstanding,espe- cially in regardto pre-Qin Ruism. In the Guodian zi ming 'tsfi, the passage "dao begins in qing" (dao shi yu qing ^4f_'1 ) plays an importantrole in our understandingof the pre-Qin notion of qing. This article will concentrate on discussingthe "theoryof qing" in pre-Qin Ruism,and also in Daoism. In addition, it will attempta philosophical interpretationof "dao begins in qing," and in the pro- cess offer philosophical interpretationsof a numberof importantnotions.

On "Dao Begins in Qing"

The Guodian Xing zi ming chu is a Ruisttext of the middle WarringStates period (priorto 300 B.C.),and it contains the following key lines: Dao shi yu qing, qing sheng yu xing. ft4'hS,' 'r1S. t Dao begins in qing, and qing arisesfrom xing.

Xingzi ming chu. 14 zpth. Xing issues from ming. Ming zi tianjiang. A i [F. Ming descends from tian. Discovering the correlationsamong these passages is crucial to understandingthe pre-Qin notions of xing and qing. To begin with, we can explain them as follows: the human dao (the norms of personal and social conduct) exists from the starton account of sharedemotions (qinggant1,f) among people. The qing of emotions (, nu, ai, le - ,Sti,) emerges out of human xing, and human xing is conferredby tian (human xing are obtained from ming, which tian confers). Tianming is the inevita- bility and the teleology made manifestby tian. We can see fromthese sentences that "dao begins in qing" was an extremely importanttopic for pre-Qin Ruists.It makes sense to say "dao begins in qing" ratherthan "dao arises from qing" because dao exists from the starton account of human qing ratherthan emerging out of qing.2 This is why the Xing zi ming chu says: "Someone who understandsqing is able to convey (chu $) it, while someone who understandsyi S is able to internalize(ru A) it." Someone who completely comprehends human qing is able fully to elaborate

Philosophy East & West Volume 53, Number 2 April 2003 271-281 271 ? 2003 by University of Hawai'i Press humanemotion, and someone who has a firmgrasp of ritualpropriety (li t) and yi is able to modulatehuman emotion. Thus, ritualpropriety and yi are intimatelyrelated to qing and are inseparablefrom the expressionof humanemotion. There are many issues that can be touched on here, and we will focus on the following three. 1. The dao of "dao begins in qing" refersto human dao ratherthan a con- flated tian and human dao. Moreover,it is not the "constantdao" that Laozispeaks of because the Xing zi ming chu states, "Only the human dao can be articulated [dao]."The dao that "can be articulated"is not the "constantdao," nor is it the "dao that cannot be articulated."So this dao is not the dao that Laozisays "precedesthe generationof tian and earth."The Xingzi ming chu also says: "Ritualpropriety starts from qing" (li zuo yu qing tfN'1 ).3 Ritualpropriety belongs within the scope of "human dao." Therefore, "dao begins in qing" is not a Daoist notion but a Ruist one. This kind of ritualpropriety so tied to qing is exactly the basis for maintaining decorum among people in society. However, this dao that begins in qing is not confined to ritualpropriety, for ren {I, yi, ritualpropriety, wisdom, trustworthiness,et cetera all belong to it. Forinstance: Inthe beginning,it is nearto qing,and at the end,to yi. (Xingzi mingchu) Renarises in people,and yi arisesin dao. (Yucong no. 1) (Thisdao is, naturally,also human dao.) However, from the Ruistperspective, the human dao originatesin the dao of tian, and that is why we find such a notion as "the unityof tian and people." 2. "Qing"typically refersto the "seven qing" (delight,anger, grief, fear, love, dislike, desire [xi, nu, ai, , ai, , yu 4-9g1,'V ]), the "six qing" (delight, anger, grief, enjoyment [le :], fondness [hao 4f], dislike), or the "five qing" (delight, anger, grief, enjoyment, resentment[yuan &]), but the Xing zi ming chu says: "the X of delight, anger, grief, and sadness is due to xing," and "fondness and dislike are a matterof xing." Here we touch on the problemof the relationship between xing and qing. In the "Tian lun" chapter of the Xunzi, we find the following passage, "Fond- ness, dislike, delight, anger, grief, and enjoyment are stored within (zang A4), and this is called the naturalqing." "Fondness,dislike, delight, anger, grief, and enjoy- ment" referto the emotions (qinggan)that naturallyissue from within the person. Basedon naturalhuman xing, qing is humanemotion (ganqing)that "is arousedinto action by contact with things"and expressedexternally. (This issue will be taken up in more detail below.) 3. What does the Ruist "tian"mean? It has many connotations,and for each of the great Ruists(such as Mengzi and Xunzi) it meant something slightly different. Nonetheless, it is my opinion that it would be reasonableto interprettian in early China (especially for the Ruists)as a governing power and principle that is tran- scendent with regardto natureand the myriadthings (including,of course, people). Thus, tian holds connotations of sacredness, supreme power, and morality.That would make "tianming" the necessity and teleology behind this power governing

