Transcendence and Tian in the Analects

While appreciating Roger Ames and David Halls’ provoking thoughts on the lack of transcendence in Chinese philosophy, the author of this paper discusses transcendence in the Chinese tradition by re-examining an important notion, tian 天, in Confucius’ Analects . Ames and Hall employ tian as strong evidence to reject the transcendent reading in the translation of tian as “Heaven”—having listed all the lines/places where tian is used in Analects. The author argues that although tian in the Analects differs from the Christian God as a creator, it is a purposeful supreme being that “goes beyond” the human world. Comparing it to Aristotle’s notion of God ( theos ), the author thinks that Aristotle’s theos differs from the Judo-Christian conception God. For Aristotle, contemplation, the highest human activity, is also what characterizes God. Contemplation, then, becomes a special link between human beings and the universe. Theos and tian share some similar nature traits. When one exercises contemplative activity, it puts one in the state of being one with God. Both Confucius and Aristotle intend to actualize what is divine in us internally. Philosophically, Confucius’ heavenly-based mission could be compared to Socrates’ divine mission of doing philosophy. The author concludes that tian is not a deity that creates the world, as Hall and Ames point out. However, when discussing lacking transcendence, one should keep in mind that the Judeo-Christian tradition is foreign idea not only to the Chinese tradition, but to the Ancient Greeks as well.