| The concepts of transcendence and immanence have been a crucial issue in theology, religious studies and many other areas. In Christian theology, it speaks of the relationship between God and the world. It plays a crucial role in Paul Tillich's theology, especially in his understanding of God.; Chu Hsi synthesized the Confucian tradition in an extensive system. There are no terms equivalent to transcendence and immanence in Confucianism. Yet we can trace the ideas substantially and functionally by examining the concepts of li, ch'i, t'ai-chi and jen in Chu Hsi's Neo-Confucianism.; The comparison between the two radically different systems, Christian theology and (Neo-)Confucian philosophy, should alert us to the danger of becoming arbitrary in our comparisons. The comparison has to be made in a functional manner, other than by some inevitable comparison of their contents.; Tillich argues that God as Being, and as Living transcends all being, and is also immanent in the world. For Chu Hsi, li is the foundation of the universe and the sum of all creation. Ch'i is different from li, but is inseparable from li. Ch'i functions as an operating, nourishing and developing force. According to Tillich, God as Creating---with originating, sustaining and directing creativity---also tells us that the relationship between God and the world is immanent as well as transcendent. Chu Hsi understands that t'ai-chi generates all being while it possesses activity and tranquility. God, as Related, is the ground of every relation in every moment, and is both transcendent and immanent. Jen must be mentioned in Confucianism as a cosmoanthropic consideration. It has a similar function as God the Related.; The category of transcendence in (Neo-)Confucianism should be understood in a wider sense. When li is in individual things, it is immanent. But no individual things possess li exclusively. Li and t'ai-chi are in all things, thus they have universality. They are transcendent. Therefore, the notions of transcendence and immanence in Christian theology are interchangeable with the ideas of universality and particularity/concreteness in Confucianism. They are parallel in their functional structures despite the difference in vocabulary. |
