THE THEISTIC IMPORT OF THE SUNG PHILOSOPHY 115 



universal Yang are the Tao.' "* In this passage the phrase 

 translated "the universal Yin and the universal Yang" is 

 — 1^ — * Hi, lit., one Yin one Yang. It is the common idiom 

 to express alternation, according to which it would mean 

 "one Yin one Yang following each other in continued succes- 

 sion." And this is Legge's interpretation, who translates 

 the complete sentence, "The successive movement of the 

 inactive and active operations constitutes what is called the 

 course of (things)." -f In any case, so far as the Sung School 

 interpretation is concerned, Chu Hsi does not leave us any 

 room for doubt. His comment on the passage is: "If it 

 said "Yin and Yang are what we term the Tao' the meaning 

 would be that the Yin and the Yang are the Tao; but seeing 

 that it says 'One Yin and one Yang' the meaning is that the 

 cause of the alternation is the Tao." ?r H W |^ H§ ;£, ff $g 



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The importance of this in its bearing on our inquiry is that 

 if De Groot's translation were correct it would, it must be 

 admitted, at least suggest a materialistic interpretation of 

 the Universe, but as shown above it is in direct contradiction 

 to the interpretation given by Chu Hsi. The fact is, accord- 

 ing to the Sung School, Tao is Li, § the two terms denoting 

 the same thing though representing two different aspects of 

 it; and the aspect represented by Tao is that of the universal 

 and the ethical, while that represented by Li is its individual 

 and laiv aspect. Li derives its name from the fact that 

 everything has each its own rule of existence ; Tao expresses 

 the fact that everything conforms to one Moral Law and is 

 part of one Moral Order. The term Li, we are told, calls 

 attention to the minute and infinitesimal. It refers to the 

 innumerable vein-like principles inherent in every individual 

 thing, like the grain in wood or the vertical and horizontal 

 lines in bamboo. It is compared to the innumerable trees 

 in a dense forest. Tao, on the other hand we are told, calls 

 attention to the cast and comprehensive, and is compared 

 to a vast trackless desert with its vision of the illimitable. || 

 The very name, Tao, is derived from the fact that as Moral 

 Law it is common to all the ages. It is the universal high- 

 way travelled upon for countless myriads of years to which 



^Religion in China, p. 10. 

 f Sacred Boohs of the East, Vol. XVI, p. 355. 

 X tt m. * £ , Bk. I, f. 18. 



^H^JI^ft-fo. ££!'J#flSiI- Vide Imperial Commentary 

 on the Yi Ching, Pt. 13, f . 14. 



iiti»&ama&ftjKB£- - a a # pt. xv, f. n. 



