In
Chinese philosophy, qing (
Chinese: 情;
pinyin: qíng) is a concept translated variously as "emotion", "feeling", "sentiment", or "passion".
In Confucianism
In
Confucian thought, qing is interpreted as the behavioural quality of a person given their context, which may be bettered through the cultivation of ren (humaneness), li (ritual propriety), and yi (righteousness) to build de, or virtuous moral character.[1] Confucian scholars, such as
Han Yu, traditionally identified
seven basic emotions (七情qīqíng),[2] named in the
Book of Rites as happiness (喜), anger (怒), grief (哀), fear (懼), love (愛), hate (惡), and desire (欲).[3][4]
Neo-Confucians understand qing as products of environmental circumstances affecting xing, or innate human nature.[2] This interpretation of qing as an emotional concept, especially as connected to xing, arose after the
Warring States period.
In Daoism
Daoist teaching aims to free a person from the passions (qing), as articulated by
Zhuang Zhou: “[The sage] has the shape of a man, but without qing”. (
Zhuangzi ch.5)[5]