朱子的工夫思想有著內在的發展理路。在「中和舊說」時期，朱子以體用思維來處理已發未發問題，認為未發是體，是性；已發是用，是心。與此心性論相對應，朱子提出了「先察識後涵養」的為學工夫思想。在「中和新說」時期，朱子則以經驗現象中的時間先後和空間動靜來區分已發未發，把未發理解為心之「思慮未萌、事物未至」的狀態、已發理解為心之「思慮已萌、事物交至」的狀態，並認為「性為心之體、情為心之用，心統性情」。與這種心性論相對應，朱子提出了「未發涵養，已發省察，敬貫通已發未發」的為學工夫。而在晚年，朱子則以心在應事接物時是否順理而為來區分已發未發，進而把已發未發融合貫通起來，不再執著已發未發之間的時間先後和空間動靜的界限。由是，朱子晚年試圖打通涵養主敬工夫與格物窮理工夫，使之融合為一，強調涵養主敬與格物窮理相互滲透、相互發明，其工夫思想也走向了更圓融之境。

Chu Hsi’s Gong-fu Thought has its intrinsic development clue. During the period of his ‘early doctrine of Mean,’ Chu Hsi dealt with the stirring and not stirring problems by thinking of entity and function; he considered that not stirring was entity and nature, while stirring was function and mind. Corresponding to the theory of mind and nature, Chu Hsi proposed the Studying Gong-fu Thought which means ‘first identifying the source of consciousness then cultivating with Heart.’ During the period of his ‘later doctrine of Mean,’ Chu Hsi made the distinction between the stirring and not stirring through chronological arrangement and motion and still in space in empirical phenomena, through which not stirring was interpreted as the state of ‘thinking no sprout and things without realizing,’ while stirring was interpreted as the state of ‘thinking sprout and things realized.’ He also considered that ‘nature’ was the entity of mind, and Qing was the function of mind, man's spiritual mentality consists of sense and sensibility. Corresponding to such theory of mind and nature, Chu Hsi proposed the Studying Gong-fu Thought which means that ‘self-restrain when not stirring,self-examinate when stirring, and respectfulness exists through stirring and not stirring.’ In his later years, Zhu Hsi made the distinction between the stirring and not stirring through minds responding thing following Li or not, and thus made possible the interaction between the stirring and not stirring. He did not insist on figuring out the boundary of chronological arrangement and motion and still in space between stirring and not stirring. Therefore, Zhu Hsi tried to unite respectfulness and Ge-Wu-Qiong-Li as a whole and emphasized that respectfulness and Ge-Wu-Qiong-Li should be interpenetrative, which makes his Gong-fu Thought be more harmonious.