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Abstract In previous studies of Daoist philosophy, “xu” (虚, often translated as “void”) and “jing” (静, often translated as “tranquility”) have typically been presupposed as a pair of interrelated concepts. This perspective has been helpful in analyzing the philosophical expressions of Daoism, but it has also tended to confine us within the internal system of its philosophical concepts, thereby overlooking the creative interpretations Daoist philosophy made of earlier thought from the perspective of intellectual history. In other words, there is still room for further exploration regarding how the category of “xujing” (虚静) is philosophically constituted and what breakthroughs it represents relative to the earlier thought. These issues all point to the interpretation of “jing” in the pre-Qin Daoist philosophy. In the pre-Philosophers period, the character “jing” was used to depict ideal governance. This function was achieved through its association with a state of stability and the well-being of the people in ritual contexts. “Jing” was closely linked to “mingde” (明德, luminous virtue), and its political and social efficacy was manifested both in maintaining a state of equilibrium and in acting as a pacifying force. This “jing”, which operated within ritual contexts, can be labeled as “zhengjing” (正静, the tranquility of correction). During the era of the Philosophers, this expressive logic remained highly influential and was widely used as a discourse for maintaining order and promoting virtue. However, in Daoist philosophical texts, the elaboration of “jing” underwent a holistic transformation and often revealed a complex attitude, reflecting the tension between philosophical thinking and ritual background. In the context of Daoist philosophy, a form of “jing” emerged that can be characterized as “xujing”. Here, “xu” serves as a redefining term for “jing”. On one hand, “xujing” still relies on the expressive form of “zhengjing”, while on the other hand, it incorporates “not knowing” (不知) and “inner guarding” (内守) as its theoretical features, thus representing an interpretation of “zhengjing”. The concept of “xujing” is inseparable from the paradigm of mind-nature.The crux lies in the gradual internalization of the outwardly manifested theoretical form of “mingde” implied by “zhengjing”, transforming it into a state and practice of inner cultivation, desirelessness, and unknowability, characteristic of mind-nature theories. The emergence of the “xujing” concept is closely related to the historical process of the decline of the Kingly Way during the transition from the Zhou to the Qin Dynasties. The collapse of ritual and music meant that “mingde” could no longer function in the political world in the form of “zhengjing”. The problem consciousness and intellectual direction provided by the mind-nature paradigm of “xujing” are quite diverse. It often integrates with the form of “zhengjing”, as ancient philosophers’ reflections on the “inner” often pointed to solutions for “outer” problems, transforming them into expressions of political order. Therefore, “xujing” in Daoist texts appears both as an individual practice of mind-nature, and through the mind-nature interpretation of “zhengjing”, presents a new possibility for political order. In Daoist philosophical texts, the two dimensions of thought and conceptual expression “zhengjing” and “xujing” are able to merge and mutually corroborate, reflecting different intellectual concerns in various textual contexts. In this process of interpreting the concept of “jing” in the early thought, pre-Qin Daoist philosophy played an irreplaceable role. This complex form of “jing”, as interpreted through Daoist philosophy, not only gives rise to the intricate characteristics of political and mind-nature philosophical contexts that overlap in the ancient philosophical thought, but can also be regarded as a conceptual microcosm of the paradigm shift in thought during the transition from the Zhou to the Qin Periods.
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Published: 05 April 2026
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