Human Nature and Destiny in the Thought of the Daoist Master Liu Yiming (1734-1821)

• Applicant: Fabrizio Pregadio, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Asian Studies
• Term: from 2020 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 435229888

The concepts of xing (human nature) and ming (destiny, or existence) have played a major role in the history of Chinese thought and religion. The project examines their place and function in the thought of Liu Yiming (1734-1821), an eminent Daoist master associated with one of the main lineages of Neidan, or Internal Alchemy.Liu Yiming’s large corpus of writings, consisting of three dozen works, amply demonstrates that the concepts of xing and ming as used in Neidan are closely related to analogous ideas developed within early Confucianism, Neo-Confucianism, and Chinese Buddhism. Accordingly, I intend to investigate this subject not only as part of the Daoist and Neidan views of the human being, but also in light of its broader philosophical and religious background.After an overview of the debate on xing and ming in the history of Chinese thought and religion, I examine Liu Yiming’s biography and his works. The study of his thought is introduced by a survey of the Neidan tradition. Liu Yiming’s thought is then considered from five perspectives: main general themes; view of the human being; concepts of xing and ming; concepts of “superior virtue” and “inferior virtue”; and function of Neidan.The project will achieve its goals by means of research on textual sources and fieldwork in China, in order to reasearch the history of Liu Yiming’s lineage. The total duration of the project is 3 years. Results will be published in a book monograph.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants