所謂形神思想，是指先秦以來從形體與精神兩方面著眼據以討論生命問題的一種思想。依筆者觀察，這種思想發展到魏晉南北朝時代，有一重大轉變。不但在論述領域方面擴大了，而且思維模式也變得有多樣性。筆者從嵇康形神相親的養生論述、慧遠形盡神不滅的佛學論述及顧愷之、宗炳以形寫神的繪畫論述之中，勾勒出其所蘊涵的返無全有、崇本息末及明無因有等這些玄理。並且指出這些玄理使得嵇康等人的形神論述提升了思想的高度，強化了義理的深度；而嵇康等人在形神論述方面的文化實踐，則使玄理得以落實，彰顯出其豐富的意義。

The term hsing-shen (form-spirit) thought refers to a kind of thinking, which began before the Ch'in. As it discusses questions of life, this mode of thought makes an effort to keep both the physical form and its spiritual aspect as the focus of discourse. As far as the present author can tell from his studies, this kind of thought underwent a great change by the time it developed to the Wei-Chin and Northern-Southern Dynasties. Not only was the domain of discourse extended, but the styles of thinking also multiplied. This article considers such examples as: Chi K'ang's doctrine of nourishing life by the mutual intimacy of material form and spirit; Hui Yuan's Buddhist doctrine of the non-destruction of the spirit when the material form has come to an end; and the painterly doctrines of Ku K'ai-chih and Tsung Ping on using the physical form to portray the spirit. In this way, the present author highlights such principles of hsuan-hsueh as “return to nothing to complete positive existence,”“exalt the root and relieve the branches,”as well as“illuminate the substance (non-being) with the appearance (beings).” Moreover, this article points out that such principles of hsuan-hsueh allowed the hsing-shen discourse of people such as Chi K'ang to bring thought to a higher level, and to strengthen and deepen the philosophical and ethical teachings of yi-li. The cultural achievements of the discourse on hsing-shen by people such as Chi K'ang brought hsuan-hsueh to fruition, and manifested its rich and deep significance.