3. FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF REALITY 天本
There is an elegantly compact and interlocking set of metaphysical terms for which to describe reality, with Tian as the principal among them. Together with the following closely related terms, they establish a naturalistic ontology. Generally speaking, declarations on how things are, and rational arguments on how thing work, appeal to this Natural Order (tianli 天理).
tiān 天: “Heaven” or “Nature”
What is naturally so is called Tian. Its essence consists of organizing principle (li 理). Its physical body consists of animated force (qi 氣). This animated force spreads outward, and as it does, man and things receive their nature. As one receives their nature they have received Heaven’s Fate (tianming 天命). What is done without man’s doing is from Nature; what arrives without man’s sending is Nature’s Fate.
① When a pupil asked the meaning of ‘tian’ in the classics, Zhu Xi answered: This must be understood by oneself. Some say that tian refers to the blue sky and others say that it means the master. And there are times when it simply means principle. – Zhu Xi, Collected Conversations of Master Zhu 1:22, tr. Chan
又僩問經傳中「天」字。曰：「要人自看得分曉，也有說蒼蒼者，也有說主宰者，也有單訓理時。」
② When ancient sages and worthies talked about Heaven, they mostly talked about it in terms of principle. Principle has no form or shape. Because it is naturally so, it is called Heaven. In terms of the physical form or body of Heaven, it is merely an accumulation of animated force which is vast and boundless. – Chen Chun, An Explanation of Terms in the Four Books 15:1, tr. Chan modified
古聖賢說天，多是就理上論。理無形狀，以其自然而言，故謂之天。若就天之形體論，也只是個積氣，恁地蒼蒼茫茫，其實有何形質。
③ That which is done without man’s doing it is from Heaven. That which happens without man’s causing it to happen is from the Decree of Heaven. – Mengzi, The Mengzi 5A:6, tr. Chan modified
莫之為而為者，天也；莫之致而至者，命也。
mìng 命: “decree, destiny, fate”
Ming is a ‘decree’ from Heaven (tian, “Nature”). It is the operation of Nature’s Way (tiandao 天道), which is bestowed upon things, making them as they are. The noble man cultivates himself to the utmost, lives in accord with this natural order, and fulfills his ‘destiny’ while awaiting ‘fate.’ Such a stance balances an awareness that much is outside one’s control, while focusing on what can pragmatically be done.
① Tianming is the operation of Nature which is endowed in things and makes things be as they are. – Zhu Xi, The Discourses with Collected Commentaries 2:4, tr. Chan
天命，即天道之流行而賦於物者，乃事物所以當然之故也。
② Mengzi said, “That which happens without man’s causing it to happen is the Decree of Heaven.” However, man ought to fulfill his duty, and then whatever fate he meets with is correct fate. – Zhu Xi, Collected Conversations of Master Zhu 4:93, tr. Chan modified
孟子曰：『莫之致而至者，命也。』但當自盡其道，則所值之命，皆正命也。」
③ The noble man practices principle (Natural Law) and waits for destiny (Decree of Heaven) to take its own course. – Mengzi, The Mengzi 7B:33, tr. Chan modified
君子行法，以俟命而已矣。
dào 道: “the Way”
Dao is the principle that underlies human affairs, thus ‘the Way’ by which civilization should develop. In general it is the road on which all of mankind travels; specifically it is to follow one’s nature as endowed by Heaven. Such are the self-directing “right principles of the Way” of man (daoyi 道義). The Confucian Way is concrete and humanistic, unlike the vacuity and emptiness of the Daoist and Buddhist concept.
① The Dao is similar to a road. Originally the meaning of the word was a path, and path means a common road for people to walk on. The general principle of Dao is the principle people should follow in their daily affairs and human relations. – Chen Chun, An Explanation of Terms in the Four Books 15:1, tr. Chan modified
道，猶路也。當初命此字是從路上起意。道之大綱，只是日用間人倫事物所當行之理。
② The origin of the Way is traced to Heaven and is unchangeable, while its concrete substance is complete in ourselves and may not be departed from. – Zhu Xi, Commentary on the Doctrine of the Mean ch. 1, tr. Chan
道之本原出於天而不可易，其實體備於己而不可離。
③ To follow our nature is called the Way. – Doctrine of the Mean ch. 1, tr. Chan
率性之謂道。
lǐ 理: “organizing principle”
Li is the organizing principle of Tian 天 (“Nature”). Take together, Tianli 天理 is the “natural order.” In the specific, li are patterns of nature reflected in organic forms (e.g. grain in wood or ritual in humans). Principle is the reason a thing is as it is, and moreover, is the standard for what a thing ought to be. The ancient use was as a verb “to put to order,” which evolved to mean “pattern,” and finally “principle.”