272 Philosophy East & West the myriadthings. Butthis is not a topic to be discussed here, so we will put it off for anothertime.

The Basis for the Pre-Qin Ruist Emphasis on Qing

Society in ancient China was patriarchaland centered on the family, and familial qing (qin qing I,') was the foundation for preservingties within the family. By extension, it was also the foundation for preservingties within the entire society. Because this qing-orientedsocial background is what pre-Qin Ruism developed out of, "dao begins in qing" can be seen as a foundationalissue for pre-Qin Ruist thought,especially for the core issues of moralthought. There is no record in the Analects of Confucius having ever directly discussed the topic of qing, but from his behavior one can see that he attached a significant amount of importanceto qing. Forinstance: YanYuan died, and Confucius grieved with abandon. (11:10) WhenConfucius was in Qi, he heardthe Shaomusic, and for threemonths he didn't noticethe tasteof meat.He said,"I never expected that music could be likethis." (7:14) Despite his never having discussed qing directly,the basis for the pre-Qinemphasis on qing is built on the thought of Confucius.For example: "FanChi inquiredabout ren. Confuciussaid, "Love(ai )) others"5(12 :22). Why does Confuciustake love to be the basic connotationof ren? The Zhongyongquotes Confuciusas saying "Ren has to do with others, and felt intimacywith one's family (qin qin VIM)is paramount."6It is not for nothingthat ren is taken to be fundamental,for it begins with loving one's family and is extended outwardfrom there.7 This is to say that felt intimacywith one's family is the most basic emotion, and only after having the emotions for loving one's family will one "extendthem to others"or be able to "honorone's elders as befitselders and extend this honor to all elders,... honor one's own children as befits children and extend this honor to all children."To be able to "extendfrom oneself to others"is not easy and requiresthat one take the path of conscientiousness and compassion as the standard,such that one does "not inflict on others what one does not desire for oneself" and that one "establishesothers when wishing to establish oneself, and helps others achieve the goal that one wishes to achieve for oneself."8The ideal for Confuciuswas to take the spiritof love and care based on familialqing and spread it throughoutsociety, causing all of society to turntoward ren:"To controloneself and restoreritual propriety is ren. If you can do it for one day, the whole land will turn towardthe ren in you. Ren comes from oneself; how could it come from others?" "To control oneself and restore ritualpropriety" is always interpretedas if "to controloneself" and "restoreritual propriety" were two correspondingnotions taken in parallel. I do not think that this is the best interpretation.It should be taken to mean that only the "restoringof ritualpropriety" that is based on "controllingone- self" can be called ren. Ren arisesout of one's innercharacter, while ritualpropriety is the externalsystem of etiquettefor regulatinghuman behavior-its purposebeing

