Philosophy Of Qi Research Articles

Dialogue and Self-Confrontation: A Study of Ahn Byung-Mu’s Minjung Theology of Religions

In the 1970s and 80s, Korean Minjung theology and theology of religions(Inculturation theology) were in a tense relationship due to differences in their theological priorities. However, there was also a complementary relationship between the two theological movements in the Korean situation where the theological domination of the Western church and the political oppression of the military dictatorship were inseparably combined. Especially, Minjung theology, which included the minjung religious traditions of Korea as a theological paradigm, attempted a comparison and dialogue between religions from the beginning. Ahn Byung-mu, one of the founders of Minjung theology, was born and raised in a Confucian culture, and while studying abroad in Germany, he received a doctorate degree with a dissertation that compared the ren of Confucius with agape of Jesus. Also, he was interested in Buddhism and often wrote articles comparing Buddhism with Christianity. Throughout his theological journey, Ahn tried to overcome the subject-object dualism and personified understanding of God in Western theology through theological dialogue with Easter thought. More importantly, in his later years, Ahn applied the Eastern qi philosophy to understand the Holy Spirit. Though Ahn did not systematically theorize a theology of religions, he freely utilized the ideas of other faiths in constructing his theology in general and Minjung theology in particular. In addition, Ahn’s interreligious dialogue was conducted not only externally in his relationship with the religious other but also internally within his faith and theology. Therefore, in this article, I would like to explore the possibility of a Minjung theology of religions which is necessary for today’s religious pluralistic society by examining Ahn’s open, existential, and liberative understandings of other faiths.

Throbbing crowds: Of dancing grannies and acoustic milieus in contemporary China

Drawing from ancient Chinese acoustic thinking and contemporary Western philosophy, this article re-interprets ‘the throbbing crowd’ (the kind of crowd organised by a certain kind of rhythm) once described by Elias Canetti (1963). Through the philosophy of qi that defines things as correlative, changing and responsive, I try to suggest that the acoustic milieu generated by groups like Chinese dancing grannies that emerged in late 1990s when the nationwide movement of laid-off workers took place, should not be reduced to a background sound. Instead, an acoustic milieu is produced by and at the same time produces creative and embodied co-relations, that is, new modalities of being-together.

李恒과 朴淳의 理氣論과 그 特性

In this article, we compared the composition and characteristics of the YlJae(一齋) Lee Hang(李恒. 1499-1576) and SaAm(思菴) Park Sun(朴淳. 1523-1589)’s the theory of LǐQì(理氣), And their philosophy was studied to see if they could form as Honam schools. For this purpose, we first looked at the development and aspects of the LǐQì theory of the early Joseon Dynasty. The LǐQì theory, at that time, had different interpretations about Taiji(太極), and this led to the formation of a school. Next, we studied the Taiji theory and the LǐQì theory of Yl jae. We also found that YlJae's LǐQì theory is based on his Taiji theory, and closely follows the main points of the Taijitu shuo(太极图说) of Zhoulianxi(周濂溪. 1017~1073). In particular, we found that Yljae's claim to be “neither separate nor mixed(不離不雜)” “One and two, Two and one(一而二, 二而一)” were in the same context as the Yulgok’s LǐQì theory. Next, the Tàijí theory and the LǐQì theory of SaAm were considered. SaAm proved to be basically based on the Hwudam(花潭. 1489∼1546)’s Qi philosophy. SaAm saw that before Taiji, there was a primitive energy called Taixu(太虛). At the core of SaAm and Yulgok debate was the interpretation of “太極生兩儀”. SaAm interpreted that the yin and yang produced from the Taiji, and Yulgok saw it as a phenomenon depending on the operation of the Taiji while the yin and yang are inherent in the Tàijí. In the process of doing so, we can see the possibility of forming a Honam school based on Yljae and SaAm. Because, there is found the difference and inter-connectivity between Yulgok’s Neo-Confucianism and Honam school. And through such research, I think it is possible to expand the depth and externality of Joseon Neo-Confucianism.

