本文討論朱熹形上思想，說明其有繼承北宋儒學的必要性及義理創作的特殊性，更有與其工夫論不同思路的獨立性。首先討論勞思光先生及牟宗三先生對朱熹的批評意見，對於勞先生的心性論中心之解釋架構對朱熹存有論義的形上學的批評，指出勞先生的心性論中心亦須包含形上學議題之意旨，而朱熹之形上學意見可以不混入工夫論意見而有其獨立意義。對於牟宗三先生以朱熹存有論不負擔創生實踐功能，指出牟先生的問題意識是工夫實踐以至境界完成而非存有論思路，而朱熹是在談論存有論，因此不必受到這樣的批評。其次討論形上學概念在當代學界的使用定義，藉由區分實踐哲學的功夫境界論及形上學的宇宙論本體論和存有論的概念使用意義，以說明朱熹形上思想遭受批評的原因，並為朱熹澄清。接著說明朱熹特殊具有創造性意義的存有論形上學觀點，討論朱熹的理氣概念架構以說天地萬物的存有論架構，指出這是特殊的形上學論題，並毋須與工夫論議題混為一談。並就人存有者而言，說明朱熹以性善說為宗旨說本體論及人性論、並藉性氣結構說人的為惡現象、以及在人的氣稟限制中說命定論、及朱熹對整個儒學史的人性論理論意見之重整系統、最後落實於以心統性情說以確立道德實踐主體的存有架構，文中指出這一部份的討論正是朱熹集北宋儒學之大成，並最能徹底解決儒家性善說的形上學問題的創作系統，應予清晰解讀及準確理解。本文藉由形上學問題意識的釐清，來說清楚朱熹所談的形上學問題，用以區隔朱熹工夫論的發言，並避免當代學者從工夫論進路批評朱熹不如象山及陽明學的意見。

Neo-Confucianism has now been well-known by the western society, for its influence on Chinese culture is immense. Among its proponents, Master Chu-Hsi is the most influential among them, the reason of which can be attributed to his fully speculative viewpoints and his comprehensive senses of philosophy problems. In Chu-Hsi’s theory, metaphysics is his most creative contribution to Confucianism. However, it is susceptible to being miss-understood by his contemporaries and today’s scholars, for his basic concerns about the metaphysics are so much different from the other Confucians. While the theory of the reality and the value are concerned by all the Confucian philosophers and they had provided many different yet profoundly metaphysical systems, Master Chu-Hsi notices the problems of the definitions of all the concepts concerning the reality and the ultimate value and develops a new metaphysical system discussing the problems of the reality of the whole Being in the universal, the moral potential difference between people and the animal. In this article the author is going to introduce Master Chu-Hsi’s metaphysical constructions and creations. The discussion will be proceeded as follows: (1) the reflection of the modern interpretational systems, (2) the definition of the concept of metaphysics in Chinese philosophy, (3) the original questions of Chu-Hsi’s metaphysical thinking, (4) the theory of the whole Being of the Universal, (5) the theory of human nature and the explanation of why the moral ability is different in the human beings, (6) the existential difference between human creatures and the animals, and (7) the meaning of the contribution of Chu-Hsi’s metaphysics in the history of the development of Confucianism.