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Concept
Wuji (philosophy)
Summary
In Chinese philosophy, wújí (, meaning 'without limit') originally referred to infinity but came to mean the "primordial universe" prior to the "Supreme Ultimate" state of being (Taiji, 太極) in the Neo-Confucianist cosmology of Song Dynasty China.
Wuji is also a proper noun in Modern Standard Chinese usage; for instance, Wuji County in Hebei.
In Chinese wuji, "limitless; infinite" is a compound of the nothingness concept of wu 無 and ji. In analogy with the figurative meanings of English , Chinese ji 極 "ridgepole" can mean "geographical pole; direction" (e.g., siji 四極 "four corners of the earth; world's end"), "magnetic pole" Beiji 北極 "North Pole", Nanji 南极 "South Pole", yangji 陽極 "positive pole; anode" yinji 陰極 "negative pole; cathode"), (baji 八極 "farthest points of the universe; remotest place").
Common English translations of the cosmological Wuji are "Ultimateless" (Fung and Bodde 1953, Robinet 2008) or "Limitless" (Zhang and Ryden 2002), but other versions are "the ultimate of Nothingness" (Chang 1963), "that which has no Pole" (Needham and Ronan 1978), or "Non-Polar" (Adler 1999).
Wuji references are found in Chinese classic texts associated with diverse schools of Chinese philosophy, including Taoism, Confucianism, and School of Names. Zhang and Ryden summarize the philosophical transformation of wuji "limitless".
The expression 'limitless' and its relatives are found in the Laozi and the Zhuangzi and also in writings of the logicians. It has no special philosophical meaning. In Song-dynasty philosophy, however, the same expression 'limitless' should be translated as 'ultimate of beinglessness,' for the negative element is no longer qualifying the word 'limit' but is rather qualified by the word 'limit,' here to be translated into Song philosophical jargon as 'ultimate'. Wu = Nothingness, Void, Zero; Chi = Energy. Even science now says that the ground state of our universe is made of zero point energy. Wu-chi is the source of Tai-Chi. (2002:71)
The term Wuji first appears in a Daodejing context (c.
Official source
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