In
Chinese philosophy
Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period () and Warring States period (), during a period known as the " Hundred Schools of Thought", which was characterized by significant intellectual and cultural develop ...
, ''qing'' () is a concept translated variously as "emotion", "feeling", "sentiment", or "passion".
In Confucianism
In
Confucian
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
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. Confucian scholars, such as
Han Yu
Han Yu (; 76825 December 824), courtesy name Tuizhi (), and commonly known by his posthumous name Han Wengong (韓文公), was a Chinese essayist, poet, philosopher, and politician during the Tang dynasty who significantly influenced the devel ...
, traditionally identified
seven basic emotions ( ), named in the
Book of Rites as happiness (), anger (), grief (), fear (), love (), hate (), and desire ().
Neo-Confucians understand ''qing'' as products of environmental circumstances affecting ''
xing
XING is a Hamburg-based career-oriented social networking site, operated by New Work SE (until mid-2019 ''XING SE'').
The site is primarily focused on the German-speaking market, alongside XING Spain, and competes with the American platform Li ...
'', or innate human nature. This interpretation of ''qing'' as an emotional concept, especially as connected to ''xing'', arose after the
Warring States period
The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest ...
.
In Daoism
Daoist
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao ...
teaching aims to free a person from the passions (''qing''), as articulated by
Zhuang Zhou
Zhuang Zhou (), commonly known as Zhuangzi (; ; literally "Master Zhuang"; also rendered in the Wade–Giles romanization as Chuang Tzu), was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE during the Warring States ...
: “
he sagehas the shape of a man, but without ''qing''”. (
Zhuangzi Zhuangzi may refer to:
* ''Zhuangzi'' (book) (莊子), an ancient Chinese collection of anecdotes and fables, one of the foundational texts of Daoism
**Zhuang Zhou
Zhuang Zhou (), commonly known as Zhuangzi (; ; literally "Master Zhuang"; als ...
ch.5)
See also
* ''
Ganqing ''Gǎnqíng'' () literally means "feel" (''Gǎn'', 感) "affection" (''Qíng'', 情) and together the term is often translated as "feelings" or "emotional attachment". ''Gǎnqíng'' refers to a friendship-like feeling that develops between two peopl ...
''
* ''
Xin''
References
Bibliography
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Concepts in Chinese philosophy
Emotion
Concepts in the philosophy of mind
Neo-Confucianism
Taoist philosophy
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