Wake Forest University
Patrick Edwin Moran
Traditional:
問 ： 「 康 節 論 六 合 之 外 ， 恐 無 外 否 ？ 」 曰 ： 「 理 無 內 外 ， 六 合 之 形 須 有 內 外 。 日 從 東 畔 升 ， 西 畔 沉 ， 明 日 又 從 東 畔 升 。 這 上 面 許 多 ， 下 面 亦 許 多 ， 豈 不 是 六 合 之 內 ！ 曆 家 算 氣 ， 只 算 得 到 日 月 星 辰 運 行 處 ， 上 去 更 算 不 得 。 安 得 是 無 內 外 。 」
淳 。
Simplified:
问 ： 「 康 节 论 六 合 之 外 ， 恐 无 外 否 ？ 」 曰 ： 「 理 无 内 外 ， 六 合 之 形 须 有 内 外 。 日 从 东 畔 升 ， 西 畔 沉 ， 明 日 又 从 东 畔 升 。 这 上 面 许 多 ， 下 面 亦 许 多 ， 岂 不 是 六 合 之 内 ！ □ 家 算 气 ， 只 算 得 到 日 月 星 辰 运 行 处 ， 上 去 更 算 不 得 。 安 得 是 无 内 外 。 」
淳 。
big5:
G u d ` X ~ A L ~ _ H v G u z L ~ A X ~ C q F ` A ` I A S q F ` C o W \ h A U \ h A Z O X I a A u o P B B A W h o C w o O L ~ C v
E C
GB:
37 ֮ Ի ֮ ֮ ֻ ȥ
Translation:
[Someone] asked: "Outside the six components [of the world] discussed by [Shao] Kang-jie, I suspect there could be nothing, or am I wrong?"
[Zhu Xi] responded: "There is no inside and outside to Li, [but] the form of the six components must have an inside and an outside. The sun comes up from the eastern edge and sinks past the western edge. The next day it comes up again from the eastern edge. However much there is on the upper side, there must be an equal amount on the under side. How could this not be inside the six components? The makers of calendars compute qi, but they only can compute in the areas of the celestial movements of the sun, the moon, the stars, and the celestial markpoints. It is impossible to calculate anything above them. How can there fail to be an inside and an outside?"
Commentary:
The "six components" (liu4 he2) are north, south, east, west, above, and below. If one conceives them to be directions defined with respect to the speaker or some other point, then there are no limits implied. But Zhu Xi seems to conceive of them as discrete regions of space. The universe, it would seem, ends at the dome of Heaven.
The universe depicted in this passage appears to consist of a flat earth suspended, somehow, in a spherical heaven.
Zhu Xi brings in mention of Li, which some people translate as "principle." One way to characterize it is that it is the reason for everything that is and can be. It is not clear from this passage whether Zhu Xi means that Li has no spatial location and no spatial dimensions, or whether he means that it is everywhere and so it extends beyond the boundary created by the sphere of heaven.
Some say that Li means the regularities of things, for instance, the pattern of the grain of a piece of wood. If that definition is correct then surely one would have to admit that the arrangement of parts occurs at a specific location. Perhaps Li means only the "reason" that a given thing has a certain specific regularity to its parts, and that while the grain in the piece of wood exists at a particular place, the reason for the regular pattern has no location.
Li is a central concept in Zhu Xi's philosophy, and scholars are divided in their treatment of it. So it is worthwhile to look at the clues to its meaning given by each context in which it is found.
-- PEM