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Economic Equity, the Well-Field System, and Ritual Propriety in the Confucian Philosophy of Qi
- Philosophy East and West
- University of Hawai'i Press
- Volume 64, Number 4, October 2014
- pp. 856-865
- 10.1353/pew.2014.0076
- Article
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It is argued here that the function of the well-field system of land ownership is consistent with the role of ritual propriety in Zhang Zai’s philosophy of qi 氣, which emphasizes the realization of a great harmony; a state of vital, affective harmony and equilibrium. In other words, this configuration of land works to realize economic equity, a means to the further end of producing and sustaining equilibrium and harmony among members of a community, and this, I argue, is also the function of ritual propriety.