近來學者大多服膺湯用彤先生所揭櫫「玄學為本/末、有/無之辨」的論述架構，各家論述成果燦然可觀，然而大體上仍是落在湯氏提出的玄學架構裡進行析論。後繼的研究者如欲跳脫傳統的論述框架，是一項艱鉅的任務。 筆者嘗試擱置從「有/無」 、 「名教/自然」範疇討論嵇康哲學的模式，選擇從一個簡單的設問出發，即「人」做為一種存有的狀態，嵇康如何構設生命自身之「存在」？「存在」具有何種限制？面對限制個體是否有超越可能？這些基本假設均將直接影響嵇康看待與生命相關的各種議題。 全文擬以「氣/命」 、 「心/身」為探討的兩大範疇，嘗試將嵇康學說中有關個體生命存有狀態的論述予以顯題化。文末，筆者將指出嵇康理論中尚未完備的部分。

Recent studies on Neo-Taoism show a great influence from the famous philosopher Tang Yong-tong. To develop their analytical frameworks, many of these studies adopt Tang's view that "Neo-Taoism is primarily a philosophy about the ben/mo and you/wu distinctions." The results of this line of enquiry are quite impressive; indeed, it has made Tang's view a sort of paradigm in the field. Hence it is expected that little effort is found among scholars to break away from this paradigm and to trail a new path, which after all is not an easy task. In this paper I propose a new way to look at the philosophy of Ji Kang by going beyond the conventional categories of" you/wu" and "ming jiao/ zi ran". I begin my enquiry by asking a few basic questions: Suppose that "man" is regarded as a state of being, how would Ji Kang define and construct this "being"? What kinds of limitations would be assigned to it? Would there be any possibility to transcend these limitations? Answers to these questions, I believe, would bring forth some of the basic assumptions which directly affect the ways in which Ji Kang conceptualizes "man" as well as issues related to it. Briefly stated, the purpose of this paper is to make explicit and to explore the theme of "state of being" inherent in Ji Kang's theory. I will do so by highlighting two specific categories, the" qi/ming" and the" xin/shen," as the main foci of my enquiry. Towards the end of the paper, I will also point out those parts of Ji Kang's theory which are yet to be fully devel-oped.