Investigation on Qidong in Qidongzeyou in Book of Pulse (Maishu), the bamboo slips of Han Dynasty in Zhangjiashan

Qidong ( qi change) in Qidongzeyou (（）, pulse change indicates the abnormal changes inside body) in the Book of Pulse (Maishu), the Bamboo Slips of Han Dynasty in Zhangjiashan is related to the classical thought on qi and the theory on meridians at early era. The connotation of qidong was explored in views of interdisciplinary perspectives, such as Chinese medicine, philology and qi philosophy in the ancient time. It refers to the pulse changes as mentioned in ancient medical books, indicating the abnormal changes in the body. Before the ancient medical canonization marked as sphygmology, the ancient medical scholar focused on qi monism. Based on the thinking mode as analogy and detecting the root from the phenomenon, it is believed that qidong refers to the imbalance of qi activity inside the body, manifested with the abnormal pulse change at relevant pulse region on the body surface. Accordingly, the disorders inside the body are detected by palpation.

The Practical Dimension of Wisdom and the Way to Write the History of Philosophy:A Study of FENG Qi's Philosophy

The Practical Dimension of Wisdom and the Way to Write the History of Philosophy:A Study of FENG Qi's Philosophy

SCIENCE AND CONFUCIANISM IN RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT

AbstractIn contrast to Western science and religion, a topic which has been studied very much since the twentieth century, less research has been done on science and Confucianism. By way of a comparative viewpoint within the history of science, this article will deal with some aspects of science and Confucianism in retrospect, for instance, the Confucian origin of the idea of tian yuan di fang 天圓地方, the natural philosophy of qi, and the wu xing li tian zhi qi 五行沴天之氣 bringing abnormal astrological phenomena and reflecting a negative Confucian relation between politics, ethics, and nature. In the late Ming, Xiong Mingyu found that abnormal astrological phenomena, as atmospheric events, happened in the sublunar region rather than in the stars, and in the present time we can reinterpret the crisis of air pollution or global climate change as reflecting a negative Confucian relation between politics, ethics, and nature and as a warning of collective misbehavior in our use of modern scientific technologies.

Aesthetics of Qi: Building on the Internalist-Essentialist Philosophy of Art

A work of art is an intentional transformation of qi 氣 into a dynamic structure. The philosophy of qi is presented here as a means to develop the aesthetic theories of Richard Wollheim and Eliot Deutsch. Both Wollheim and Deutsch present their arguments, in part, as rejections of George Dickie’s “New Institutional Theory of Art.” I develop a robust qi aesthetic drawn from traditional sources and their contemporary commentaries as a way of joining the debate between Dickie and Wollheim/Deutsch, taking the side of the latter, but attempting to provide a thicker vocabulary and a stronger rationale for challenging Dickie.

Economic Equity, the Well-Field System, and Ritual Propriety in the Confucian Philosophy of Qi

It is argued here that the function of the well-field system of land ownership is consistent with the role of ritual propriety in Zhang Zai’s philosophy of qi 氣, which emphasizes the realization of a great harmony; a state of vital, affective harmony and equilibrium. In other words, this configuration of land works to realize economic equity, a means to the further end of producing and sustaining equilibrium and harmony among members of a community, and this, I argue, is also the function of ritual propriety.

“Everybody, Let's Tighten the Anus”: Exploring the Social and Cultural Meaning of a Korean Folksong

This article explores the social and cultural meaning of a Korean folksong, “Everybody, Let's Tighten the Anus” (the anus song), created by Kim Do-hyang, a Korean singer-songwriter who is also a Taoist meditation practitioner. According to Kim, the anus song was mainly intended to encourage people to practice contracting and releasing the anus, since the anal sphincter exercise is a convenient and simple way for people to keep awake anytime and anywhere, even unknown to others, while empowering their minds and bodies. This article demonstrates the need for an immanent approach to better understand the religious dimensions of popular music by exploring how physiological aspects of music can correspond to its sociocultural aspects. The immanent approach to the anus song with the view of Eastern qi philosophy provides this research with a cogent theoretical framework for energy spirituality, which is constructed in the practice of breathing, including anus breathing or anal sphincter exercise.

