This paper revisits a famously difficult passage on the various dao 道 associated by the philosopher Mengzi 孟子 (4th cent BCE) with attaining an “Unmoved Heart” 不動心, i.e., remaining fearlessly determined when confronting a challenge. Professor Riegel first published a study of the passage in 1980. The years have disclosed the limitations and errors of that earlier work; hence this re-examination. The present paper argues for interpretations of Mengzi’s comments on his own dao as well as that of Gaozi 告子 that depart from both traditional commentaries and recent scholarship as well as for a re-evaluation of the identity of Gaozi and his relationship with Mengzi.

Speaker 
Prof. Jeffrey Riegel
Professor Emeritus, The University of California, Berkeley and The University of Sydney
Prof. Jeffrey Riegel is retired from professorial positions at the University of California, Berkeley (1979-2007), and The University of Sydney (2007-2017). Professor Riegel has published widely on early Chinese thought, literature, and archaeology. He has been a visiting professor at Cambridge University, Fudan University, Renmin University, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and still occasionally gives talks in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and North America. His articles appear in major Sinological journals. A selection of them, translated into Chinese, was published in 2024 by the Zhonghua shuju in Hong Kong.