Above Physical Form and Below Physical Form xingershang xingerxia, (形而上形而下)

Abstract

The concept of “above physical form” and “below physical form” first appeared in the “Ten Wings.” In the “Commentary to the Appended Phrases A” of the Book of Changes we read, “that which is above physical form [形] pertains to the Dao, and that which is below physical form pertains to concrete objects [器].” Here, above and below physical form is defined in terms of the division between dao and concrete objects. That which is above physical form belongs to the concept dao and that which is below physical form belongs to the concept of concrete objects. In the same “Commentary to the Appended Phrases A” of the Book of Changes we also read, “the reciprocal process of yin and yang is called dao”, “as these take physical form, we may say that they are concrete things.” The dao that is above physical form is not “yinyang” but “the reciprocal process of yin and yang.” This seems to say that dao is the relationship or law of antagonism and unification between yin and yang; dao is not merely the two qi of yin and yang on their own. The concrete objects that are below physical forms refer to objects that have physical shapes. The thinkers of later generations have wildly divergent explanations on the idea of above and below physical form. Apart from using it to explain the relationship between dao and concrete objects, they have also used it to explain the relationship between li and qi, dao and qi, li and affairs (事), and even the relationship between China and the West.