① Principle is the substance of Heaven, fate is the function of principle. – Zhu Xi, Collected Conversations of Master Zhu 5:2, tr. Chan
理者，天之體；命者，理之用。
② Li is simply the specific principle (則, “norm or standard”) of what a thing should be (當然, “appropriately so”). A specific principle means a standard; as such it has the sense of being definitely unchanging. – Chen Chun, An Explanation of Terms in the Four Books 16.1, tr. Chan modified
只是事物上一個當然之則便是理。則是準則、法則，有個確定不易底意。
③ Cheng Yi expressed it very well when he said that “principle is one but its manifestations are many.” When heaven, earth, and the myriad things are spoken of together, there is only one principle. As applied to man, however, there is in each individual a particular principle. – Zhu Xi, Collected Conversations of Master Zhu 1:8, tr. Chan
伊川說得好，曰：『理一分殊。』合天地萬物而言，只是一箇理；及在人，則又各自有一箇理。
qì 氣: “animated force”
Qi is the ‘animated forces’ of yin and yang, which form the substance of all things. The term encompasses both ‘matter,’ such as a body, and ‘energy,’ such as breath. While man’s nature (xing 性) is inherently good, it is the differing character of his endowed animated force, such as clear or turbid, that gives rise to good and evil. Also translated as ‘material force,’ or in ancient usage as ‘vital force.’
① Animated force [matter and energy] moves and flows in all directions and in all manners. Its two elements unite and give rise to the concrete. Thus the multiplicity of things and human beings is produced. – Zhang Zai, Reflections on Things at Hand 1:44, tr. Chan modified
游氣紛擾，合而成質者，生人物之萬殊。
② The nature of all men is good, and yet there are those who are good from their birth and those who are evil from their birth. This is because of the difference in animated force with which they are endowed. – Zhu Xi, Collected Conversations of Master Zhu 4:59, tr. Chan modified
人之性皆善。然而有生下來善底，有生下來便惡底，此是氣稟不同。
③ The vital force pervades and animates the body. – Mengzi, The Mengzi 2A:2, tr. Chan
氣，體之充也。
tàijí 太極: “Great Ultimate”
The Taiji is the undifferentiated principle which exists before animated force (qi 氣), and is thus the ultimate origin of the cosmos. It is the source of activity and tranquility which generates yin-yang polarity and fuels creation. The ‘Great Ultimate’ describes the greatest extent of principle (li 理) while the ‘Great Way’ is a term for its universal operation—they are not two different principles.
① The Taiji is the pivot of all transformations and the basis of all varieties and categories of things. – Zhu Xi, Complete Works of Master Zhu, tr. Chan
萬化之樞紐、品匯之根柢。
② The Great Ultimate through movement generates yang. When its activity reaches its limit, it becomes tranquil. Through tranquillity the Great Ultimate generates yin. When tranquillity reaches its limit, activity begins again. So movement and tranquillity alternate and become the root of each other, giving rise to the distinction of yin and yang. – Zhou Dunyi, Reflections on Things at Hand 1:1, tr. Chan
太極動而生陽，動極而靜。靜而生陰，陰極復動。一動一靜，互為其根。分陰分陽。
③ The Way refers to the universal operation of principle, while the Great Ultimate refers to the greatest extent of principle. – Chen Chun, An Explanation of Terms in the Four Books 18:1, tr. Chan
道是以理之通行者而言，太極是以理之極至者而言。
yīnyáng 陰陽: “yin and yang”
Yin and Yang are the two cosmic forces which are generated by the Great Ultimate (taiji 太極)—through activity, it generates yang, and through tranquility, yin. Each becomes the root of the other in endless succession. These animated forces (qi 氣) constitute man and things. Spring belongs to yang and winter to yin; male belongs to yang and female to yin; waking belongs to yang and sleep to yin.