上博（七）〈凡物流形〉與上博（五） 〈鬼神之明〉，都對鬼神的威靈提出質疑，對此後戰國、秦漢以下，以迄魏晉、隋唐，形神離合議題逐漸茁壯、發展，終於成為中國哲學史上的重要議題，有著象徵性的起源意義。其實，傳統中國雖尊祖重祀，鬼神色彩卻並不強烈。大家門派的相關記載中，大致上還是理性清明的。先秦以前早有如〈凡物流形〉與〈鬼神之明〉之類，對鬼神的存在問題提出質疑。也有如〈祭義〉之類，對於鬼神與祭祀的究竟作出理性解釋。即使宗教色彩最濃厚的墨家，對祭祀的價值，也有平正的看法。道教理論作為宗教性的存在，不論其如何強調精神的重要與對形體的越離，卻始終沒有忘懷形、氣、神一體、「形」為「神」之據點的基本思維。魏晉時期重要的養生理論，也大致兼顧形神。下迨晉宋， 范縝的神滅論，正式樹起「無神論」的大纛。中國長久以來，形神關係的理論交纏，終於有了較為直接而正面的表述。上離〈凡物流形〉與〈鬼神之明〉時代，已跨過七、八百年。而在傳世典籍相關於形手中的論述中， 「氣」經常是關鍵性的核心元素。〈凡物流形〉與〈鬼神之明〉的鬼神理論雖不涉及「氣」，然從〈凡物流形〉下半篇對「一」質性的論述中，「氣」概念其實已呼之欲出了。

Both the seventh ("AII Things Flow into Form" ) and the fifth ("The Intelligence of Ghosts and Gods") of the Chu bamboo slips collected by the Shanghai Museum questioned the power of ghosts and gods; and this questioning symbolically generated the topic about the division and unity of form and spirit, which developed and matured throughout the period of Warring States, the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Wei and Jin dynasties and the Sui and Tang dynasties, and finally became an important topic in the hi story of Chinese philosophy. Actually, while ancestors were revered and sacrifices valued, gods and ghosts didn't play any prominent role in traditional China. According to the documents about the preeminent schools, their rituals were largely reasonable and rational. The existence of ghosts and gods were questioned even before the pre -Qin period, as exemplified in "All Things Flow into Form" and "The Intelligence of Ghosts and Gods," while there were also rational explanations about ghosts, gods and sacrifices, as in the case of "The Meaning of Sacrifices." Even the most religious school, Mohism, had just and fair opinions about the value of sacrifices. Though emphasizing the importance of spirit and the transcendence beyond form, Taoism, as a religious entity, never diverted from its fundamental thoughts that form, chi and spirit were united while form was the foothold of spirit. The important theories of regimen in the Wei and Jin dynasties generally stroke a balance between form and spirit. It was not until the Jin and Sung dynasties that atheism was officially announced by Fan Zhen's theory of immortality. Seven or eight centuries after "All Things Flow into Form" and "The Intelligence of Ghosts and Gods," for the first time in the long history of China, a more direct and straight forward statement was made about the relationship between form and spirit. In the ancient documents on form and spirit, "chi" was usually a key and central element. While the theories in "All Things Flow into Form" and "The Intelligence of Ghosts and Gods" did not involve "chi," this very concept was strongly suggested by the qualitative discourse on "One" in the second part of "All Things Flow into Form."