An Introduction To Zhu Xi's Method Of Moral Cultivation

As the vital representative of Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasty, Zhu Xi's theory about method of moral cultivation not only has the vivid characteristics of the times, but also distinguishes itself from the school of universal Qi and the school of universal Mind with its strong individual feature. There are three causes:First, it comes from the complicated society environment; Second, it is the inheritance and development of "Being an Inner Sage so as to Rule the Outer World" of the traditional Confucianism spirit. Third, it absorbs advantages of Buddhist and Taoism theories. "Li", which is one of the core concepts of Zhu Xi's philosophy, is not only the universe noumenon, but also the moral noumenon and value noumenon. Acting as bridge between the universe noumenon and inwardness ontology, method of self-cultivation become the key point to determine the moralists' realm of self-cultivation. Noumenon of universe and transcendence are just in real life.In Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasty, the exploration of the universe noumenon and promotion of life state are the same thing. We should make the argumentation on the subject clear, so as to cultivate our moral character. With self-cultivation, the individual can improve their life state, arriving at the highest possible sainthood stage, which is "harmony between man and nature". By sucking the essence of history and contemporary theories, based on the society background, Zhu Xi puts forward his theory system about the method of self-cultivation. This theory combines ethics-based thought with the saint, who is internally possesses virtue and outwardly acts as a ruler. According to the thinking of "pursuing virtue" and "seeking for knowledge", he constructs metaphysics system for Confucian ethics theory. It is mainly based on "attentiveness of the mind and self-restraint" and "investigation of things and extension of knowledge", and focus on "the discernment of heavenly principle and human desire" and "the debate of justice and interest". His theory is a typical example of "self-cultivation, regulating the family, ruling the state and the world". From the view of ethics, the thesis intends to study Zhu xi's theory about method of moral cultivation from the aspects of foundationalism, basic method, key point, modern appraisal and contemporary significance, in order to demonstrate its significance of the theory and the practice.