The Body Concept And Its Development In Ancient Chinese Culture

It should be said that the problem of the body is one of the most fundamental issues facing each of us. Although there are some differences in the understanding and the reflection of the body, the existence of human must include the existence of the body, even the existence of the body is priority, which is commonly believed. In terms of the consciousness, the understanding, recognition, and reflection of the body are the body concept. It is difficult to understand the body concept of the individual, but the body concept of the group can be understood by tracing the cultural tradition and the spirit skeleton. The body concept and category of body form which are relatively important are extracted from the three dominant systems, that is Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism from the perspective of Chinese traditional culture, and the occurrence, the inner clues and rule of evolution of body concept and body form are teased out in this dissertation. In terms of structure, this thesis is mainly divided into six parts, that is, introduction, text including four chapters, and the conclusion.The introduction mainly traces the western knowledge background displaying body turn, and makes a historical review and a whole comment on the previous research on Chinese conception of body, and makes a distinction and explanation of body concept and some related categories.Chapter Ⅰ mainly probes into the essential features of the body concept during pre-Qin, and summarizes some categories which have a far-reaching impact on the successive body concept. In a sense, the thinking patterns that "the nature and man are united as one" and the number of thinking are created by Zhou Yi are the deep structures and theoretical basis of Chinese body concept. During this period, the body form of Confucianism is mainly body of moral character and etiquette. Xunzi proposed punishment body which has far-reaching impact on Han Feizi of Legalists from the angle of Theory of evil, but it is not the main body form of Confucianism. The body concept of Taoist represented by Laozi and Zhuangzi is mainly based on the the Taoist theory, zhuangzi proposes the vaporization of the body, but the vaporization of the body is the external form based on the inherent rule of the Taoist theory. The body concept of Mozi and Eclectics assimilates the body of Confucian virtue and the body of Legalists’punishment in a comprehensive way, which can not be developed in a sustainable way because of without special theoretical character.Chapter Ⅱ mainly discusses the evolution process of body concept from the Han dynasty to Wei and Jin dynasty. Dong Zhongshu converted the theory that man is an integral part of the nature into an ideology system called "Heaven-Human Induction" therefore, the body concept of Confucian virtue continues to move forward. Wang Chong absorbed the idea of vaporization of the body, and began to remove the charm with sky. In a sense, It is a certain deviation of Confucian concept of body. The body forms began to change from the etiquette body to moral body due to the inherent tension. It is a period that the body concept of Taoist continued to flourish. On the one hand, the idea of viewing the body from the perspective of Taoism and pneuma continued to develop, but the basic knowledge of the body structure including essence, vital breath and spirit is initially formed. On the other hand, Taoism changed from theory of thought to beliefs, and the imagination about celestial pedigree was initially established, the theory of the number of thinking began to be put into practice of body practicing, especially, Huangbai method began to become the main method of body practicing. During the Han dynasty, Buddhist was brought into China. The translators often interpreted the Buddha body as the immortal image by the way of interpreting Buddhism as Taoism. Meanwhile, there were some serious conflicts with respect to the problem of the soul in them.Chapter III mainly investigates the development process of the body concept from the Tang to Song Dynasty. The neo-confucianism of the Song Dynasty absorbed the speculative spirit of Buddhism and the knowledge of air in the Taoist discourse system. For one thing, it inherited the virtue body, the etiquette body and the moral body. For another, the Confucian scholars in the Song Dynasty interpreted the sky as the symbol of rational spirit, and stipulated the desire of human based on them, the body forms displayed in it is the moral body, which was the rational misinterpretation and larger transformation of virtue body. Taoist had a more complete grasp of the knowledge of vein and lungs of the human body and established the mature practice mode of inner alchemy body. Zen started to pay attention to the problems of the individual’s physical form rather than the body of law of the Buddha, at the same time, thinking that the individual is also a body of law from the point of self nature.Chapter Ⅳ mainly teases out the process of the vulgarization of religion in the body cocept during Ming and Qing Dynasty. The idealism of Wang Yangming absorbed the spirit of Zen, emphasized the importance of the individual. In other words, Wang Yang-ming’s thought is the subversion of neo-confucianism. He reinterpreted the body from the individuality dimension, rather than the apriori rational point of view. Furthermore, the scholars of post-YangMing transferred from the individual to the body and desire of the individual based on the suspension of the sky. Taoism incorporated the knowledge of disposition of Confucianism and Buddhism, proposing the idea of the dual cultivation of mind and body, but the double technique of Yin and Yang slipped into the carnival desire of the individual. Buddhism advocated that everybody should make use of the model of the practice of Zen and Pure Land, which was more simple and convenient. They said that everyone could gain the Dharmakaya and Pure Land of his own via the body in the everyday world.Conclusion generalizes and reflects on the similarities and the differences of the body concept in Confucianism.Buddhism and Taoism. We summarize the similarities and the differences in them from three kinds of thinking patterns. At the same time. we compare the similarities and differences between them.