關鍵字: 成玄英；重玄學；理；理本

Abstract: As a key figure in Tang Dynasty Chongxuan Daoism, Cheng Xuanying’s intellectual distinctiveness lies in his construction of a Chongxuan system by interpreting the “Dao” through the concept of “Principle” (理, li).Confronting the Wei-Jin Neo-Daoist debates on “Being and Non-being” and challenges posed by Buddhist thought,Cheng proposed that “the Dao is the sublime Principle of emptiness and flow”.Here,“emptiness”( 虚, xu) denotes the formless yet substantively existent ontological characteristic of “Principle”,while “flow”( 通, tong) describes its mode of functioning without obstruction.By juxtaposing “Principle” with “phenomena”( 事, shi),Cheng endowed “Principle” with ontological significance.Furthermore,he identified “spontaneity” as the concrete connotation of “Principle” and the ultimate aim of Chongxuan. The “Principle of Spontaneity” embodies both the universality of “generating all things comprehensively” and the normativity of “rectifying the nature of all beings”. Cheng emphasized that only by "mentally realizing the Principle of Spontaneity" can one “exhaust the origin and penetrate the limits, sublimely reaching the culmination of Chongxuan”. He also pointed out the predicament of “biased and obstructed individuals being unable to comprehend Principle.” Finally,Cheng Xuanying applied “principle” at the practical level of self-cultivation.Through the method of “discarding the two biases ” and subsequently relinquishing “the remedy of a centered oneness”, one attains the ideal state of “exhausting Principle and fulfilling nature”.This approach facilitates the transition from ontology to mind-nature theory,laying the groundwork for the Inner Alchemy and mind-naturetheory that flourished after the Tang and Song dynasties.

Key words: Cheng Xuanying;Chongxuan studies;Principle(理);Principle as foundation(理本)