Ontological and Cosmological Primordium: Heng 恆 or Hengxian 恆先? An Interpretation of Hengxian Wuyou 恆先無有 “Prior to Heng, there is nothing”

• Published in: Journal of Chinese philosophy Vol. 46; no. 1-2; pp. 33 - 43
• Main Author: Xi, Bai
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.03.2019; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Concepts; Cosmology; Meaning; Property; Uniqueness; Universe
• DOI: 10.1111/1540-6253.12311
• ISSN: 0301-8121

In the statement hengxian wuyou 恆先無有 “there is nothing before Hengxian,” the expression hengxian should not be understood as a single concept. It is composed of two parts. Here, heng is used as the highest philosophical concept which expresses the ultimate in the sense of eternity, constancy, uniqueness, and the absolute. In ancient Chinese philosophy, it is similar to some other concepts such as Dao 道 in the Laozi, Taiji 太極 in the Zhouyi, and Taiyi 太一 in “Taiyishengshui” 太一生水 from the Guodian corpus. Xian here is used as in heng zhi xian 恒之先, meaning “prior to” or “before.” Therefore, the precise meaning of hengxian is that something before or prior to heng. The proposition hengxian wuyou then can be understood as heng is the uttermost and primal being and there could not be anything before it. Wuyou “nothing” is the essential character or property of heng. Logically, heng 恆 must be the highest philosophical concept of being. According to ancient Chinese cosmology, seeking for the being or beings before or prior to the becoming of the world is the most common method to explain the origin of the universe. One way to assert something is the origin of the universe is to argue that there is nothing before or prior to it. In other words, a cosmology cannot be successfully established until it can identify a fundamental concept, prior to which nothing can be found.