A Study on Wang Fu-zhi’s characteristic of the qi philosophy

A Study on Wang Fu-zhi’s characteristic of the qi philosophy

The Philosophy of Qi: The Record of Great Doubts (review)

Reviewed by: The Philosophy of Qi: The Record of Great Doubts Jung-Yeup Kim The Philosophy of Qi: The Record of Great Doubts. Translation and introduction by Mary Evelyn Tucker. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007. Pp. xi + 208. When compared to the dominance of Zhu Xi's orthodoxy centered on the notion of li, the philosophy of qi has been a less prominent current of thought within neo-Confucianism. However, the relative inconspicuousness of philosophers who reconstruct the classical Confucian worldview around qi does not make them less important or in any way "unorthodox." Indeed, it might be argued that on philosophical grounds they are more continuous with the past and that their creative extension of classical Confucianism ought not to be dismissed as inferior to Zhu Xi's. Mary Evelyn Tucker's The Philosophy of Qi: The Record of Great Doubts, a translation of and introduction to the Japanese neo-Confucian philosopher Kaibara Ekken's (1630-1714) Record of Great Doubts (Taigiroku) will greatly benefit those who are interested in a much needed revival of these philosophers of qi. By introducing Ekken's philosophy of qi within the broader context of East Asian Confucianism, her work brings richer meaning to both the texts and the geographical and chronological contexts. Thus, while her work will certainly "provoke further discussion regarding the formulation of cosmology and ethics in the Tokugawa period" (p. 9), as she intends, her contribution is not limited to this outcome alone, and will be of benefit to scholars studying the Confucian philosophy of qi in other East Asian traditions as well. In the substantial introduction (pp. 1-75) to her translation (pp. 76-166), Tucker argues against misinterpretations of Ekken's philosophy of qi as a modern rationalism, secularism, materialism, or empiricism that would exclude ethics and spirituality (pp. 55-58). These misinterpretations are founded on dualisms that assume, for example, that nature and human norms are mutually exclusive. However, such dualisms were what Ekken disapproved of the most. Indeed, a major theme of his work is to express doubts concerning dualistic tendencies in Zhu Xi's position. Ekken's critique is not motivated so much by theoretical issues as by the concern that dualistic ways of viewing the world may encourage escapist, quietistic, and self-centered ways of cultivation that occasion a withdrawal from the affairs of human society and nature, a tendency Ekken believed to be influenced by Buddhism and Daoism that he also associated with Wang Yangming (pp. 29-48). Tucker argues that, for Ekken, "qi was a basis of both ethical cultivation and empirical exploration of the natural world" (p. 50), and that his position is best understood in the context of the classical Confucian worldview based on qi, exemplified by such neo-Confucians as Zhang Zai and Luo Qinshun, as a naturalistic "organic holism" and "dynamic vitalism" (pp. 58-60). In this worldview, "everything interacts with and affects everything else" (p. 58), and "transformation as the clearest expression of the creative processes of life" (p. 60) is celebrated. Based on this position, Ekken disagrees with Zhu Xi's positing of what he takes to be a transcendent reality, wuji, that potentially makes "quietude central as the fundamental mode of humans" (p. 42) and misleads one to view "the myriad things that arise as illusory" [End Page 289] (p. 44) and also disagrees with Zhu Xi's separation of li from qi, which entails "devaluing this world, abstracting human action, and fossilizing moral cultivation" (p. 48). That is, for Ekken, to posit a reality (wuji) or search for a way (dao) and order (li) outside this world is to dismiss sincere and creative engagement with other humans and with nature itself. The significance of Ekken's work, Tucker argues, is that it demonstrates that Confucianism is not a static orthodoxy but a vital tradition that involves a complex and creative process of continuity and change, adoption and adaptation (pp. 25-40). A major concern for Ekken, as was the case for many Japanese neo-Confucians, was finding aspects of Confucianism adaptable to the circumstances of Tokugawa Japan. By emphasizing the method of doubt as the creative balancing of affirmation and dissent, tradition...

The philosophy of qi: the record of great doubts

The philosophy of qi: the record of great doubts

Qi Philosophy and Contingency

Qi Philosophy and Contingency