“The Law Of The Mind” Belongs To The“School Of Mind”

There has an academic consensus that naming Cheng-Zhu's theory as School of Nature and Principle and Lu-Wang's theory as School of Mind.Calling Zhu Xi's theory as " School of Mind " seems to have made a reversed mistake.However,from the perspectives of literature basis and rational basis,it is fair and necessary to name Zhu Zi Xi's theory as School of Mind.According to literature,from the time of Zhu Xi to the period of emperor Hongzhi of Ming Dynasty(1488—1505),there had no separation between "School of Mind " and " School of Nature and Principle ",and Zhu Xi's theory was also called " School of Mind " at that time.In the period of the emperor Jiajing(1522-1566),the term of " School of Mind " was starting to specifically refer to the theory of Wang Yangming.In the period of the emperor Wanli(1573-1620),Deng Yuanxi wrote a book in which regarded Yangming as a legitimate Confucianism,and called his theory" as School of Mind ".In the Qing Dynasty,Huang Lizhou and his son compiled the School Case of Song and Yuan Dynasty,which further clarified the distinction between "School of Mind " and " School of Nature and Principle "and specifically named Yongming's theory as "School of Mind ".It can be seen from the process that the division between "School of Mind " and " School of Nature and Principle " initially came from the perspective of sectarian bias.Using this division will led us fall into the trap of factional debate.Scholars have always judged Zhu Xi's theory as" School of Nature and Principle"and Lu-Wang's theory as "School of Mind "by the expression of "Nature is the principle" and "Mind is principle".It is very important to reflect on these expressions."Nature is the principle" and "Mind is principle" can be analyzed from both ontological level and practical level.On this issue,there are similarities and differences between ZhuXi and Lu Jiuyuan's theory.Both of them treat Tai Chi and Principle(Li)as the theoretical basis and goal orientation.From the perspective of the position and function of the "Mind",Lu-Wang directly regarded the Mind as metaphysical goodness,then the corresponding path of mind-training was simple and straightforward,Zhu Xi regarded "Nature" as metaphysical and "Mind" as physical,at the same time he thought that the Mind has characteristics of both transcendence and finiteness.Therefore,the Mind can be self-aware,self-conscious,and self-supporting.These characteristics of Mind can be implemented in mind-training.This is the difference between them.In short,Zhu Xi emphasized that it is Nature not Mind is the supreme original substance,which is called "Nature is the principle".But he also emphasized that in the original state and the spheres of living,the limited Mind has transcendence,and could accomplish the incessantness of the Mind and Principle,which is called"Mind is principle".From this point of view,Zhu Xi's "Nature is the principle" implies "Mind is principle".Therefore,it is unreasonable to judge the theory of Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan simply as School of Nature and Principle "and "School of Mind" by the expression of "Nature is the principle" and "Mind is principle".Zhu Xi inherited the Confucian tradition,which is also a tradition of "School of Mind".In this sense,"School of Mind" and School of Nature and Principle do not exist in opposition,but are included in any Confucianism.School of Mind is carried out in the law of the mind,which was also call "the learning of the Way".The internal structure of Zhu Xi's School of Mind reflected his interpretation of the first chapter of The Doctrine of the Mean.This structure includes three parts,namely the cosmological ontology(from "original essence" to"entity"),the theory of mind-training(mind-cultivation and mind-awareness),and the spheres of living doctrine.Zhu Xi's theory of Mind showed in his interpretation of the sixteen characters in Book of History in the Ancient Script ",which are "The mind of man is restless—prone to err;its affinity for the right way is small.Be discriminating,be undivided,that you may sincerely hold fast the Mean".