The construction of the view of the cosmos and
the human world in Hengxian

doi:10.1007/s11466-009-0032-3

Front. Philos. China

2009, Vol. 4

Issue (4) : 493-510 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11466-009-0032-3

Research articles

The construction of the view of the cosmos and the human world in Hengxian

WANG Zhongjiang,

Department of Philosophy, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China;

Download: PDF(504 KB)
Export: BibTeX | EndNote | Reference Manager | ProCite | RefWorks

Abstract A thorough interpretation of the ideological structure of the recently unearthed Daoist text Hengxian 恒先 has not yet been achieved, and a few doubtful and difficult points still remain to be discussed. Based on the concepts of “hengxian”, “Qi”, “the Field”, “beginning”, “movement”, “spontaneity”, and “name”, this paper comprehensively discusses the text of Hengxian with respect to the primordial state of the cosmos, the evolution of the cosmos, the production and existence of Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things, and the measure of human behaviors in a society. It further addresses why the word “Dao” does not appear in Hengxian, why it contains a theory of production instead of an ontology, and what is meant by a series of special concepts including “the Field” and “wuxian 物先 (the state before the myriad things)”.

Keywords cosmology evolution production spontaneity

Issue Date: 05 December 2009

Cite this article:

WANG Zhongjiang. The construction of the view of the cosmos and the human world in Hengxian[J]. Front. Philos. China, 2009, 4(4): 493-510.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fpc/EN/10.1007/s11466-009-0032-3
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fpc/EN/Y2009/V4/I4/493

[1]	LI Cunshan. Forty Years’ Study of Chinese Philosophy[J]. Front. Philos. China, 2018, 13(4): 634-650.
[2]	NIE Minli. Yin and Yang , and the Hot and the Cold[J]. Front. Philos. China, 2016, 11(1): 73-87.
[3]	Michael Slote. From Virtue to Freedom through Emotion[J]. Front. Philos. China, 2015, 10(3): 430-443.
[4]	Roger T. Ames. “Bodyheartminding” (Xin 心): Reconceiving the Inner Self and the Outer World in the Language of Holographic Focus and Field[J]. Front. Philos. China, 2015, 10(2): 167-180.
[5]	David Schweickart. The Next American Revolution? Reflections on Gar Alperovitz, What Then Must We Do?[J]. Front. Philos. China, 2014, 9(3): 350-357.
[6]	XIA Ying. The Principle of Production and a Critique of Metaphysics: From the Perspective of Theory of Baudrillard Contractual Approach Based on Rawls’ Device of the “Original Position”[J]. Front. Philos. China, 2014, 9(2): 181-193.
[7]	Heinrich Geiger. Sign, Image and Language in The Book of Changes (Yijing 易经)[J]. Front Phil Chin, 2013, 8(4): 607-623.
[8]	CHEN Hongxing. Reproduction, Familiarity, Love, and Humaneness: How Did Confucius Reveal “Humaneness”?[J]. Front Phil Chin, 2010, 5(4): 506-522.
[9]	YU Wujin , . Marx’s ontology of the praxis-relations of social production[J]. Front. Philos. China, 2009, 4(3): 400-416.
[10]	CHEN Jing. Interpretation of Hengxian: An explanation from a point of view of intellectual history[J]. Front. Philos. China, 2008, 3(3): 366-388.
[11]	TANG Zhengdong. A path of interpreting the “consumer society”: The perspective of Karl Marx and its significance[J]. Front. Philos. China, 2008, 3(2): 282-293.
[12]	Liu Junping. The evolution of tianxia cosmology and its philosophical implications[J]. Front. Philos. China, 2006, 1(4): 517-538.
[13]	Guo Qiyong. An exposition of Zhou Yi studies in modern Neo-Confucianism[J]. Front. Philos. China, 2006, 1(2): 185-203.
[14]	Feng Ziyi. A contemporary interpretation of Marx’s thoughts on modernity[J]. Front. Philos. China, 2006, 1(2): 254-268.
[15]	Zhao Dunhua. Metaphysics in China and in the West: Common Origin and Later Divergence[J]. Front. Philos. China, 2006, 1(1): 22-32.

Viewed

Full text

Abstract

Cited

Shared

Discussed