Tang Yijie 273 to modulate relationsamong people and to make them more harmonious:"Achiev- ing harmonyis the most valuable functionof observingritual propriety." For people to observe a system of etiquette, it must come from their own sensibility.Only this tallies with ren. This is why Confucius said "ren comes from oneself, how could it come from others?"Confucius was unequivocal in characterizingthe relation between ren and ritualpropriety: "What has a personwho is not ren have to do with observing ritualpropriety? What has a person who is not ren have to do with the playing of music?"(3: 3). This theory of ren based on love would inevitablyinflu- ence Mencius, who said, "Ren is felt intimacywith one's family"(6B: 3, 7A: 15). In Mencius, we cannot find a passage that directly discusses qing. However, Mencius' "four sprouts,"especially the "heart-mindof commiseration"(ceyin zhi xin flH_~b), although only the sproutingof human xing, certainly possesses the content of human qing. Addressingthe questionof why people have a heart-mindof commiseration,Mencius says: "Anyoneseeing a child aboutto fall into a well would be alarmed,possessing a heart-mindof commiseration.This is not because they wish to ingratiatethemselves with the child's parentsor because they wish for a good reputationamong friends and villagers or because they dislike the sound of the child's voice" (2A: 6). On seeing a child about to fall into a well, one would spon- taneously reach out to help. This is due to the heart-mindof commiseration,which is an innerfeeling free of selfish motives. We can also see this vein of Confucius' thinking developed in the Guodian materials.Yu cong no. 3, for instance (as mentioned above), has "Love is ren" and "Lovearises from xing,"and the TangYu zhi dao says: "Theexpression of filial piety consists of loving the people of the world." Amplifyingthe love of one's parentsis the basis for loving all the people of the world. The Wu xing says: "Profoundfelt intimacy is love. To extend the love for one's fatherto others in a prudentway is ren." Love is expressingfamilial qing; loving one's parentsand then extending it to others is called complete ren. But why would people have the emotion of love? Simply because "qingarises from xing." As mentionedabove, Yucong no. 2 says: "Qingarises from xing; ritual proprietyarises from qing,"and Yucong no. 1 says: "Ritualpropriety is created as a responseto human qing." Humanemotion arisesfrom one's innerxing. Maintaining the ties that bind people togetherthrough ritual propriety and yi is predicatedupon everyone's havingthe emotion of love for others. Ritualpropriety is one meaningof "humandao." Accordingto what is mentionedabove, we can say that moraltheory in pre-QinRuism was builton the foundationof Confucius'notion of ren, which was an extension of familial qing. "Dao begins in qing" should then be an extremely significantpart of Confucius' theory of ren and importantto the interpretationof Confucius'notion of love.

On "Qing Arisesfrom Xing" 'itt'-1t

There are many passages in the pre-Qin classics that discuss the relationship between xing and qing. Forinstance, the Xunzi," ming," says: "Theemotions

274 Philosophy East& West (hao, wu, xi, nu, ai, le) of xing are called qing." But the connotations of xing and qing in the pre-Qin classics remain to be clearly distinguished.The Xing zi ming chu makes two attempts:(1) "Emotional(wu, nu, ai, ) qi is due to xing,"9and (2) "Fondnessand dislike are due to xing." The bamboo text Yucong no. 2, very nearly takes all human emotions and desires to "arise from xing"-for instance, "desire arises from xing," "dislike arises from xing," "delight arises from xing," et cetera. These passages all explain that human xing can express all mannerof emotions and that qing is inseparablefrom xing-there is no such thing as being without qing. A similar situation can be found in the Xunzi, in a passage, for instance, that speaks both of xing and of fondness and dislike: "Nowadays when people's xing comes into play, the profitmotive comes, too." I believe that this may have some- thing to do with the use of "qingxing," or "xingqing," in the pre-Qin classics. We find, for instance, the following: Theearly kings, based on qingxing,... (Liji," ") As for the eyes pursuingcolors, the earssounds, the mouthflavors, the mindpersonal benefit,and the bodycomfort and ease, theseare bornout of humanqing xing. (Xunzi, "Xinge") To indulgexing qing prevents one fromstudying. (Xunzi, "Ru xiao") The qing xing, or xing qing, mentioned here appearsto refereither to xing itself, or to the functioning of xing, but we can also say that Xunzi already understood that there was a distinctionbetween qing and xing. For instance, in the "Tian lun" chapter we find the passage, "Thatemotions (hao, wu, xi, nu, ai, le) are stored [in the body] is called the natural qing." The "naturalqing" here actually refers to emotions (qinggan1t1,) within the naturalxing (that is, the qing of xing's emotions [hao, wu, xi, nu, ai, le]). The variousemotions are storedwithin human xing, which is the same line of thinkingas in the Liji ("Yueji"), which says: "The quiescence of human life is due to naturalxing; activityupon responseto things is due to desires of xing." "Desires"in "desiresof xing" refersto none other than qing.10 It is apparentfrom this that "Xingis quiescent, qing is active" was a slogan that may have been common among pre-Qin Ruists(or we must at least say that it was an importantview among pre-Qin Ruists).For instance, the Xing zi ming chu says: "Emotional(xi, yue, nu, ai, bei) qi is due to xing. When it manifestsexternally, it is due to sensual contact with things (wu qu zhi $]t_)"; and again, "Whatsets the xing to activityare things (wu)."It is the outwardexpression of human xing excited internallyby externalthings that manifestsas the various emotions (and desires);it is anotherway of saying, "Thatpeople are born quiescent is due to the naturalxing; activityupon responseto things is due to desiresof the xing" (Liji, "Yueji"). Perhaps the most vivid way to put it is the quote from He Ti11in Liji zheng yi: "Xingis to qing as a wave is to water. When it's calm, it's water, and when it's active, it's waves. Likewise,when it's calm, it's xing, and when it's active, it's qing." This is to say that humanxing is our innerquality, and qing is the revealingof xing's emotions on becoming active in responseto things. Thus, the Zhongyongsays:

Tang Yijie 275 The stateof pre-activated12( fa *^) emotions (xi, nu, ai, le) is called moderation,and when they are modulatedupon activation(yi fa ), it is called harmony.Moderation is the greatfoundation of the world, and harmonyis the communicatingpath of the world. Achieving moderationand harmonyis where heaven and earth restand where the myr- iad thingsflourish. (chap. 1)

When human xing perceives (gan ,) things, the emotions (qinggan) that are thus aroused should tally with the cosmic patterning (daoli tW); tallying with the cosmic patterning will be of benefit to the growth of the myriad things. Or, as it says in a commentary to the Zhongyong in the Liji zheng yi: "with growth and the acquisition of patterning (li A), the myriad things are all nurtured." The same commentary also says: "The phrase, 'Harmony is the communicating path of the world,' means that although qing and desire activate, if one can achieve harmony, the cosmic pattern- ing will flow and communicate everywhere." In short, the arousal and expression of qing should always conform to patterning.13 We can take the notion of xing as belonging to pre-activation and qing as belonging to activation and generalize this into the theory of "xing is quiescent, qing is active." This theory of "pre-activation" and "activation" became an important issue discussed by the and Ming Ruists, but because it is beyond the scope of this essay, it will be put off for another time.

Distinguishing Qing and Desire

Since ancient times, people have spoken of the 'seven qing and six desires'. The "Li yun" chapter of the Liji says: "What is human qing? Delight, anger, grief, fear, love, dislike, desire. These seven are innate abilities." "Desire" here may be the "desire" of the subsequent passage: "Drink, food, men, and women are the great human desires," which is to say that "drink, food, men, and women" are natural demands of the human xing. That's why Gaozi said, "Food and sex are due to xing." Actually, pre-Qin Ruist theories of qing and xing fall into several schools of thought. Wang Chong mentions in the "Ben xing" chapter of the Lun heng that there were five such schools of thought, and all were expounding on Confucius' quote, "xing are mutually close" (xing xiangjin 'thtff) (1 7: 2). The different positions held were: (1) xing is neither not good (shan t) nor not not good; (2) xing is good; (3) xing is bad (e (); (4) good and bad are mixed (hun Ag);and (5) good or bad depend on whether a person is of higher, middling, or lower quality. In the "Ben xing" chapter, Wang Chong spoke about the "six qing" as follows: "Of qing, there are fondness, dislike, delight, anger, grief, and enjoyment," not listing desire as one of the qing. Mentions of the six qing occurred as early as the pre-Qin era, for instance:

The people have fondnessand dislike,delight and anger,and griefand enjoyment,which are expressedin the six qi.14(Zuozhuan, Duke Shao year 25) Dislike, desire, delight, anger, grief, and enjoyment-these six are obstructionsof de (f).15 (Zhuangzi,"Gengsangchu")

