From Gewu to Xinxing: The Threefold Hermeneutic Pathways of Zhu Xi’s “Cheng Yi” (Sincerity of Intention) and Its Intellectual Progression

本文以朱子“诚意”诠释的演进为线索，揭示其从《大学章句》的知识论建构到《语类》“心行一致”的三重诠释转向。通过分析文本可以发现：朱子晚年以《玉山讲义》为核心，将“诚意”升华为心体与行为的动态统一，既消解“本体–工夫”的二元困境，又回应心学挑战。转向核心在于以“诚意”重构心性本体与格物工夫的实践枢纽。最终凸显“诚意”沟通内向心性论与外向工夫论的方法论突破——当“心行一致”取代单向认知时，儒学修身传统便呈现“心体–天理”通过行为诠释互构的新模式。This paper traces the evolutionary trajectory of Zhu Zi’s interpretation of “cheng yi”, revealing its threefold hermeneutic shift from the epistemological construction in Commentary on the Great Learning to the paradigm of “unity of inner mind and outer conduct” in Classified Conversations. Through textual analysis, it demonstrates that Zhu Zi’s late-life synthesis, centered on the Yushan Lecture Notes, elevates “cheng yi” into a dynamic unification of the mind-substanceand ethical praxis. This transformation simultaneously resolves the dualistic dilemma between “ontological foundation and moral cultivation” while addressing challenges posed by the School of Mind. The crux of this hermeneutic turn lies in reconstructing “cheng yi” as the pivotal nexus connecting the ontology of human nature with the practice of investigating things. Ultimately, it highlights the methodological breakthrough achieved through “cheng yi” in bridging introspective moral psychology and outwardly-oriented cultivation techniques. When “unity of mind and conduct” replaces unidirectional epistemological cognition, Confucian self-cultivation tradition manifests a new paradigm of mutual constitution between “mind-substance and Heavenly principle” through hermeneutically embodied practice