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This paper suggests a reexamination and a new understanding of the Gui-Shen(鬼神) theory within Confucian Neo-Confucianism. The text is based on the concept of the extinction of Qi and the immortal Li. Traditional Neo-Confucianism considers Gui-Shen(鬼 神) to be the persisting Qi after death, influenced decisively by Zhu-Xi. In other words, it is believed that responsive Qi continues for a while after human death. This article, after presenting several issues with the existing 'Gui-Shen theory,' proposes an alternative view that considers Gui-Shen as Li. It emphasizes the Chung-brothers(二程)' stance, which sees Gui-Shen as 'traces of harmony(造化之迹),' differing from Zhu-Xi. The Chung brothers never specifically identified Gui-Shen as Qi. Despite negative or vague reservations about Gui-Shen, the academic community readily accepted Zhu-Xi's Gui-Shen theory. However, regarding the dispersion of Qi, the Chung brothers asserted its disappearance, while Zhu Xi believed it could linger for some time after death, revealing a subtle difference in their positions. Nevertheless, both shared the idea that dispersed Qi ultimately ends in nothing with no further explanation. In this paper, 'traces of harmony' are considered as traces left by the dissipation of Qi, attempting a hermeneutic shift that when a human dies, Qi dissipates soon thereafter and remains as 'traces of life', immortalized as Li, representing a past that has passed. In modern terms, this Li can be seen as an information pattern left by a deceased person within the world. The 'Li as the past,' left behind by someone who has departed from this world through the traces of their life, always rides upon the 'Qi of the present moment.' Thus, those who remain can be seen as considering the deceased as if they are still living, projecting their presence forward. Additionally, the 'Li(理)'s Ghost theory attempts to provide a clue to 'overcoming the problem of extinction of existence', left unfinished by the Chung brothers and Zhu-Xi, through 'Li returning to Taiji(太極)'. This connects with , rather than Gui-Shen as a posthumous being. The author suggests that the religiosity of Confucianism is not found in ancestral rites for ancestorsGui-Shen who exist after death, but rather in the 'non-religious religion' discovered in . This proposal aims to align with the core nature of Confucianism while prioritizing 'service to people' over 'service to Gui-Shen' and 'life in this world' over 'after death', reflecting an attempt to better capture Confucius's original intent.
Kang-gil Jeong (Sun,) studied this question.