In Chinese philosophy, qing (Chinese: 情; pinyin: qíng) is a concept translated variously as "emotion", "feeling", "sentiment", or "passion".

In Confucianism

In Confucian thought, qing is interpreted as the behavioural quality of a person given their context, which may be bettered through the cultivation of ren (humaneness), li (ritual propriety), and yi (righteousness) to build de, or virtuous moral character.[1] Confucian scholars, such as Han Yu, traditionally identified seven basic emotions (七情 qīqíng),[2] named in the Book of Rites as happiness (喜), anger (怒), grief (哀), fear (懼), love (愛), hate (惡), and desire (欲).[3][4]

Neo-Confucians understand qing as products of environmental circumstances affecting xing, or innate human nature.[2] This interpretation of qing as an emotional concept, especially as connected to xing, arose after the Warring States period.

In Daoism

Daoist teaching aims to free a person from the passions (qing), as articulated by Zhuang Zhou: “[The sage] has the shape of a man, but without qing”. (Zhuangzi ch.5)[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ Ivanhoe & Van Norden (2001), p. 389-393.
  2. ^ a b Theobald (2010).
  3. ^ Ivanhoe (2015), p. 33.
  4. ^ Nelson (2018), pp. 200–201.
  5. ^ Averill & Sundararajan (2014), p. 39.

Bibliography

  • Averill, James R.; Sundararajan, Louise (2014). "Passion and qing: Intellectual histories of emotion, West and East". In Pawlik, Kurt; D’Ydewalle, Géry (eds.). Psychological Concepts: An International Historical Perspective. Abingdon, Oxfordshire: Psychology Press. pp. 101–139. doi:10.4324/9781003076384-6. ISBN 9781003076384. S2CID 51824817.
  • Ivanhoe, P.J.; Van Norden, B.W., eds. (2001). Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy (2nd ed.). Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co. p. 389-393.
  • Ivanhoe, Philip J. (2015). "The Historical Significance and Contemporary Relevance of the Four-Seven Debate" (PDF). Philosophy East and West. 65 (2): 401–429. doi:10.1353/pew.2015.0029. S2CID 142778304.
  • Nelson, Eric S. (2018). "Confucian Relational Hermeneutics, the Emotions, and Ethical Life". In Fairfield, Paul; Geniusas, Saulius (eds.). Relational Hermeneutics: Essays in Comparative Philosophy. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781350077942.
  • Theobald, U. (2010). "Chinese Thought and Philosophy: Neo-Confucianism". ChinaKnowledge.de.
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