Mou Zongsan牟宗三(1909-1995) has interpreted Zhu Xi's li as "dan li"但理, by which he means li is "merely being but not at the same time activity" 只存有而不活動. However, "dan li" had never appered in Zhu Xi's works and is actually a special term used by the Tiantai天台school to characterize the "middle Way" 中道 of separate, or distinct, teachings別教. Mou Zongsan has most likely borrowed criticisms made by the Tiantai school to characterize Zhu Xi's li. This article first gives an account of the original idea of "dan li" within the doctrine of Tiantai and indicates how it had been developed in the Song dynasty. Secondly, the author analyzes why Mou Zongsan regards Zhu Xi's li as "dan li," pointing out that he takes Mind-only, or Consciousness-only, 唯識school's concept of "objective and immobile tathatā" 凝然真如 as a parallel to Zhu Xi's li, which shows Mou Zongsan's attempt of a doctrinal categorization in Confucianism. Finally, the article argues that from the perspectives of self-cultivation and ontology, theoretical problems exist in Mou Zongsan's interpretation of Zhu Xi's li, resulting in his li being unable to be just "dan li."