Dao Embodied – Embodying Dao: The Body as Locus of Personal Cultivation in Ancient Daoist and Confucian Philosophy

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While pointing out some major differences between ancient Chinese and mainstream Western visions of the body, it seeks at the same time inspiration in some seminal Western phenomenological and post-structuralist writings, in particular from Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Pierre Bourdieu. By clarifying the somewhat dissimilar scopes of foci found in Daoist and Confucian philosophies with regard to the role of and attitude to the body, the conclusion is nevertheless that their approaches are comparable, and that both traditions take the physical body to play a vital role in the cultivation of excellence. Lastly, it will be argued that cosmological underpinnings prevent the Confucian li from being rigid and invariable and that it rather emerges as a flexible learning device to train through active embodiment a refined sensibility for one’s cultural environment. <iframe src="https://publications.waset.org/10009967.pdf" style="width:100%; height:400px;" frameborder="0"></iframe> <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/search?q=Body" title="Body">Body</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/search?q=Confucianism" title=" Confucianism"> Confucianism</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/search?q=Daoism" title=" Daoism"> Daoism</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/search?q=li" title=" li"> li</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/search?q=phenomenology" title=" phenomenology"> phenomenology</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/search?q=ritual." title=" ritual. "> ritual. </a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Digital Object Identifier (DOI):</strong> <a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3607834" target="_blank">doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3607834</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/10009967/dao-embodied-embodying-dao-the-body-as-locus-of-personal-cultivation-in-ancient-daoist-and-confucian-philosophy" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/10009967/apa" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">APA</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/10009967/bibtex" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">BibTeX</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/10009967/chicago" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Chicago</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/10009967/endnote" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">EndNote</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/10009967/harvard" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Harvard</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/10009967/json" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">JSON</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/10009967/mla" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">MLA</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/10009967/ris" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">RIS</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/10009967/xml" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">XML</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/10009967/iso690" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">ISO 690</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/10009967.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">830</span> </span> <p class="card-text"><strong>References:</strong></p> <br>[1] R.R. Wang, Yinyang. The Way of Heaven and Earth in Chinese Thought and Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012, p. 81. <br>[2] Laozi 老子, in Laozi Zhuangzi zhijie 老子莊子直解, annot. Chen Qinghui 陳慶惠, Hangzhou: Zhejiang wenyi chubanshe, 1998. <br>[3] M. Merleau-Ponty, The Visible and the Invisible, transl. Alphonso Lingis. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1968, p. 139. <br>[4] R. Vallier, “The Elemental Flesh. Nature, Life, and Difference in Merleau-Ponty and Plato’s Timaeus,” in Merleau-Ponty and the Possibilities of Philosophy. Transforming the Tradition, B. Flynn, W.J. Froman and R. Vallier, eds. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2009, p. 131. <br>[5] B. Thorsteinsson, “Flesh and différance – Derrida and Merleau-Ponty,” in Corporeity and Affectivity: Dedicated to Maurice Merleau-Ponty, K. Novotný, P. Rodrigo, J. Slatman and S. Stoller, eds. Leiden: Brill, 2014, pp. 251-260. <br>[6] M. Richir, “Savage Mind, Society and History,” in Merleau-Ponty and the Possibilities of Philosophy. Transforming the Tradition, p. 70. <br>[7] Zhuangzi 莊子, A Concordance to Chuang Tzu, Harvard-Yenching Institute Sinological Index Series. Supplement no. 20. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1956, 60/22/78. <br>[8] J. Legge, Li Chi. Book of Rites (2 vols.). New York: University Books Inc., 1967, vol. 1, p. 11. <br>[9] Zou Changlin 鄒昌林, Zhonggguo li wenhua 中國禮文化. Beijing: Shehui kexue wenxian chubanshe, 2000, p. 329. <br>[10] Ge Rongjin 葛榮晉, Zhongguo zhexue fanchou tonglun 中國哲學範疇通論. Beijing: Shoudu shifan daxue chubanshe, 2001, pp. 566 and 703. <br>[11] Zhang Dainian 張岱年, Key Concepts in Chinese Philosophy, transl. E. Ryden. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press/New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002, p. xvii. <br>[12] Liu Shu-hsien, Understanding Confucian Philosophy. Classical and Sung-Ming. 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A Classic of Tao, transl. A.C. Graham. London: Mandala, 1990, p. 36. <br>[28] H.-G. Gadamer, Wahrheit und Methode. Grundzüge einer philosophischen Hermeneutik. 6th ed. Tübingen: J.C.B. 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Dao Embodied – Embodying Dao: The Body as Locus of Personal Cultivation in Ancient Daoist and Confucian Philosophy