朱熹(1130-1200)向來被視為宋明理學的標竿人物，惟若依自律倫理學之視域檢視朱子學的內涵，其心、性分設的理論預設，使其招致不少負面的評判。近來論者試圖為朱子學中的道德實踐根源尋求解方，然若站穩朱子所論之「心」屬「氣」的立場，其倫理學仍存在著他律的疑慮。不過，一旦我們調整視角，跳脫西方倫理學的認識框架，將朱子學重置於儒者禮教思維的脈絡下來檢視，則可窺其建構理學的問題意識乃在為吾人之行禮提供自主性的理論依據，故於中國禮教思想史中有其突破的地位。在此理解基礎下，本文試圖指出：朱子的修身工夫論，與其重「禮」思維息息相關；故其理論系統中的心、性、情、理、敬等語彙概念，皆應納入該脈絡之下審視，始能有一整全性的理解。

Zhu Xi 朱熹 has been consistently identified as a leading figure in the Neo- Confucian movement. However, when examined from the perspective of autonomous ethics, the Zhu Xi school has been criticized because of its theoretical supposition that the mind and nature are binary. Although scholars have attempted to explain and defend the moral practices of the Zhu Xi school, the concern of heteronomy remains in its ethics since, according to Zhu, the mind is categorized as qi 氣. However, once we think outside the frame of Western ethics and re-examine Zhu’s position within the context of Confucian ritual discourse, we can more clearly discern its problematic regarding the structure of lixue 理學. This new perspective provides evidence regarding the autonomy of ritual practice, and it should therefore be viewed as a breakthrough in the intellectual history of Chinese ritual philosophy. This article contends that Zhu Xi’s theory of self-cultivation is deeply connected to his conception of ritual. The lexical concepts within Zhu’s theoretical system, including mind (xin心), nature (xing 性), sentiment (qing 情), principle (li 理), and reverence (jing 敬), should therefore be viewed from this perspective in order to develop a more thorough understanding of his thought.