Earth under Heaven

Abstract

China developed the notion of life as a sustaining power of living beings, but in contrast to India, did not pursue the idea of transcendence as its source. In contrast to any Gnostic view of flight to a higher reality that we find in India or Greece, China throughout its history has maintained a positive evaluation of life, placing human life within a cosmos. In particular, pre-modern Chinese civilization emphasized harmony in the relationship between heaven (tian), earth (di), and humanity (jen): there should be a ‘unity of heaven and humanity’. Heaven is the source of all things and generally, with some philosophical exceptions, humanity is thought to be perfectible. There is a continuity between the political and natural orders that the chapter examines.