THE ROLE OF QING 情 IN THE HUAINANZI'S ETHICS

Abstract

AbstractThrough an analysis of every instance of the term qing 情 in the text, this article explores the role of this concept in the ethical thought of the second-century b.c.e. text Huainanzi. The Huainanzi authors draw on several features of the semantic range of qing in the early Han dynasty to help support their overall argument that the text provides an exhaustive and authoritative account of how to effectively govern an empire. As part of this project, I argue that the authors also use qing to articulate the meta-ethical features of the cosmos and human beings that make ideal moral action possible, as well as to explain the process of how humans can cultivate themselves to the ideal state of sagehood. Understanding the role of qing in the Huainanzi is thus essential to understanding the text's ethical content.