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The Heaven-Earth Cosmic Faith 59

companions” is akin to treating them “all as one’s equals.” Zhu Xi further com-
mented that “only when all men are brothers, the world is one family and the
nation is one person.”“All elders deserve the same respect. I respect elders
everywhere, as I respect the elders of my own. All youth deserve the same kind-
ness. I am as kind to the lonely and feeble, as I am to the young in my own family.”
Zhu Xi’s comment of “the world being one family and the nation one per-
son” draws upon The Book of Rites. His comment of “respecting elders of
one’s own and being kind to the young” is identical with the phrase used by
Mencius “Treat the elders in your own family with reverence due to their age,”
and “treat the young in your own family with kindness, due to their youth.”
Again, the proposition of “respecting elders everywhere” and “being kind to the
lonely and feeble” parallels Mencius’ notion: “… and the young in the families of
others shall be similarly treated.” As Heaven being father, and Earth mother, thus
“all men are brothers.” Likewise, “respecting elders everywhere” and “being
kind to the lonely and feeble” are respectively, tantamount to “treating the elders
with reverence, due to their age, and the young in your own family with kindness,
due to their youth” (“Postscript” to Commentaries on The Taiji Diagram
Explained, 《太极图说解 》“注后记”). Within the Confucian construct of
oneness of Heaven and Man, “Serving one’s parents as one serves Heaven,
essentially means filial piety. It follows that benevolence lies in serving Heaven,
just as one would serve one’sparents.” (Classified Conversations of Zhu Xi,
Vol. 98, 《朱子语类》第九十八卷). While filial piety is in essence, a virtue of the
individual, benevolence becomes a universal virtue. However, while the notion
of being dutiful to one’s parents was equated to that of Heaven, filial piety took on
a sacrosanctity and benevolence; an emotional affinity.
The universality of Confucian ethics manifests itself not only in the all-
encompassing “love of humanity” but also in that of “myriad things.” In the Song
Dynasty, Neo-Confucian thinkers proposed notions of this “universal benevo-
lence,” such as “all things without exception possess a life force (性)” (Supple-
mentary Volume II of Records of Zhang Zai, 《张子语录 · 后录下》), and “life force,
being the source of all things, is not unique or particular to oneself only” (Li, 2008).
Similarly, when commenting on universal brotherhood and equality, Zhu Xi used
the correlation of “humanity and the natural world, both sharing life force, but of
varying energy (气).” He proposed:
Humans and other creatures and things are born between Heaven and Earth. Their nature (性)
comes from and is decided by Heaven and Earth. They differ in life force (气) by degree and so
their endowment of nature also differs by degree.

Humans have the most enlightened heart, because they are endowed with sound and com-
plete nature (性) by Heaven and Earth. Fellow humans, being the noblest of all creatures and