(Translator:James Legge)In terms of cosmic philosophy,"destiny" is the "original essence";In terms of human philosophy,"humanity" is the "entity".As the metaphysical principle,the unity of heaven and human is the unity of "destiny" and "human nature",and this process must be completed under the joint action of the principle and material force.The integration of the principle and material force is "the mind of heaven and earth".This is an explanation from the perspective of cosmological ontology.On the one hand,Zhu Xi's argument on "the mind of Heaven and Earth" is different from those Confucians of Han and Tang dynasty,who treated it as empirical and personalized existence.It was also different from Wang Bi who thought "the mind of heaven and earth" was emptiness.Zhu Xi reset the original meaning of Confucian classics as well as reconstructs the interpretive system of Confucian metaphysics.By interpreting Cheng Yi,Shao Yong and Cheng Hao's theory on "the mind of Heaven and Earth",Zhu Xi presented its characteristic as an perfect harmony of the principle and material force,which coincided with the structure of "Mind unifies nature and motions" in Life philosophy.On the other hand,the relationship between the principle and material force and the mind of heaven and earth can explain each other.The four interpretations of the principle correspond to "Heaven and Earth have no mind" and "Heaven and Earth have mind".Therefore,we can interpret Zhu Xi's theory of the principle and material force starting from the mind of heaven and earth,and highlight the harmony of the principle and material force.Moreover,when Zhu Xi talked about benevolence,he explained it in three circumstances,namely,when it appears as substance;when it appears as function;and when it appears as the combination of substance and function.From the perspective of comic philosophy,the last one is also the mind of heaven and earth,which includes the nature and dispositions of heaven and earth.It not only refers to the four moral of the heaven,but also includes the phenomena of four season.For human beings,the unity of metaphysical benevolence and morally affective is "the mind of human",which presents as four virtues:benevolence,righteousness,propriety and wisdom.Therefore,benevolence is a connection between human being and heaven,which is also the function of "the mind of heaven".Therefore,the paper obtains two conclusions:first,both "the mind of heaven" and benevolence are the circulating benignity.Second,"School of Mind" is as important as "school of benevolence" in Zhu Xi's philosophy system.The development of Zhu Xi's theory of equilibrium and harmony explained his theory of "School of Mind" on the aspect of Philosophy of Life,which includes the ontology of mind and nature,the theory of mind-training,and the spheres of living doctrine.These three explanations are connected with each other.The formation of his earlier theory of equilibrium and harmony can be roughly divided into four stages.It is very important to analyze this process carefully.In the earlier theory of equilibrium and harmony,Zhu Xi insisted that human nature is substance and mind is functioning.One should have self-cultivation and self-observation in imminent issuance.This illustrates the importance of the mind:the knowable and perceptible mind is the direct manifestation of nature.The self-cultivation in accomplished issuance can go directly to noumenon.However,there are problems of this theory.First,it is improper to treat the noumenon of the mind as pure metaphysics.Second,it neglected the self-cultivation in imminent issuance and fell in the dilemma of mind-training method.These two points are the important reasons for Zhu Xi's transformation from his old theory to the new one.The new theory of equilibrium and harmony is the mature"School of Mind"theory of Zhu Xi.On the relationship of Mind and Nature,Zhu Xi kept the basic concept of "Mind contains all principle" and farther explained the theory of "Mind unifies nature and motions".Therefore,nature is a concept on metaphysical level,while Mind is the one on physical level.Correspondingly,in mind-training method,self-cultivation and self-awareness respectively act on the noumenon and function of mind.Reverent composure,as the head of mind-training,unites both of them.Zhu Xi's interpretation of the "Sixteen-Character" in the Book of History in the Ancien,Script is the general theory of "the law of the mind".The theory of "moral mind" and "human mind" are study on Mind,"Wei Jing" and "Wei Yi" is the way to explain how to cultivate body and spirit.Thus,the mind of Zhu Xi shows two aspects:First,it has virtual and spiritual awareness,and naturally appears from the substance of mind.Second,it is also the physical existence,just like the material force.The former shows that the human mind has an inner and spontaneous moral consciousness,while the latter points out that its physical characteristics disturbs the moral mind.When talking about mind,Zhu Xi not only emphasized the importance of its inner transcendence,but also acknowledged its limitations on experience.In a word,Zhu Xi's "School of Mind" is"the study of mind inherits" and "the law of the mind ".It belongs to the generalized "School of Mind",which based on the theory of principle.Zhu Xi's theory of“School of Mind" does not conflict witih theory of Nature and Principle" and "Study of Benevolence".They are complementing each other and form the whole theory of Zhu Xi.