Xunzi mentions the six qing several times (see quotations above).16

276 Philosophy East & West As for discussion of the six desires, the earliest may be the passage in the "Gui sheng" chapter of the LOshichunqiu that says: "What is called a complete life is that in which the six desires are all appropriatelymet," and to this, Gao You of the dynasty notes: "The six desires pertainto life, death, the ears, eyes, mouth, and nose." The six desires mentioned here all referto the desires of the senses and are probablyapproved of when appropriatelymet. However, the "Qing and Desire" chapter of the Lushichunqiu says: "The five sounds thatthe ear desires,the five colors that the eye desires, and the five tastes that the mouth desires are of qing." This may tell us that in the pre-Qin classics, either qing and desire have not been distinguishedyet or that desire is seen as one way of expressingqing. Thiswould explain why we often see the use of "qingdesires" (qing yu't1'), as in: Beforeqing desires activate-that is the rootorigin of humanxing. (Shi san jing zhu , Liji, "Zhongyong,"note on "'Zhong'is the greatroot of the world")17 ... suchare the qingdesires that humans have. (Xunzi, "Zheng lun")18 [They]took the reductionof qingdesires as internal.(Zhuangzi, "Tianxia") However, these three uses of "qing desires" differ significantly.In the note to the Zhongyong quoted above, "qing desires" refersto qing and whether qing can be broughtinto harmonydepending on whether they are viewed as good or bad. The Xunziadvocates the positionthat xing is bad and thereforetakes "qingdesires" to be bad, as in the "Zheng ming" chapter,which says: "Althoughhe be a nobleman or sovereign, if he nurtureshis desires and gives free reignto his qing, he is no different from a bandit."Zhuangzi disapprovedof desire while approvingof following spon- taneous qing, as in "the world is sufficientwithout desire," and yet he believed that the extraordinaryperson ( ren tJA) "lives one's destiny to the fullest while giv- ing priorityto qing."19And so, "following"(shuai $) in the statement "for qing, nothing is betterthan following" refersto following what is genuine. Forthis reason, "xing qing" occurs frequentlyin the Zhuangzi (e.g., "if xing and qing are not sepa- rated, how is one to employ ritualpropriety and music?"["Ma ti"]). Sometimes, the meaning of xing (or "genuine xing") in the Zhuangzi can even include qing (or genuine qing). For instance, the "Ma ti" chapter also says: "the feet of a horse can cross frostand snow; the fur protectsagainst winter damp. It chews grass and drinks water, raises its hooves and rearsback. This is the genuine xing of the horse." The "genuine xing of the horse" is the genuine qing of the horse. In addition to "qing" and "yu" being used in concatenation to mean "qing," and to qing desires being taken to be bad, ever since the Qin and Han dynasties there has been the saying, "xing is good, qing is bad." Forinstance, Dong Zhongshu of the Han dynastydiscusses good and bad from the perspectiveof yin and in his Chunqiufanlu, "Yangzun yin bei": "The bad belongs only to yin, and the good only to yang."Thus, he believed that xing possesses both good and bad and that it is associated with ren,20while the bad side of xing is qing, and qing is greedy. There are also the following:

Tang Yijie 277 Naturehas the processesof both yin and yang, and the person has a xing of avariceand ren.... How can one not but eliminate desire and suppressqing in responseto nature? (Xunzi,"Shen cha ming hao")

Xing is the yang qi (Tii) of people, and it is good. Qing is the yin qi (1M) of people, and it possesses desires. (Shuowen,"Xin bu" ,Ln)

Qing is the categoryof the emotions (xi, nu, ai, wu); qing as such is humandesire. (Da dai li, "Zizhangwen ru guan,"note on "'AM '1t"[understand the qing of the people]) Xing is ren, yi, ritualpropriety, wisdom, et cetera; xing as such is the materialof life. (ibid., note on "buke bu zhi min zhi xing" lTTUjit' [one must understandhuman xing])

Qing arises from yin and in accord with momentarydesires; xing arises from yang in accord with the patternings(li 3S). Yangqi is ren, and yin qi is avarice,which is why qing is markedby base profitand desire, while xing is markedby ren. (Bai Hu Tongyi, "Xing qing,"citing Gou Ming ue)

Xingarises from yang; qing arisesfrom yin. (Lunheng, "Bingchu") This "xing is good, qing is bad" line of thinking was very popular during the Han dynasty but differed considerably from the "xing is quiescent, qing is active" theory of the pre-Qin Ruists. "Qing is active" ascribes no valuation to either qing or its activity. It can be good or not, depending on whether it accords with patterning (or ritual propriety). Therefore, it does no harm to the view that a sage has qing- Confucius was a sage, and he had qing. However, into the Wei- Period, a debate arose about whether or not a sage had qing.21 In the Wang Bi zhuan, He Shao says: He believed that sages do not have emotions (xi, nu, ai, le), and he discussed it with greatprecision. His view was followed by Zhong Hui and others.Wang Bi disagreedwith them, believing that sages who surpassedothers had extraordinaryacuity (shen ming *e1), and sages who were on the same level as others had the five qing. Those of sur- passingly extraordinaryacuity could merge with harmony in penetratingnothingness; those on the level of the five qing couldn't help but respondto thingswith emotions (ai, le). Thisbeing the case, the qing of the sage respondsto thingsbut does not get caughtup in them. Those who now take not gettingcaught up in thingsand call it not respondingto things are very wide of the mark.(San Guo zhi, "Wei zhi," juan 28; cited in an annota- tion to the Zhong hui zhuan) He Yan believed that sages were purely in accord with the natural order (tian dao) and did not have qing. For him, normal people had qing, and in their emotions (xi, nu, ai, le) they might disobey the patternings in giving free rein to them. Wang Bi, however, believed that sages were the same as others in having the "five qing." The sage differs from others not in whether he has emotions (qinggan) but in the fact that sages "are in full possession of their wits" and are "naturally self-sufficient" (this is the surpassingly extraordinary acuity). Thus: Confucius always understood Yan Hui's difficult situation, but on meeting him, he couldn't help but be happy;and when Yan Hui died, Confuciuscouldn't help but grieve.

