一般認為周敦頤《太極圖說》或《通書》受到《中庸》及《易傳》影響，因此周敦頤定靜功夫思維自然而然也就被認定為來自《中庸》或《易傳》。不過筆者透過先前研究〈《管子》定靜思維對周敦頤定靜工夫之影響─以朱丹溪三重鬱說思維結構維視點〉之分析結果，發現《管子》之「中靜，形正，天仁地義」實踐論述系統，的確可以對應於「定之以中正仁義而主靜」言說。如此一來，《太極圖說》之中正概念便可以援用《管子•內業》「中靜形正」之觀點，而從另一個角度予以慎重地看待。所以筆者首先根據劉蕺山與牟宗三之詮釋觀點作一爬梳，之後再就日本學者荻原擴、岡田武彥之幾種觀點以為對照，從而發現《管子•內業》之「中靜形正」所開展之解釋格局，其不僅在概念上可以邏輯涵蓋荻原擴將中正解為「至公」；另一方面就哲學公案上又可滿足朱子所謂「中正仁義之外別無主靜一事」的形式要求。因為在「中靜形正」模式下，我們的確可以將周敦頤主靜說擺入中正概念之中，並且透過「內靜外敬」實踐模式擴展了周敦頤之工夫論述張力。同時在此思維結構下，由於「中靜」之無欲概念具有指涉本體義之可能，從而保全了周敦頤宇宙本體論的形上高度。

In general, people think Annotations to Taijitu or Tongshu (Penetrating the Scripture of Change) were influenced by Zhongyong and Commentary to The Book of Changes. Therefore, the dingjing skill and thought of Zhou Dun-Yi were also considered to be originated from Zhongyong or Commentary to The Book of Changes. However, based on my previous research “Influence of the Guanzi’s Dingjing Thought upon Zhou Dun-Yi’s dingjing Skill: From Perspectives of Thought and Structure of Zhu Dan-Xi’s Triad Melancholy Theory,” it showed that the implementation and discourse system of “with tranquility in mind and integrity in appearance, the world can enjoy benevolence and righteousness” in the Guanzi could certainly correspond to the argument of “one settles himself in moderation, benevolence and justice.” As a result, the concept of moderation in Annotations to Taijitu could interpret from the viewpoint of “tranquility in mind and integrity in appearance” in Neiye (Internal Work) of the Guanzi and be understood more concisely from another perspective. Therefore, the author first organized the interpretations of Liu Ji-Shan and Mo Zong-San, compared with several viewpoints of Japanese scholars Hiroshi Ogiwara and Takehiko Okada and achieve a possible explanation of “tranquility in mind and integrity in appearance” in Neiye. On the one hand, the concept could logically cover the argument of Ogiwara who interpreted moderation as “utmost righteousness.” On the other hand, it could satisfy the form of the so-called “no tranquility existing without moderation, benevolence and justice” of Zhuzi in philosophical documents. As in the mode of “tranquility in mind and integrity in appearance,” we could place the doctrine of emphasizing tranquility of Zhou Dun-Yi in the moderation concept and expand the strength of Zhou Dun-Yi’s theory of self-cultivation through the implementation mode of “inner tranquility and outer respect.” Thus, the concepts of “tranquility in mind” and “without desire” contain ontological significance, and are comparable to the cosmological discussion of Zhou Dun-yi.