Inheritance and Innovation: Hu Yin's Qi Theory and Its Development from Zhang Zai and the Cheng Brothers

Abstract

As an important representative of the Huxiang School, Hu Yin's theory of qi inherited Zhang Zai's theory of qi and the Cheng Brothers' doctrine of li and qi, and enlightened the theoretical construction of later Huxiang scholars, thus forming a crucial link connecting the
preceding and the following in the developmental context of Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism. Based on the historical background of Hu Yin's
era, characterized by the prevalence of Buddhism and Daoism, the disruption of the Confucian Dao-tong, and turbulent national political situations, this paper sorts out his inheritance and innovative development of Zhang Zai's "qi-based ontology" and the Cheng Brothers' "theory of
li and qi", and systematically expounds Hu Yin's distinctive ideological system of qi transformation. Finally, this paper explores the ideological weapon provided by Hu Yin's thought of qi transformation for criticizing Buddhism and advocating Confucianism, as well as the theoretical support for the Southern Song court's resistance against the Jin regime to save the nation, thereby presenting the academic connotation and
value of Hu Yin's theory of qi.