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The heart, a vital organ of life, underpins one’s emotions, awareness, and value judgments. Different from the ears, eyes, nose, and mouth, which sense the outer world in a passive way, the heart is capable of thinking and performing intellectual and moral evaluations on the basis of analyzing and sorting out what these organs have sensed. Mencius (372?-289 BC) believed that the heart consists of four aspects: compassion, deference, sense of shame or detestation, and conscience. Preserving and expanding one’s good heart is the central aim in practicing moral teachings. According to Daoism, a serene and uncluttered heart is the highest state for a human being, much like a peaceful pool of still water. Such calmness is the way in which the heart can capture the essence of all things in the world.
The term refers to a state of mind that is completely empty and void. It originates from the book Zhuangzi, in which the meaning of the term was explained by Confucius (551-479 BC) to Yan Hui (521-481 BC). Zhuangzi (369?-286 BC) believed that one’s ears and heart distinguish between oneself and others and between right and wrong, while qi (气 vital force), shapeless and empty, exists in everything and does not come into conflict with anything. Therefore, one’s mind should be empty like qi when coming into contact with external things so that one will not be different or clash with them. When one’s mind roams beyond physical things, freeing itself from the constraints and influence of other things, it maintains a state known as the “pure state of mind.”
The term means cognitive activities of the mind. As there are different views on the relationship between the mind and the external world, people’s understanding of the mind’s cognitive process also varies. Some people emphasize the role of the mind in shaping ethical standards in daily life and making them a source of inner strength. Cognition of the mind is a prerequisite for moral cultivation and ethical living. As the mind is often in a blocked or unstable state, it needs to be nurtured with proper guidance before it can play its due role. However, others argue that the mind’s cognitive activities make one concerned about the evolving complexity of the external world and feel anxious about life. It is therefore necessary to get rid of the mind’s cognitive activities so as to leave the mind in a state of tranquility free from outside interference.
This term means to rectify our mind so as to follow moral principles in daily life. Rectifying one’s heart or mind is one of the eight notions from the philosophical text The Great Learning (a section of The Book of Rites), the other seven being “studying things,” “acquiring knowledge,” “being sincere in thought,” “cultivating oneself,” “regulating one’s family well,” “governing the state properly,” and “bringing peace to all under heaven.” These constitute important stages in the moral cultivation advocated by the Confucian school. “Rectifying one’s mind” has as its preceding stage “being sincere in thought.” In the course of following the moral principles earnestly in daily life, people are inevitably influenced by sentiments such as anger, fear, joy, and worries, which will, to some degree, lead a person astray. Therefore, one must always try to rectify one’s mind and avoid being swayed by any interference, so as to keep to the observance of moral principles in daily life.
“Exerting one’s mind to the utmost” means one should fully understand and extend one’s innate goodness. It is a way of moral cultivation advocated by Mencius（372-289 BC）. To do so, one needs to develop one’s capability of thinking, discover the goodness inherent in the mind and then fully nurture this innate human character, eventually realizing the moral qualities of benevolence, righteousness, rites and social norms, and wisdom.
The term refers to a situation in which people understand each other without the need to utter a single word. It generally means the spontaneous understanding reached by close friends who share common interests, aspirations, and dispositions. In particular, it refers to an aesthetic state in which the subject and the object interact with each other smoothly with no barrier between them, or in which an artist creates a marvelous image and a viewer appreciates it with emotion and understanding. The culmination of such an experience is joy and satisfaction derived from the perfect harmony between the human heart and its surroundings.
This term refers to the evaluative judgment or view of the people in a country or region, on an issue, phenomenon or incident which touches on their common interest and which has broad societal meaning. Ancient Chinese often took the “mandate of heaven” to be the basis and highest concept for the legitimacy of political authority and for policymaking, but in fact they often regarded the “will of the people” to be the principal source, content, and manifestation of the “mandate of heaven.” They also considered it to be the fundamental principle of a country’s governance, and thought that having or losing the will of the people determined the rise or fall of a country and political power as well as the development of state affairs. It is the core of the Chinese concept of the people as the foundation of the state. All enlightened Chinese statesmen past and present have regarded the “will of the people” to be the most important factor in governance.
To search for and retrieve one’s lost heart is a way to cultivate one’s morality propounded by Mencius(372?-289 BC). In his view everyone was born with a benevolent heart, which meant the “four initiators” of benevolence, righteousness, rites and social norms, and wisdom. These are virtues conferred by Heaven and the sources of human kindness. However, people may be influenced by external factors or the environment when growing up. In that case, their innate goodness may be weakened or obscured and hence they may act or speak in contrary to moral principles. Therefore, when cultivating one’s moral character, one must find and recover one’s innate good heart.
