Ti () is the
Chinese word for
substance or body.
The philosopher
Zhang Zai described the ti as "that which is never absent, that is, through all transformations."
In
Neo-Confucianism
Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, and originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) ...
, this concept is often associated with
yong, which means "use" or "function." Such function or how the ''yong'' of a thing is its activity or its response when stimulated underscores the link.
Like the concepts of ''nei-wai'' (inner-outer) and ''ben-mo'' (root-branch), ''ti-yong'' is central to Chinese
metaphysics
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
. The link was adopted in order to manifest the actual meaning of the two truths and the relationship between them.
References
Concepts in Chinese philosophy
{{NeoConfucianism-stub