Abstract

This article provides an overview of controversies in the history of Chinese philosophy concerning the diversity of meanings of the term Li    , as well as the comparative issues raised in various attempts by modern Chinese and Western interpreters to come to terms with this diversity of meanings. Revisiting the earliest pre-philosophical uses of the term, an attempt is then made to synthesize the insights of previous interpreters and open up a new path for investigating its distinctive implications in classical Chinese thought, Chinese Buddhism, and Neo-Confucianism.