Abstract: The concept of “relational ontology” is used by care ethicists to explain the moral ground of care, but this concept does not refer to a strict philosophical commitment of the ontology. It refers to a social psychological perspective on the importance of relationships. The phenomenon description of the caring relationship cannot directly deduce the universal “ought” of morality,which lacks the key step of philosophical reflection.Therefore,there is still a gap between “is” and “ought” within care ethics.Previous comparative studies on Confucian “Ren” and “care” mostly start from the dimension of the “Yong” of “Ren”,which ignores the difference of their moral ontology.The ontology of Confucian “Ren” is essentially a relation-based ontology,but it is featured by the “integration of Ti and Yong”,which indicates the oneness of “is” and “ought”.It is embodied in its two-layer relational ontology framework:the Pre-Qin Confucians also take the emotional relationship with “Xiao Ti” in the family relation as the foundation of “Ren”.This is similar to that the care ethicists value the caring relationship in the natural family field.However,the Confucian “Xiao Ti” as the core of the “Qin Qin” relationship already contains the ethical “ought”;secondly,after the Song Dynasty(960 A.D.-1297 A.D.),the Neo-Confucians emphasize more on the relationship of “the oneness of everything” as the cosmological origin of “Ren”,explaining how the ethical care based on family relationship can be extended to all beings in the universe.The two-level relational ontology of “Ren” in Confucianism is of enlightening significance to overcome the gap between “is” and “ought” in care ethics.

Key words: relational ontology, Confucianism, care ethics, the oneness of everything