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The final phase of Neo-Confucianism in late Joseon Korea, marked by the concept of sim-jeuk-ri 心卽理 (The heart-mind is principle), reflects a shift towards emphasizing the supremacy of li-principle, with a pronounced emphasis on the governance (jujae 主宰) of li in this period. While this seems to align with Neo-Confucian logic, which posits li as the foundational principle of the universe, comparing it with earlier discourses on the metaphysics of li-principle and qi-matter reveals a heightened ideological emphasis. In the late 19th century, debates around sim-jeuk-ri were rooted in the ongoing discourse on the nature of the heart-mind, demonstrating continuity in philosophical exploration. This paper introduces an additional context by examining how Neo-Confucianists perceived Christianity as qi-centric. Christianity’s critique of the non-active nature of li and its portrayal of God as both Omniscient and Omnipotent led Neo-Confucian intellectuals to adopt strategies that reinforced li’s dominance over qi. In this process, Joseon scholars increasingly identified themselves as li-centric (juri 主理), in contrast to their counterparts, including Christianity, which were categorized as qi-centric (jugi 主氣).
A Wed, study studied this question.