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Comprehending the Cosmic Agency: The Way (Dao 道), Its Virtue (De 德), and the Numinous (Shen 神) in Han Kangbo’s Commentary to the Xici Zhuan

par Van Daele, Raphael
Référence 4th Biennal Conference of the European Association for Chinese Philosophy (EACP). Interpretation and Reinvention of Chinese Philosophy (2023-06-16: University of Macerata, Macerata, Italy)
Publication Non publié, 2023-06-16

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Résumé :

The Xici Zhuan 繫辭傳 (Commentary on the Appended Statements), also known as The Great Commentary (Dazhuan 大傳), is one of the most important early elaborations on the Zhouyi 周易 (The Changes of Zhou). This text is supposed to be a commentary to the Zhouyi; it is therefore expected that the former clarifies the latter. However, the Xici is far from being unambiguous, and, as a consequence, was itself commented on. Han Kangbo 韓康伯 (ca. 332-380 CE) is the author of the earliest commentary transmitted in full-length. Elaborating on the Xici cosmological framework, and expanding on Wang Bi’s 王弼 (226-249 CE) reading of the Zhouyi, Han provided systemic and philosophically consistent accounts of several of its key concepts. His commentary can be regarded as a major step toward a metaphysical reading of the Xici.Despite the fact that such reading is widely spread in recent scholarship, Han’s commentary remains relatively neglected. After a brief survey of Han’s situation within the context of Early Medieval Chinese philosophy, this paper will approach his understanding of the concepts of dao 道, de 德, and shen 神. My aim is to highlight how Han establishes close relationships between those concepts, importing elements from other texts and their exegesis during the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE. I shall stress how his commentary construes a theoretical framework which provides the divinatory use of the Zhouyi with a consistent philosophical basis.