中國哲學常被視為主體性的哲學，中國文化常被視為心的文化，佛教入華以後，以無限心為主導的思想更被當成三教的主軸。本文指出先秦哲學與理學都有物的哲學，先秦儒道兩家的物的哲學指向以五行為代表的物，五行之物既是聖顯，也是原型。理學的物學興盛於北宋時期，其學源於理學家對佛教緣起性空說的反動，北宋理學上法《易經》、《中庸》，將物視為太極創生的「無妄」之物，具有本體論的真實（誠）之意。邵雍的「以物觀物」乃是理學的物學蘊含的工夫論，觀物說是以遮撥的途徑讓物自顯，主體的虛靜與物的自然狀態同時成就。

Chinese philosophy is often regarded as a subjective philosophy, and Chinese culture a culture with mind at its core. Following the introduction of Buddhism into China, the idea of a boundless mind came to be regarded as the central axis of Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism. However, this article argues that both pre-Qin Confucianism and Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism emphasized not only the importance of mind but also the significance of things. The philosophy of things in pre-Qin Daoism and Confucianism focused on the “five phases” of things, i.e., metal, wood, water, fire and earth. The “five phases” of things were both sacred and archetypal. The Neo-Confucian philosophy of things arose during the Northern Song as a reaction to the Buddhist concept of dependent origination. Northern Song Neo-Confucians revered the Yijing 易經 and Zhongyong 中庸, regarding things as being created by the Taiji 太極 and therefore ontologically genuine and authentic. Song dynasty philosopher Shao Yong’s 邵雍 approach of “observing things in terms of the things themselves 以物觀物,” is therefore a skill implied by the Neo-Confucian philosophy of things: it uses the rejected way of observing things to allow things to manifest themselves. The subject is quietly contented, while the thing observed reveals its natural state.