The term, a shortened version of ren tong ci xin, xin tong ci li (人同此心，心同此理), was first proposed by Lu Jiuyuan (1139-1193). Xinxue (心学), the Neo-Confucian philosophy of Lu Jiuyuan and Wang Yangming (1472-1529)，teaches that the innate knowledge of the human mind and the principles of the universe are in liaison, that truth transcends time and space, that the mind and the dao are universal for all mankind. All human beings, past and present, east or west, have a common innate knowing of truth and morality, and this is the basis for a common human identity. As Western and Chinese cultures came into increasing contact after the Ming and Qing dynasties, this expression was an attempt to explain that, even though East and West differed in their academic cultures and much of the new knowledge differed in form from Chinese epistemology, their fundamental thinking could be reconciled.
This term means to gladly and willingly follow someone by virtue of their moral character and conduct. Mencius （372？-289 BC）believed that the proper way to convince others was not by forcing them to do something, but by demonstrating a high level of self-cultivation and morality. A person with high ethical standards will convince others, out of appreciation and regard, to accept his teachings or political ideas.
This term means a poet uses the techniques of analogy and stimulation to depict the form and the external appearance of things. He takes in internal connotations and the principles of things, thus linking originally different things and combining them. Nirong (拟容comparing appearances) attaches importance to specific forms for bixing (比兴 analogy and stimulation). While quxin (取心 grasping the essence) aims to get at the spirit and the essence of things, it therefore attaches importance to internal connotations and to the principles contained in the form of things. The combined meaning is that by giving expression to the form of things with a certain meaning, one may imply and express his thoughts and feelings. This notion appeared in The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons. It developed from niwu lixiang (拟物立象 create images through object imitation) in The Book of Changes. Liu Xie (465?-520) first used this term, mainly to explain that analogy and stimulation are inter-connected but are different: Analogy here means “comparing appearances.” Staying true to the principle of things is most important, and anything far-fetched should be avoided. Stimulation means “grasping the essence,” sensing the abstruse and being connected with the meaning.
Xing (性) mainly referred to human nature in ancient times. The concept of xing has two essential points. First, it refers to the inherent nature of all things, not as a result of nurture. Second, it refers to the common nature of certain kind of things, not the nature of individual things of that kind. Similarly, human nature, too, has two meanings. First, it refers to inherent attributes all people share, including physical features, desires, and consciousness. Second, it is the essential and distinct attribute that distinguishes people from birds and beasts, in other words, human’s moral nature. Scholars throughout history held varied views over the question whether human nature was good or evil. Some believed it was good. Some thought it was evil. Some held that it was neither good nor evil. Some held that human nature could be both good and evil in the same person. Some thought that human nature was good in some people, but evil in others.
The term has three different meanings. First, it means human emotions and desires, referring to the natural and instinctive reaction to external circumstances, not a learned response. Second, it refers to specific human emotions and desires, commonly known as the six human emotions: love, hate, delight, anger, sadness, and joy, or as the seven human emotions: happiness, anger, sadness, fear, love, hatred, and desire. Third, it means the true state of affairs, or actual situation. For centuries, scholars have had different interpretations on the first two meanings. Some advocated that emotions should be restrained or controlled, while others believed that emotions and desires were natural and should be properly guided.
Wu (物) usually denotes an existence in the universe that has a form or an image. In general, the word has three different meanings. First, it refers to any concrete existence, encompassing all natural and man-made objects, all organisms and human beings. Second, it covers interpersonal matters and activities such as taking care of one’s parents, entering politics, or managing state affairs. In this sense, wu means “matter.” Third, the word sums up all existing physical and social matters, generally called “everything.”
The four initiators are buds of four virtues: ren (仁), yi (义), li (礼), and zhi (智), or roughly benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom, which Mencius （372？-289 BC） believed were all rooted in man’s mind. Commiseration is the initiator of benevolence. Shame is the initiator of righteousness. Deference is the initiator of propriety and a sense of right and wrong is the initiator of wisdom. The four initiators are naturally possessed by man. They are fundamental features defining a human being. Man should fully cultivate and develop his inherent kindness, then he can accomplish the four virtues, and consequently become a man of virtue or even a sage.
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