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Two Neo-Confucian Perspectives on the Way 2008 TWO NEO-CONFUCIAN PERSPECTIVES ON THE WAY YI YI’S AND LI ZHI’S COMMENTARIES ON THE LAOZI KIM, HAK ZE (B.A., KOREA UNIVERSITY) (M.A., ACADEMY OF KOREAN STUDIES) A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2008 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is a result of my recent exploration in East Asian thought. For me East Asian thought is a spiritual learning for self and society. It relates equally to religions, literature, politics, and history, thereby obscuring the boundaries between them and bewildering students. Nevertheless, students find that such a characteristic of East Asian thought can turn into richness in learning. Since East Asian thinkers expressed their thought through occasional talks, letters, and poems more than explanatory philosophical works, discerning their meaning can be an exhaustive undertaking. Nevertheless, the whole process of learning in East Asian thought has been a pleasure for me. My immediate academic indebtedness in this study should be attributed to Alan K.L. Chan (NUS) and Choi Jin-Duk 최진덕 (AKS). Prof. Chan, my current supervisor, has led me here by his excellent mentorship and scholarship on Chinese tradition. He has been the strongest supporter of my research in NUS. Without his generous yet careful guidance, I could not have completed my study in NUS. Prof. Choi Jin-Duk, a traditional Korean teacher and my former supervisor, has scolded and encouraged me by his fine scholarship and passion since I met him in the Academy of Korean Studies in 1997. As a representative Korean researcher in the field of Joseon and Song-Ming thought, Prof. Choi has taught and stimulated me enormously. In addition, I must confess that I owed Dr. Yu Dong-Hwan 유동환 a lot; he provided a great amount of materials about Li Zhi. I remember learning a great deal from him in Korea University and holding discussions with other like-minded colleagues in Dongyang cheolhak ban 동양철학반; without Dr. Yu, my study in East Asian philosophy would not have even started. And I want to pay respect to my grandparent teacher – Kim Hyeong-Hyo 김형효. For me Prof. Kim has always been a big mountain to overcome as well as the strongest supporter to rely on in my inner battles. In addition, I want to express my gratitude for scholars whom I was so much indebted to but haven’t even met – Mizoguchi Yūzō, W.T. de Bary, Xu Jianping, Julia Ching, et al. i My sincere thanks also go to my colleagues in NUS and Korea: Head of department, Prof. Tan Sor-Hoon; Dr. Loy Hui-Chieh; Prof. Lo Yuet-Keung from Chinese Studies for sharing their insight into Chinese philosophy; Ven. Pema for his spiritual support; Zamirul Islam for his warm friendship (a Bondu!); Jinyi Wang and her husband, Lao Pang for their support in Beijing; Edward Dass for his cheerful greeting every time (Hyeongnim!); Ola, Raphael, and Bendick; the General office staff; Prof. Jang Seung-Koo at Semyung University, Dr. Kim Baek-Hee, Dr. Yi Chang-Yil, et al. in Academy of Korean Studies; all the staff and curators of Museum of Humanities in Seoul, and YOU, whom I haven’t mentioned here. Besides, I won’t forget that Dr. Benjamin Afful from English Department suffered from the painstaking proofreading and correction of my ineffective writing and that NUS offered generous support to me, thereby enabling me to study both in Singapore and abroad. In addition, I would like to thank the staff of the Central and Chinese library of NUS, the Library of Academy of Korean Studies (Jangseo gak), the Ancient Archives of Peking University (Guji bu), and the Central library of Seoul National University – they facilitated my research in their places in many respects. Last but not least, I offer my utmost thanks to my parents and family: my father, Kim Jun-Shik 김준식 and my mother, Kwon Yoon-Seon 권윤선 for all kinds of imaginable and unimaginable reasons; elder brother, Kim Hak-Jun 김학준 and his wife, Kwon Su-Yeon 권수연; my sister, Kim Ju-Yeong 김주영 and her husband, Kang Kun-Yil 강군일 as well as my lovely nephew, Kang Shin-Beom 강신범- the innermost source of my sincerity and inspiration. This dissertation is dedicated to Kim Jun-Shik, Kwon Yoon-Seon, and Kang Shin-Beom without whom my past, present, and future cannot be even imagined. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements i Table of Contents iii Summary vi List of Tables viii I. Introduction 1 1. Laozi jie and Sun-Eon: Confucian or Daoist text? 1 1-1) Objects of Study 1 1-2) Structure of Thesis 5 2. Neo-Confucian attitudes toward the Laozi 8 2-1) The Neo-Confucian reception of the Laozi since the Song dynsty 8 2-2) Neo-Confucians’ trouble with the equivocal Dao and li 26 II. Yulgok: Self-attainment as the Pivot for learning 32 1. Yulgok: A Buddhist in Confucian Guise? 