Confucian Discourse on Spirits and the Soul

Abstract Chapter 2 describes Confucian conceptions of spirits and the soul that begins with a rereading of key passages in the Analects. I then follow the tracks of imperial-era hermeneutics to uncover a complex understanding of the numinous agents that underlies the imperial cult system. In classical exegesis in the imperial edition of Correct Meaning of the Five Classics 五經正義 (653), the medieval scholar Kong Yingda (574–648) propounds a detailed conception of spirits, ghosts, and the soul based on statements attributed to Confucius. Confucians from the Song (960–1279) through the Qing (1644–1911), including Zhu Xi (1130–1200) among others, built upon this and other classical sources to formulate feasting rites devoted to gods and spirits. Confucian ritual discourse conceived of the soul as constituted by anima (hun 魂), which animated the body in life, and corporeal soul (po 魄), which constituted the physical senses. By realizing a state of ritual purity defined by integrity of will, inner reverence and piety, the filial descendant communed with the spirits by means of a process of his affection and the spirits’ response.