Chinese philosophy

New Confucianism

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New Confucianism is a new movement of Confucianism that began in the twentieth century. It is deeply influenced by, but not identical with, the Neo-Confucianism of the and dynasties.

The term itself was first used as early as 1963 . However, it did not come into common use until the late 1970s. There is considerable debate over what exactly "New Confucianism" is, and who counts as a "New Confucian." New Confucianism is often associated with the essay, "A Manifesto on Chinese Culture to the World," which was published in 1958 by Tang Junyi, Mou Zongsan, Xu Fuguan and Zhang Junmai. This work is often referred to as the "New Confucian Manifesto," although that phrase never occurs in it. The Manifesto presents a vision of Chinese culture as having a fundamental unity throughout history, of which Confucianism is the highest expression. The particular interpretation of Confucianism given by the Manifesto is deeply influenced by Neo-Confucianism, and in particular the version of Neo-Confucianism most associated with and Wang Yangming . In addition, the Manifesto argues that while China must learn from the West modern science and democracy, the West must learn from China "a more all-encompassing wisdom." Consequently, we might say that a "New Confucian" is anyone who believes that Confucianism can and should accommodate modern science and democracy, argues that Confucianism has a distinctive contribution to make to Western thought, and interprets Confucianism along the general lines of Neo-Confucianism.

On this characterization, leading contemporary New Confucians would include Liu Shuxian of Academia Sinica in Taiwan, Tu Wei-ming of Harvard, Robert Neville and John Berthrong of Boston University, and Chen Lai of the University of Beijing.

Many philosophers would agree with the New Confucians that Confucianism is a living and valuable contemporary philosophical position, but would dissent from reading Confucianism in terms of the thought of Neo-Confucians such as Wang Yangming. It would be an overly loose use of the term to describe such philosophers as "New Confucians."

Northern School

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'Northern School' denotes a school of . This nomenclature was perpetuated in western scholarship which for the most part has been largely through the lens of southern Chan. The term "East Mountain Teaching" is more culturally and historically appropriate. East Mountain gets its name from the East Mountain Temple on 'Shuangfeng' of Huangmei. The East Mountain Temple was on the easternmost peak of the two. "Northern School" is considered pejorative, implying the aphorism: "suddenness of the South, gradualness of the North" . This characterization of East Mountain Teaching is unfounded in light of documented evidence found amongst manuscripts recovered from the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang. , ''et. al'' commenting on this aphorism state:

Contrary to first impressions, the formula has little to do with geography. Like the general designations of Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna , the formula carries with it a value judgement. According to the mainstream of later Zen, not only is sudden enlightenment incomparably superior to gradual experience but it represents true Zen - indeed, it is the very touchstone of authentic Zen.

Kuiken in discussing a Dunhuang document of the Tang monk and meditator, 'Jingjue' states:

The aristocratic Tang monk and meditation teacher Jingjue wrote a collection of vitae of ten senior meditation teachers, all obviously outside the established meditation tradition of Mt Tiantai. Jingjue's surname was Wei 韋; he was a brother-in-law of emperor Zhongzong. Prior to 705 Shenxiu 神秀 ... was his tutor. After 708, Jingjue studied with the Pure Land teacher Xuanze 玄賾 . Jingjue's memorial stele: ''Inscription for the stupa of Master Jingjue, the late Bhadanta of the National Monastery of Da'an'' 大唐大安國寺故大德靜覺師塔銘, was written by Wang Wei 王維 . Jingjue's Record introduces Hongren of Huangmei 黃梅宏忍
as the main teacher in the sixth generation of the 'southern' or 'East Mountain' meditation tradition. Shenxiu is mentioned as Hongren's authorized successor. In Shenxiu's shadow, Jingjue mentions 'old An' 老安 as a 'seasoned' meditation teacher and some minor 'local disciples' of Hongren. Unlike Jingjue suggests, Shenxiu and Dao'an were connected with Yuquan 玉泉 Abbey in Jingzhou 荊州 , a meditation center related to the school at Mt Tiantai.

Dumoulin to redress the wronging of Fa-ju states:

The consciousness of a unique line of transmission of Bodhidharma Zen, which is not yet demonstrable in the Bodhidharma treatise, grew during the seventh century and must have taken shape on the East Mountain prior to the death of the Fourth Patriarch Tao-hsin
. The earliest indication appears in the epitaph for Fa-ju , one of the outstanding disciples of the Fifth Patriarch Hung-jen . The author of the epitaph is not known, but the list comprises six names: after Bodhidharma and Hui-k'o follow Seng-ts'an, Tao-hsin, Hung-jen, and Fa-ju. The Ch'uan fa-pao chi takes this list over and adds as a seventh name that of Shen-hsiu . In an epitaph for Shen-hsiu, his name is made to take the place of Fa-ju's. The Leng-ch'ieh shih-tzu chi omits Fa-ju and ends after Shen-hsiu with the name of his disciple P'u-chi . These indications from the Northern school argue for the succession of the Third Patriarch Seng-ts'an , which has been thrown into doubt because of lacunae in the historical work of Tao-hsuan. Still, the matter cannot be settled with certainty.

