Qi And Gongfu

Wang Chong explores self-cultivation within his theory of xing(inborn characteristics)and ming(lot).Despite common deterministic interpretation of Wang Chong’s articulation of xing and ming,Wang shows complexity in his attitude toward whether xing and ming can be transformed.Wang Chong’s articulation of xing and ming is embedded in his qi-centered framework,thus the quality of qi and its mode of functioning provide the foundation of xing and ming.Qi functions in a contingent and spontaneous way.Contingency can be seen in the relation between the heaven and human and that between human and the world.Wang’s claims that human is born contingently and spontaneously undermines the relation of ethics between the heaven and human.Human subject is thus isolated,which is the context where Wang Chong makes his attempts to make sense of self-cultivation.The lot of longetivity is grounded in one’s inborn qi,and is intertwined with the strength of body.Aside from the vertical lot,an individual’s actual longetivity is also influenced by horizontal contingent encounter.Both vertical and horizontal lot can hardly be changed by subjective efforts.In discussions on the lot of wealth,contingency and spontaneity undercut the reaction between the heaven and human.Wang also emphasizes on contingent encounters outside of subjective virtuous conducts.Therefore the correlation between subject actions and their consequences is undermined in both the dimension of heaven-human and that among humans.The disconnection between virtue and well-being is strengthened.Wang Chong draws from here a claim of non-doing at some point,while still makes space for subjective efforts within the lot of wealth.An individual’s characteristic(xing)finds its basis in limpidity of inborn qi.Wang Chong portraits the differences among individual xing with his statement of three levels of xing.Different from deterministic interpretation,Wang examines the possibility of conscious cultivation of xing through the active function of xin(mind)and zhi(will).Xin functions reciprocally with qi.Xin is affected by qi,and in return regulates and controls qi.The telo of self-cultivation lies in the state where qi functions in an “unobstructed” and “harmonious” way,which is settled on the requirements of natural individual life itself.Wang Chong’s exploration of self-cultivation foreshadows the thought climate and style of behavior of scholar-officials from post-Han to Wei-Jin period.