The Embodied Meaning of “Disease” in Analects of Confucius and Interpretation of Body-Life Management

Abstract

The tension between “body” and “life” has always been the core theme of Chinese philosophy. However, a close reading of Analects of Confucius from the perspective of “disease” reveals a harmony between body and life. Confucius traced the religious attribution of disease from ancient times and advocated the goodness of body and life in the pursuit of a good life, which indicates a non- constructive body view with the presence of the body, and reflects his realistic view on life. In addition, Confucius argued the pursuit of life despite disease should be realized through individual cultivation in ethical life, which suggests the integration of body and life can be achieved through spiritual transcendence over the restrictions of physical disease. Therefore, self-body-life management is of great significance, which reflects the philosophical connection between the ancient theory of self-cultivation and disease. In terms of “social governance” of diseases, though Confucius did not illustrate how “self-cultivation to pacify the common people” could be presented as a kind of social medical construction, he highlighted the sociality of diseases in the humanistic sense, and advocated the special settlement of “peace in disease” in human relations, which can be regarded as the embodiment of ancient ethical social governance of diseases, and is of significance to the construction of medical system today.