Qing 情 as the Basis of Civilization: on Chung-Ying Cheng’s Onto-Hermeneutics

This paper explains the moral dimensions of Onto-Hermeneutics through a three-tiered exposition of qing . First, as seen from the Xici , the hermeneutical is grounded in the interplay between qing and its patterning and constitutes the basis of the institutions of civilization. Secondly, the continuum between the “ontological” and the “hermeneutical” is reflected in the meanings of qing itself. Lastly, as seen through the Yue Ji , whilst all humans have qing , it is only the socio-cultural expression of qing , for example through Music, that leads to civilized existence. The Confucian moral project is a hermeneutic transformation of the ontological.