278 PhilosophyEast & West Thereare often narrowpeople [i.e., XunRong] who thinkthat in this way Confucius could not keep his qingin stepwith the patterning,but now we understandthat nature cannotbe rebelledagainst. (Wang Bi zhuan) None of the naturalemotions (ganqing)can be eliminated.This is to say that sages have qing but also that they can 'keep their qing in step with the patterning'.It is apparentthat He Yanwas influencedby the Han dynastyview of "xing is good, qing is bad," in addition to inheritingthe Lao-Zhuangposition of no desires (but differ- ing fromZhuangzi in not separatingqing fromdesires). Wang Bi, on the other hand, assimilated the "xing is quiescent, qing is active" position of the pre-Qin Ruist Zhongyong and other texts. As stated above, Zhuangzi did not favor emotionless- ness, but ratherdesirelessness, and thereforehe could not help but distinguishqing from desire. I think that qing and desire must differ in some way. Accordingto the view of the pre-Qin Ruists,although qing and desire are both generatedfrom activity result- ing from the xing's perception (gan)of things, and then the emotions (xi, nu, ai, le) are manifestedexternally, "qing" does not include any sense of possession, while "desire"'does have a sense of possession, or acquisition.22Therefore, we can say that emotion (qinggan) and desire (qingyu) are different. Emotions are naturally manifesteddemands of xing, while desire always arisesout of what "selfishmotives" (si xin #^{jb)pursue, with the object of acquiringit. Althoughemotion and desire are different,this does not mean that desire should be dispensed with. In the pre-Qin classics, there is no clear distinction made between qing (emotion [qinggan])and desire. Butwhether qing or desire could itself be said to be good or bad depends on whether or not they are in accord with the patterning(or ritualpropriety). The Han Ruistposition of "xing is good, qing is bad" had a tremendousinfluence on Ruists of all later periods, such as Li Ao of the Tang, whose Fu Xing shu reads:"That one becomes a sage is due to xing; that one throws one's xing into confusion is due to qing." In the Song dynasty, "differentiatingpattering from desire" and "preserving natural patterning while destroying human desire" were promulgated. But this "human desire" referredto selfish desire and differed from human qing (emotion [qinggan]). Qing is something that flows forth from xing. It is not the case that qing is innately not good, so how is it that it ends up as not good? It has to do with things (wu t). Due to the influence of things, the qing that flows forth from human xing turns "not good" if it does not pursue or possess patterning(or propriety).This kind of pursuitor possession that does not conform to patterning(or propriety)becomes selfish desire, which then has a damagingeffect on society. Zhu Xi says: "Justas xing stands like the quiescence of water and qing proceeds like the movement of water, so desire is like the flowing of water that turns into a flood."23Thus, it is apparent that Zhu Xi still continues the "xing is quiescent, qing is active" theory but clarifies the distinctionsbetween qing and desire, thereby returningto the "activation"and "pre-activation"locution of the Zhongyong. Ifwe take as our basis the Xingzi ming chu's "dao begins in qing, and qing arises from xing" and "xing issues from ming, and ming descends from tian," we see that the pre-Qin Ruist position of "xing is

Tang Yijie 279 quiescent, qing is active" is withouta doubt of more profoundtheoretical value than "xing is good, qing is bad."And we can say that "daobegins in qing" bringsto light the basis for the rise of pre-Qin Ruistmoral theory.

