This article suggests that reading Zhou Dunyi’s 周敦頤 Explanation to the Diagram of Supreme Polarity synchronously instead of diachronically yields a new understanding on the relatedness between infinitude and finitude, or on the One and many. Zhou’s attitude is introduced as a living riddle, in which “Non-Polar and Supreme Polarity” is understood as a new conceptual construct, and one which is issued as a call for action at the end of the text: it is a call to investigate the beginnings (...) and endings of one’s life. In this way, the text demonstrates how a person embodies the cosmological as riddle. The article follows both the diagram and text. It first refers to the riddle, then moves on to its embodiment in the ongoing processes of living as yin-yang 陰陽, the five phases, qian 乾 and kun 坤, and the myriad things, including human beings. According to the approach presented here, it is the sage who is the human embodiment of “Non-Polar and Supreme Polarity.”. (shrink)

Zhu Xi, as a great leader of Neo-Confucianism, established the succession of the Way and raised Zhou Dunyi to the position of successor of Mencius. Zhu Xi drew attention to Zhou’s thought and wrote a commentary on his Taijitu Shuo 太極圖說 and Tongshu 通書. During the process of annotating these two works, Zhu discussed the texts with scholars such as Li Tong, Lü Zuqian, Zhang Shi, and Lu Jiuyuan to improve his annotation. The suggestions from other scholars affected Zhu’s (...) explanation of Zhou’s works. This essay studies the interaction between Zhu and his friends and attempts to explain how Zhu’s commentaries on the Taijitu Shuo and Tongshu were affected by other scholars’ suggestions. (shrink)

Journal Name: Semiotica Issue: Ahead of print.

This chapter argues that ZHU Xi was influenced by Daoism. His philosophy begins with the Diagram of the Great Polarity or Taijitu 太極圖 which has Daoist origins. Later in life he studied two Daoist texts, namely, The Seal of the Unity of the Three in the Zhou Book of Changes or the Zhouyi Cantongqi 周易參同契, and The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of the Secret Talisman or the Huangdi Yinfujing 黃帝陰符經. The chapter begins with a discussion about the nature of Daoism (...) and inner meditative alchemy. Then I discuss the Diagram of the Great Polarity. Finally, ZHU Xi’s study of the above two texts is analyzed. (shrink)

The Buddhist and Daoist influences on the origins of the Taijitu and their influences on T’oegye’s philosophy are discussed. The notion of ji (tranquillity) is taken as an example on which the Neo-Confucianism debate and the limits of verbal representations are shown. T'oegye adherence to Zhu Xi in relying to the doctrine of mindfulness is taken into consideration as one of the central ones in the Ten diagrams, in contrast to Zhou Dunyi's emphasis on tranquillity. He followed the Zhu (...) Xi's line in a direction of commenting the commentaries or a form. He strongly relayed on words, although as a supplement to the diagrams. By this hediminished the force of the cartography of spirit so central in Chinese Song Neo-Confucianism. In T’oegye is not calm and tranquillity per se, but a conscious and wakeful state of absolute mental quiescence - one of the polar conditions of consciousness. (shrink)

命理學이란 중국 고대로부터 시원하여 음양오행에서 발현된 천간과 지지로 사람의 命式을 세우고 다양한 논법으로 길흉을 해석하는 학문이다. 논법의 이론화는 命에 대한 체계적 연구가 시작된 漢대에 첫 번째 분기점을 맞이하였고, 宋대 초기에 그 논리가 정교해지고 법칙이 규격화되었다. 음양오행, 천간 지지, 운명과 길흉 등에 관한 학술적 의미는 꾸준히 연구되어 왔지만 명리학이라는 명칭을 덧씌우면서 학술의 전당에서 제대로 안착하지 못하는 현실도 경험하였다.BR 子平명리학은 송대 이후 전개된 명리학의 今法이론을 칭한다. 이 논문은 명리학의 금법이 정립된 과정에 관심을 가지고, 「계사전」의 ‘易有太極’에서 시원하여 『太極圖說』과 『易學啓蒙』에 이어진 태극･양의･사상･팔괘의 생성 사유가 (...) 자평 명리학에서 태극･음양･오행･천간･지지･사시･만물의 도식으로 이입되는 과정을 연구하였다. 금법 이론의 주요 내용은 四時月令에 의거하여 日干의 상황을 서술하고 일간과 팔자의 생극제화에 따라 천간과 지지로 인간의 부귀･수요･빈천을 나타내는 것이다. 금법 이론이 정교해지는 과정에 논리적이고 철학적인 근거를 제공한 송대의 우주발생론과 자평 명리학의 초기 저술이 이 논문이 주로 참고한 내용이다. (shrink)