Abstract: Zhu Zi explained the meaning of the word "qin" in Shang Shu as "jing(reverential)" to establish his Neo-Confucianist view on the "Ways of Yao and Shun". From the perspective of the cultivation of "qin", Zhu Zi commented that "qin" enables a thorough understanding of things and that Buddhists and Taoists focuse too much on the mental state instead of the problems in reality. In terms of the ti-yong relationship, Zhu Zi held that "qin" provides the basis on which "ming(intelligence)" depends, and opposed the Buddhist and Taoist explanations of "qin" as "jing(tranquility)" which isolated ti and yong(the ontological existence and the expression and application). From the perspective of the virtues of the sage, Zhu Zi noted that "qin" comes first and is the most important, while what the Buddhist and Taoist claims to be the fundamental are actually false understanding. Zhu Zi’s interpretation of "qin" aims to criticize the Buddhist and Taoist thoughts and clarify the "ways of Yao and Shun" from the Neo-Confucianist perspective.

Key words: classical interpretation, Zhu Zi, qin, dialectical reflections on Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, views on the sages