Notes

1 - Translators'note: the terms qing and xing will remainuntranslated throughout this article, since to translatethem would run counterto the projectof explor- ing the interpretationsof the terms. Similarly,we also leave key technical terms of Chinese moral philosophy untranslated,as these terms have no close equivalentsin Westernphilosophy. 2 - This is not to say that it cannot emerge at all, for it can also emerge out of rationalityor study. 3 - The Guodian Yu cong no. 1 -* has: "Ritualpropriety is created as a response to human qing." Yucong no. 2 says: "Qing arises from xing; ritual proprietyarises from qing." 4 - "Zang" K is "cang" i. 5 - Guodian Yucong no. 3 has "Loveis ren." 6 - Mencius says: "Feltintimacy with one's family (qin qin) is ren" ("Gaozi xia"). Guoyu, "Jinyu,"says: "To love one's family is to put ren into practice." 7 - Han Feizi, "Wu du": In regardto humanxing and qing, the parentscome first. But while parentsmay both show love for the children, they may not govern the childrenwell." Note that this passage demonstratesthat Han Feizi believed that the emotion of love for one's parentsis not necessarilyconducive to the well-orderingof the state but also that humanemotion is firstexpressed as love for one's parents.We can see here thatthe Legalistsalso believed that emotion towardone's parentsis the foundationof all emotions. 8 - Analects 4:5 says: "Confucius said, ', my path has one continuous thread.' Zengzi said, 'Indeed.' Confucius left. The other disciples asked what Confucius had meant. Zengzi said, 'The master'spath is nothing more than conscientiousnessand compassion.'" Zhu Xi comments:"To do one's best is called conscientiousness, to extend oneself is called compassion." Here we see that Confuciustook the "dao of conscientiousnessand compassion,"the foundationof which he found to be familialqing, as his one threadfor human conduct. 9 - "Qi"here may referto blood and qi, as in Yucong no. 1: "Anythingthat has blood and qi has also delight and anger, caution and courage." 10 - In a response to EmperorWu, Dong Zhongshusays: "Qing is human desire" (see Han shu, "Dong Zhongshu zhuan"). Also, Li, in Bai Hu Tongshu

280 Philosophy East& West zheng, mentionsthat "Desiresof the xing are qing" (see his note to the line "liu qing ye he wei ye" A'1-WTfiS-t(what to call the six qing) in "Xingqing"). 11 - Forhis biography,see Liangshu, chap. 48, "He Ti zhuan." 12 - Translators'note: the term i fa is often translatedin terms of "issuingforth" or "arousal."The choice is often made depending on whether the usage in a particularpassage appearsto be active, passive, transitive,or intransitive.We choose the word "activate"since in its intransitive(admittedly rare in English) use it means "to become active" and because it can always cover the other three formsas well. 13 - This issue will be discussed furtherin the fourthsection, "DistinguishingQing and Desire." 14 - An annotationto the line "How sages govern the seven qing" of the "Liyun" chapterof the Liji quotes Zuozhuan, "Duke Shao year 25," to say: "Naturehas the six qi, which in people become the six qing and are called delight and anger, grief and enjoyment,and fondness and dislike." 15 - "Desire"appears among these six but should be taken as "fondness." 16 - The "Xingqing" chapterof the Han dynasty Bai Hu Tongyi also mentionsthe "six qing." 17 - Also, in Guangya,"Shi gu," "qing"is glossed as "quiescence." 18- Because Xunzi's "xing is bad" is based on the notion that humans possess desires (e.g., "Now in regardto human xing,... as soon as people are born, they have sensual desires and seek out their fulfillment.Licentiousness results, and then ritualpropriety, yi, culture, and patterningare lost" ["Xinge"]), one could also say that underthis theory, qing is also bad. 19 - Cheng Xuanyingnoted: "Livingone's xing and destiny to the fullest while giv- ing priorityto the transformationsof qing amounts to an unprecedentedfree- dom and happinessthrough giving oneself over to nature." 20 - Dong Zhongshu also had a theory called the "ThreeGrades of Xing,"which differedfrom this. See the chapters"Shen cha ming hao" and "Shixing" of the Chunqiufanlu. 21 - It may be that the theory of sages being free of qing had its origins in Laozi's passage, "The dao of tian has no favorites(wu qin W,tE)"(79). 22 - "Now the people are disheartened, yet the sovereign indulges his desires" (Zuozhuan, "Duke Heng year 6"). "Desires" in this passages is none other than qingyu and has the sense of possession or acquisition.Zhu Xi says: "Sen- sual contact is called qing,... [W]hat is pursuedis called desire"(Zhuzi yulei, juan 5). 23 - Ibid.

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