Cun 存 as Caring Existence: Ontology and Ethics in Early Chinese Thought and Heidegger

Abstract Ontology and ethics are often regarded as distinct fields in contemporary philosophy, reflecting a broader division between the natural and social worlds in modern thought. In contrast, ancient Chinese thought presents a different perspective. The term cun 存 , for example, encompasses both existence and care within its meaning. This affective dimension of cun has largely been forgotten in modern East Asian languages, where it is now used in cunzai , a generic and somewhat hollow translation of “being.” However, in pre-Qin Chinese texts, such as Mencius and the Xici, cun was employed in a way that integrates existence with ethics and care with ontology. This interwoven interpretation of existence and care also resonates with Heidegger’s concept of Sorge (care), a central idea in his seminal work Being and Time . Heidegger explored the care for other Daseins and for the world, as well as the relationship between care and time, which he viewed as fundamental to the existence of Dasein. I aim to demonstrate that cun was used in ways that parallel these aspects of Sorge . Through this comparison, I seek to achieve two main objectives: 1) to show that an ethical interpretation of Heidegger’s fundamental ontology is indeed possible, and 2) to highlight that ancient Chinese thought engages with the concept of being or existence, contrary to the view that East Asian philosophy is nihilistic and limited to moralization – showing instead that it always links existence with ethics.