對于《太一生水》文本是一篇還是兩篇的問題,學界存在不同看法,其癥結在于對《太一生水》的主題、篇章劃分等問題的分歧。從文本的整體結構入手,可以發現《太一生水》有一個類似經傳或總論、分論的結構。在這一結構下,《太一生水》只能是一篇文獻,而非兩篇不同的文本。但由于缺少對神明、陰陽、四時等概念的進一步解釋,《太一生水》并非一篇完整的哲學文獻,其主題也并非為了描述宇宙萬物的生成過程,而是為了說明以太一為根據的本體論。

here are different opinions in academic circles as to whether the text of Tai Yi sheng shui is in fact one work or two. The reason for this lies in a disagreement concerning its thematic and chapter division. Starting from the overall structure of the text,it can be found that Tai Yi sheng shui has a structure similar to that of a general and specific discussions. With this structuring,Tai Yi sheng shui can only be one document,not two different texts. It is however an incomplete philosophical document because it lacks further explanations of the concepts of shen-ming,Yin and Yang,and the four seasons. On this basis,we can revisit the theme of Tai Yi sheng shui,and conclude that its goal is not to describe the generative process of all things in the universe,but rather to illustrate the ontology based on the Tai Yi.