在天道至善且一本的前提上，宋儒者為了說明萬物之所以分殊，以及何以人性善而物性不善的原因，諸大儒透過「氣化」之不齊來解釋，而建立了「形上之天道」與「形下之氣化」二分的義理架構。船山以本體純然一氣，既不容許氣有不善的可能，更不能同意上、下二分的格局。在一本萬殊的問題上，船山對「天命之謂性」做了創造性的詮釋，認為天、人之際並非只有「天命」與「性」兩層，而是有「天」、「命」、「性」三層存有：「天」體是純然一氣本體、「命」體是氣化流行體、「性」體是氣之定體。「天」之一氣「於其上發生」天之「命」，即氣之化；氣之化凝成的人、物個體，即「性」體。因天命神變不測之用不同，以致於人、物之性乃分化萬殊。人、物之「性」與氣化之「命」，同含於「天」、同此純然一氣之「實」，故雖異以「用」，卻非異以「體」。「天」、「命」、「性」同此「一實」，卻又有「先後大小之序」的不同；正由於這種既一而又不一關係，故本體一氣能「分」化為萬殊；雖「分」萬殊，卻無礙於一本。

Under the presupposition of ontological monism that T'ien-Tao was absolute Good, in order to explain the problems of "How the Manifoldness of Phenomena Did Be Created through the Ultimate 'One'" and 'why the natural character of human were good but of all things beside human were not good', the Confucian scholars in Sung dynasty asserted that they were owing to the vary functions (Yung) of Chi. The master scholars declared that Chi is a concept belonging to phenomena, while T'ien-Tao was the creating substance that creates all things and governs all the movements and changes of Chi. Wang Chuan-Shan asserted the universal substance was 'Chi', Chi was absolute Good, and he also opposed the point of dichotomy between T'ien-Tao and Chi. "The Doctrine of the mean" Said 'What Heaven (T'ien) imparts to man is called human nature.' Wang made this Words a creativity interpretation, he declared that there were not only two gradate Beings of T'ien-Ming (Heaven's Order)、Hsing (Nature) between Heaven and people, but had three gradate Beings of T'ien (Heaven)、Ming or T'ien-Ming (Heaven's Order)、Hsing (Nature). Trying to explain it, we were forced to use the language to indicate the universal substance. When Wang interpreted that the Shin (reality) of the universal substance was Chi, Chi was equal to the substance itself. If T'ien (Heaven) as a Ming (name, concept) that was used to indicate the substance itself, thus T'ien was equal to the Shin (reality) of Chi. Hsing (Nature) was the individuality of Chi. Ming (Heaven's Order) was an special entity of Chi that be continuously arising vary functions. So, Ming was arising upon T'ien, then Hsing of human and all things was arising upon Ming. Although it was absolutely same between the Shin (reality)of T'ien、Ming and Hsing, but it had the ontological distinction among them: which one was after another? which one was comprised by another? Owing to the deification of T'ien-Ming could not speculate, It resulted the manifoldness of phenomena and the natural character of human were good but of all things beside human were not good. Viewed from T'ien-Ming, it is diversified, so that Hsings of human and of all things were mutual different, from T'ien. Chi is "The One".