In the mid-Warring States period, someone put forward the theory of "essence", arguing that everything in nature is composed of material essence, which is more basic than "heaven".
At the end of the Warring States period, Xunzi inherited and reformed the "theory of spiritual nature". When explaining the origin of everything, we absorbed the former and regarded "Qi" as the material factor that constitutes everything. However, when explaining the characteristics of spiritual phenomenon, it sublates the latter, thinking that there is form first, then there is spirit, that is, "what the shape is, what the God is born of." Xunzi also believes that "fire and water are angry and lifeless, plants are angry and ignorant, and animals know but have no intention;" Living is righteousness, so it is the most expensive in the world. "It can be seen from this passage that Xunzi believes that everything in nature is composed of a unified" qi ",but fire, water, plants, animals and people are different stages of the development of qi, and the idea of evolution has sprouted here. Xunzi also believes that the operation law of natural "heaven" has nothing to do with the development of human society. Man should "master his destiny and make use of it", that is, he has the power to master the laws of nature to conquer nature and let nature serve mankind.
On the basis of Yuan Qi's theory, Wang Chong in Han Dynasty further put forward a relatively complete and systematic "Yuan Qi Naturalism", and used this theory to systematically criticize superstitions such as "the theory of harmony between man and nature". Wang Chong believes that everything in the universe is composed of primordial energy, which is the original material basis of nature. He pointed out that "heaven and earth are naturally angry." And pointed out that "heaven and earth are in harmony, and everything is born by itself." It means that heaven and earth are material entities containing vitality, and everything is produced by the material vitality contained in heaven and earth. Everything is "natural" and "spontaneous", and there is no willing creator outside the world. Wang Chong also believes that human beings are also condensed by primary energy, and Wang Chong also uses primary energy theory to explain various natural phenomena and natural disasters, covering a wide range.
After Wang Chong, after the development of the Three Kingdoms and the Jin Dynasty, Liu Zongyuan and Liu Yuxi in the Tang Dynasty also inherited and "developed" the theory of natural vitality. Zhang Zai in the Song Dynasty and even Wang Fuzhi in the early Qing Dynasty further developed the theory of vitality, making it more systematic and perfect. Zhang Zai and Wang Fuzhi successively put forward the view that "excess leads to qi". It is believed that "emptiness" cannot be a space without matter, but a matter full of "qi", a very subtle continuous state. Zhang Zai believes that emptiness is the noumenon state in which qi is dispersed but not aggregated, and everything is the different condensed state of qi. It is natural inevitability that qi condenses into tangible things, and everything is dispersed into qi and returns to intangible emptiness. Wang Fuzhi inherited and developed Zhang Zai's basic viewpoint, pointing out that "Yin and Yang are empty, and there is nothing but no gap. The image of the sky and the shape of the earth are within its scope. It means that the universe is full of material gas, and there is no other object that can be opposed to gas in the composition of the universe. Zhang Zai and Wang Fuzhi also put forward the idea of immortality of matter and conservation of motion and their mutual transformation. Zhang Zai thinks that Qi only gathers and disperses, does not exist and does not die. Wang Fuzhi also believes that the world is material, and matter is always moving. He pointed out that "movement is the movement of yin and yang. "This means that the world is made up of primitive energy, and primitive energy is in motion. The reason why it moves is because there are two opposites, Yin and Yang, which are interdependent and struggle with each other. Wang Fuzhi also believes that everything in nature is interrelated, and the universe is the sum of interrelated things. He pointed out: "Things are interdependent, and those who depend on them are completely dependent, and there is no doubt or deception. "This means that everything is interdependent with other things, and what they rely on is completely interdependent, without any hypocrisy.
Although there are many shortcomings in the theory of vitality today, there are also many ideas worth learning and carrying forward. How to critically absorb these ideas is the task left by the ancients to the present.