This blog post examines why Zhu Xi saw the mind as the source encompassing both character and emotions. We explore together the significance of his step-by-step analysis of the mind’s functions for moral cultivation and the perfection of character.
For Song Dynasty Confucian scholars who valued the perfection of character and moral practice, the mind (心) was the most fundamental philosophical problem. Zhu Xi of the Southern Song Dynasty focused on the functions of the mind, proposing the so-called “Theory of the Mind Governing Nature and Emotion” based on the logic of the unmanifested and the manifested (未發·已發) and the essence and function (體用). The concepts of “unmanifested” and ‘manifested’ describe the process by which emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure emerge from the mind, distinguishing between before and after their manifestation. “Substance and function” refers to the inseparable yet distinct relationship between the essence and the activity within the same entity.
Zhu Xi held that within the mind, the ruler of the body, two stages exist based on the process of cognition: the unmanifested and the manifested. He critically transcended the existing perspective that understood the mind solely as the manifested, defining the state before the commencement of perceptual activity as the unmanifested and the state thereafter as the manifested. Furthermore, to address the issue of emotions, he defined the essence and function of the mind as nature (性) and emotion (情), respectively, viewing emotion as the manifestation of nature and nature as the foundation of emotion. Based on this logic, Zhu Xi systematically constructed the theory of the mind comprehending both nature and emotion (心通性情論).
The mind’s oversight of both nature and emotion carries two layers of meaning: that the mind possesses both nature and emotion, and that the mind governs each separately. Before emotions manifest, the mind governs to maintain the integrity of nature; when emotions do manifest, it governs to ensure emotions are properly expressed, thereby enabling moral action. Zhu Xi viewed humans as beings endowed by heaven not only with the pure and good nature of Heaven’s mandate (天命之性), which aligns with Heaven’s principle (天理), but also with the nature of temperament (氣質之性), which originates from the factor of qi (氣) embodied in the physical body. The nature of heaven’s mandate is the foundation of morality, but the nature of vital force, due to its inherent variations in purity and turbidity, thickness and thinness, becomes the root of evil emotions that pursue self-interest or succumb to sensual desires. While the nature of vital force possesses the character of principle (理) at the level of nature (性), it also possesses the character of vital force (氣) at the level of vital force itself. However, this does not mean that vital-constitutional intelligence exists as a separate entity distinct from innate moral intelligence. Zhu Xi emphasized this argument precisely to clearly demonstrate that human nature inevitably cannot help but be influenced by constitution. That is, for moral action to be possible, vital-constitutional intelligence must be transformed while innate moral intelligence is preserved.
The Theory of the Mind-Nature-Emotion-Character was Zhu Xi’s solution to how humans, possessing vital-moral intelligence, could realize their original nature and achieve moral emotions. Then, how does the mind govern its own inherent nature before emotions manifest? To resolve this dilemma, Zhu Xi proposed cultivating character through reverence (敬). Reverence means firmly anchoring the easily distracted mind in one place through methods like constant alertness (常惺惺) and maintaining a solemn and orderly demeanor (整齊嚴肅). Practices such as adhering to ritual propriety and maintaining a neat appearance are also recognized as important means to attain reverence, as they directly influence the mind and its disposition. This stage of character cultivation is practiced when the mind is unformed. When the mind begins to form, the study of investigating things to attain knowledge (格物致知) is undertaken. Investigating things involves approaching specific objects or situations to explore their principles one by one. Attaining knowledge is the process of gradually realizing, through such inquiry, that the principles learned correspond to universal principles. At a certain moment, accumulated knowledge expands exponentially, unifying with the Heavenly Principle that underlies the principles of all things. This unification of the mind’s inherent nature (性) with the Heavenly Principle was the philosophy of “Nature is Principle” (性卽理) proposed by Zhu Xi. Based on this logic, Zhu Xi elaborately presented a theory of self-cultivation that combined the cultivation of the unformed mind with the investigation of things in the formed mind, emphasizing that social practice presupposes such cultivation.
The scope Zhu Xi designated as the object of investigating things was extremely broad, encompassing everything from natural objects like birds, beasts, grass, and trees to ethical norms. However, his method focused on learning centered on the classics, where the sages had already recorded the principles. Because his theory of investigating things was an intellectual process exploring moral principles, with the ultimate goal being the perfection of character, he expanded the cultivation study set at the stage of ‘not yet emerging’ to include the stage of ‘emerging,’ thereby completing his theory of self-cultivation. Zhu Xi’s philosophy sought to illuminate the human path aligned with Heavenly Principle through meticulous analysis of the mind and human nature, clearly revealing his aspiration to transform a world saturated with the secular trend of pursuing fame and profit into a moral society.
