在先秦儒学中，“四端”代表道德情感，“七情”代表自然情感，孟子强调“四端”的超越性。至宋代理学，朱子以“性（理）/情（气）”的二元模式将“四端”置于形下之域，弱化了孟子关于道德情感与自然情感的划界。前期的“四七之辩”在朱子学的框架之内展开，退溪力图以“理发”凸显“四端”的超越性，将“四端”与“七情”视为异质异层的两种情感。而栗谷恪守朱子“emotion即气”的界定，将“four ends and seven emotions" 视为同层包含关系，并以至善之意作为引导emotions 的超越因素，在某种意义上成为道德 emotion 的替代方案。
关键词: four ends, seven emotions, moral feeling, Li Ruxi, Li Qiyu
Upholding the legacy of Confucianism in East Asia's cultural landscape, we delve into the profound implications of "four ends and seven emotions" - a central debate in pre-Qin Confucian thought. Our narrative follows the intellectual journey of Lu Xing as he unravels the enigma surrounding these emotional concepts.
In ancient China, Confucius' teachings laid the groundwork for understanding human emotions. He distinguished between natural feelings and moral sentiments. The former encompassed joy, anger, sorrow, fear (the "seven emotions"), while the latter comprised love (for others), respect (for elders), and modesty (in one's conduct) - all fundamental aspects of ethics.
The concept of "four ends" emerged with Mencius who emphasized their innate goodness. In his view, every individual possesses an inherent capacity for compassion ("ren"), propriety ("li"), righteousness ("yi"), wisdom ("zhi") which are essential to a harmonious society.
Mencius argued that these virtues were not acquired from external sources but were innate within each person. His theory was based on empirical observations where he likened our response to flavors through taste buds or sounds through hearing or colors through sight; similarly our hearts respond positively to moral principles just like they do to food or music.
This philosophical discussion continued through Song Neo-Confucianism led by Zhu Xi who introduced a binary model of "nature/essence" versus "emotion/mood". This dichotomy downplayed Mencius' emphasis on innate goodness leading some scholars such as Li Ruxi to argue that this distinction blurred the lines between morality and nature while others like Li Qiyu adhered strictly to Zhu Xi's views on emotion being tied closely with vital energy.
Thus began an ongoing debate over how best to position these ethical sentiments amidst competing theories about human nature and its relationship with natural feelings. Through this exploration we gain insight into how different thinkers have grappled with defining what constitutes genuine morality in Chinese culture across centuries.