Individual Autonomy and Responsibility in Late Imperial China By ...

moving from one stage to the next, but rather an ontological distinction between the freedom from finite experiences and emotional responses.¹⁶⁴ Yet Neo-Confucian reflections on the matter have introduced an important element that links emotional phenomenons with the ethical sphere—this is the “metaphysical activation moment” (ji 幾). Zhou Dunyi 周敦頤 (1017–1073), for instance, has clarified the importance of ji by using the formula “the open moment for good or evil” (ji shan’e 幾善惡)¹⁶⁵ which was later scrutinized by many moralists and authors of so-called “morality books” (shanshu 善書), such as Liu Zongzhou 劉宗周 (1578–1645). After him, Cheng Yi 程頤 (1033–1107) expanded on this concept and pointed out how “[man’s] original nature is pure and tranquil. Before it is aroused, the five moral principles of his nature, called humanity, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faithfulness, are complete. As his physical form appears, it comes into contact with external things and is aroused from within. As it is aroused from within, the seven feelings [qiqing], called pleasure, anger, sorrow, joy, love, hate, and desire, ensue. As feelings become strong and increasingly reckless, his nature becomes damaged. For this reason, the enlightened person controls his feelings so that they will be in accord with the Mean.”¹⁶⁶

A new debate around the conditions of the weifa stage developed at the time of Cheng Yi, when scholars started exploring the possibility of preparing themselves for a state of internal equilibrium so that emotions, after being excited, would be brought under control. Against Cheng Yi’s opinion that any thought (si 思), like any effort to achieve equilibrium, cannot be raised at the weifa stage, Lü Dalin 吕大臨 (1046–1092) argues that one should consciously “search for this state” (qiuzhong 求中). Self-cultivation thus followed two different paths or methods: in one case, self-preservation and nourishment (cunyang 存養) were assumed to be possible before arousal, with efforts being applied only afterwards; in the other, instead, to guarantee spontaneous arousal of harmonious emotions, a substantial effort was deemed necessary from the very beginning.¹⁶⁷ This specific debate is indeed a significant one as it demonstrates how