Yi (philosophy)

Yi
Yi
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	義
Simplified Chinese	义
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	yì
Bopomofo	ㄧˋ
Wade–Giles	i4
Tongyong Pinyin	yì
IPA	[î]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	yih
Jyutping	ji6
IPA	[jiː˨]
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese	nghĩa
Chữ Hán	義
Korean name
Hangul	의
Hanja	義
Revised Romanization
Transcriptions
Revised Romanization	ui
Japanese name
Kanji	義
Hiragana	ぎ
Romanization
Transcriptions
Romanization	gi

In Chinese philosophy, yi (simplified Chinese: 义; traditional Chinese: 義; pinyin: yì) refers to righteousness, justice, morality, and meaning.

Confucianism

In Confucianism, yi involves a moral disposition to do good, and also the intuition and sensibility to do so competently.^[1]^[2] Yi represents moral acumen which goes beyond simple rule following, involving a balanced understanding of a situation, and the "creative insight" and decision-generating ability necessary to apply virtues properly and appropriately in a situation with no loss of sight of the total good.^[2]

Yi resonates with Confucian philosophy's orientation towards the cultivation of benevolence (ren) and ritual propriety (li).

In application, yi is a "complex principle" which includes:^[2]

skill in crafting actions which have moral fitness according to a given concrete situation
the wise recognition of such fitness
the intrinsic satisfaction that comes from that recognition

Daoism

The Zhuangzi discusses the relationship between yi (righteousness) and de (virtue).^[3]

References

^ Archie (2000).
^ ^a ^b ^c Cheng (1972), p. 271.
^ Watson (1968), pp. 105–6.

Bibliography

Archie, Lee C. (30 October 2000). "The Main Concepts of Confucianism". philosophy.lander.edu. Lander University. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
Cheng, Chung-ying (July 1972), "On yi as a universal principle of specific application in Confucian morality", Philosophy East and West, 22 (3): 269–280, doi:10.2307/1397676, JSTOR 1397676
Watson, Burton (1968). The complete works of Chuang Tzu. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231031479.