Extrême-Orient, Extrême-Occident 18 - 1996

Zhouyi and Philosophy of Wei (Positions)

Chung-ying Cheng

Introduction : unity in multiplicity of the notion of Wei

The importance of the notion of wei (positions) in Chinese society and Chinese culture cannot be underestimated. Although human societies and human cultures in general have well-understood « positions » in social, economic and political contexts, it is in Chinese society and Chinese culture that « positions » are not simply understood as social and political positions or positions in a given system of valuations such as the academe, but understood on a much deeper level, namely an ontocosmological level *, whereby the valuations of human persons are projected onto positions in relation to heaven and earth, and the nature and function of heaven and earth 2, on the other hand, are imprinted into the human person. Thus not only do human persons have positions (wei) in the world of reality, but any human position can be projected onto a position in the world of reality. Hence the concept of diwei (positions on earth) suggests an analogy to a position on earth with reference to any position in a system of activities. We can also speak of fangwei (directed positions) with regard to positions which are identified by the directions in a system of local places with directions and other features determined by a locale. But the single term wei has its specific significance : It refers to a positioning in the primary ontocosmology which should underlie any other constructed or developed system, for it is most fundamental and has everything to do with the very existence of a thing and its worth. In this sense wei can be said to define the worth and « raison d'être » of anything, particularly those of the human person.

However, as the world of reality is in constant change which can be said to be creative in both a macroscopic and a microscopic sense, bringing a new scenario or a new alignment of forces in the change, the positions (wei) of things and human persons no doubt must accordingly receive new orientations