32 2. Yulgok’s attitude toward learning: Outreach and Openness from within 43 3. Yulgok’s metaphysics of Li and Qi: Clarity and Ambiguity 54 3-1) Zhu Xi on li and qi 55 3-2) Yulgok’s Self-attainment of liyi-fenshu and the problem of Buddhism 59 3-3) Litong-kiguk/litong-qiju and the traces of Daoist metaphysics 65 3-4) Clarity and ambiguity of Yulgok on li and qi, and later unfolding 69 4. Re-editing the Laozi and the Structure 75 4-1) The Laozi as a Confucian text? 76 4-2) The structure of the Sun-Eon, and the Great Learning 81 4-3) Han syncretism, Song synthesis, and the Laozi received by Yulgok 88 III. Yulgok on the Laozi : iii Principle, Self-cultivation, and Confucian Sages 98 1. The Way and Principle 98 1-1) Dao, taiji, and li 98 1-2) Wu / You, Li / Qi, and Xin 109 A. Non-being, li/qi, and spontaneity 110 B. Non-being and the Heart-mind 115 C. Non-being and substance/function 120 2. The concept of “de” and Human nature 124 2-1) De as xing 124 2-2) De (xing) as originated from Dao (li) 131 A. Dao (li) as ziran and wuwei: good or neither good nor evil? 131 B. De (xing) and the heart-mind revisited 137 3. Self-cultivation and the ideal of Confucian Sage 148 3-1) Framework of Self-cultivation – Emptying or/and filling the heart-mind 148 3-2) Propriety and Reverence for no action and spontaneity of xing 153 3-3) Self-cultivation, Governing the people, and Confucian Sage 160 IV. Li Zhi: Disenchantment and Awakening 165 1. Li Zhi’s suicide 165 2. Li Zhi on the Three Teachings – The problem of Syncretism 175 2-1) Buddhism and Awakening to the fundamentals in learning 175 2-2) Li Zi’s Confucianism as a Non-determinable Radicalism 184 2-3) Childlike mind and True Emptiness: The culmination of Li’s Syncretism and Non-determinable Radicalism 191 A. Childlike mind and Confucianism 195 B. Buddhist and Daoist influences on the Childlike mind 196 C. Import of the Childlike mind 199 D. Childlike mind and True Emptiness 201 3. Li Zhi on Daoism 205 3-1) Daoism as the intersection of Buddhism and Confucianism 205 3-2) The Laozi jie and related matters 213 iv V. Li Zhi on the Laozi : True Emptiness, Heart-Mind, and Oneness of All Myriad Things 216 1. The Way and True Emptiness 216 1-1) Being and Non-Being: Dao as non-Dao? 216 A. The Constant Dao vs. the Effable Dao 216 B. Dao as both Being and Non-Being 221 C. Dao as non-Dao 225 1-2) Dao as True Emptiness beyond being and non-being 227 1-3) Dao as Criterion as Non-Criterion: Ziran and Wuwei 234 2. Dao, Virtue (de), and the Heart-mind 242 2-1) Virtue (de): Nature or Effect? 242 A. Virtue as Nature 243 B. Virtue as Effect and Function of Heart-mind 244 2-2) Heart-mind as the ultimate reality 249 A. Vacuity, Non-being, and the Heart-mind 249 B. Securing/Embracing oneness and the Heart-mind 255 3. Heart-mind, Unity of All things, and Ideal Governance 261 3-1) Cultivation of the Heart-mind and the Political Ideal 261 3-2) Political Import of Oneness: Homogeneity and Universality? 267 VI. Conclusion 272 Selected Bibliography 276 Appendices 291 Appendix I Two different views on the motive of Yulgok’s stay in the Keumkang Mount 291 Appendix II Emperor Gao on the Three Teachings (Gao Huangdi Sanjiao lun 高皇帝三教論) 293 v SUMMARY The Laozi is one of the most influential classics in Chinese history and has given rise to a rich commentarial tradition. Even Neo-Confucians, who ostensibly viewed Daoism with suspicion, were attracted to the Laozi. This thesis explores two Ming-Joseon Neo-Confucians' understanding of the Laozi – Li Zhi (1527-1602, styled Zhuowu) of Ming China and Yi Yi (1536-1584, styled Yulgok) of Joseon Korea. Yulgok’s Sun-Eon (Purified words of Laozi) represents a “Cheng-Zhu” view on the Laozi, while Li Zhi’s Laozi jie (Interpretation of the Laozi) exemplifies a “Yangming” understanding of the Laozi in their times. Their perspectives on the Laozi were influenced by their cultural and philosophical backgrounds. Although this thesis focuses on their understanding of the Laozi, the Laozi jie and the Sun-Eon are also important sources for the study of Neo-Confucianism as a whole. Both commentaries show that Neo-Confucianism can be effectively appropriated for interpretation of the Laozi and that for Yulgok and Li Zhi the Laozi provides insight into key philosophical questions on the universal principle and its implication on self and society.
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