Fa-ju

The East Mountain Teachings were founded by Fa-ju whose principal teachers were Hui-ming and Daman Hongren. Because of Fa-ju the 'Shaolin Monastery' , constructed in 496CE, yet again became prominent. Fa-ju had only a brief stay at Shaolin Temple, but during his stay the cloister became the epicentre of the flourishing Chan movement. An epitaph commemorating the success of Fa-ju's pioneering endeavours is located on Mount Sung.

, ''et. al'' hold that: "Fa-ju and his colleagues mark the beginning of the activity of Bodhidharma Zen masters in North China." Unfortunately, Fa-ju did not have a good publicist and he was not included within the list of Cha'an Patriarchs.

Shen-hsiu

, ''et. al'' hold that: "No doubt the most important personage within the Northern school is Shen-hsiu, a man of high education and widespread notoriety."

Proponents

Pao-t'ang Wu-chu or 'Bao-tang Wu-zhu' , head and founder of Pao-t'ang Monastery at Chengdu, Szechwan located in south west China was a member of the East Mountain Teachings as was Reverend Kim .

Neo-Confucianism

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Neo-Confucianism / is a form of Confucianism that was primarily developed during the Song Dynasty, but which can be traced back to Han Yu and in the Tang Dynasty. It formed the basis of Confucian orthodoxy in the Qing Dynasty of China. It was a philosophy that attempted to merge certain basic elements of Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist thought. Most important of the early Neo-Confucianists was the Chinese thinker Zhu Xi .

Origins

Confucians of the Song Dynasty studied the classical works of their faith, but were also familiar with Buddhist and Taoist teachings. Buddhist thought offered to them many things that they considered worthy of admiration, including ideas such as the nature of the soul and the relation of the individual to the cosmos, ideas not yet fully explored by Confucianism. Song Confucians drew greatly from Buddhist thought as well as their own traditions, thus giving rise to the English-language name of "Neo-Confucianism".
One of the most important exponents of Neo-Confucianism was Zhu Xi . He was a rather prolific writer, maintaining and defending his Confucian beliefs of social harmony and proper personal conduct. One of his most remembered was the book Family Rituals, where he provided detailed advice on how to conduct weddings, funerals, family ceremonies, and the veneration of ancestors. Buddhist thought soon attracted him, and he began to argue in Confucian style for the Buddhist observance of high moral standards. He also believed that it was important to practical affairs that one should engage in both academic and philosophical pursuits, although his writings are concentrated more on issues of theoretical significance. It is reputed that he wrote many essays attempting to explain how his ideas were not Buddhist or Taoist, and included some heated denunciations of Buddhism and Taoism.

There were many competing views within the Neo-Confucian community, but overall, a system emerged that resembled both Buddhist and Taoist thought of the time and some of the ideas expressed in the Book of Changes as well as other yin yang theories associated with the Taiji symbol . A well known Neo-Confucian motif is of Confucius, , and Lao Tzu all drinking out of the same vinegar jar, paintings associated with the slogan "The three teachings are one!"

While Neo-Confucianism incorporated Buddhist and Taoist ideas, many Neo-Confucianists strongly oppose Buddhism and Taoism. Indeed, they rejected the Buddhist and Taoist religions. One of Han Yu's most famous essays decries the worship of Buddhist relics. Nonetheless, Neo-Confucian writings adapted Buddhist thoughts and beliefs to the Confucian interest. In China Neo-Confucianism was an officially-recognized creed from its development during the Song dynasty until the early twentieth century, and lands in the sphere of Song China were all deeply influenced by Neo-Confucianism for more than half a millennium.

World view

Zhu Xi's formulation of the Neo-Confucian world view is as follows. He believed that the Tao of Tian is expressed in principle or '''' , but that it is sheathed in matter or ''qi'' . In this, his system is based on Buddhist systems of the time that divided things into principle , and ''shi'' . In the Neo-Confucian formulation, ''li'' in itself is pure and perfect, but with the addition of ''qi'', base emotions and conflicts arise. Human nature is originally good, the Neo-Confucians argued , but not pure unless action is taken to purify it. The imperative is then to purify one's ''li''. However, in contrast to Buddhists and Taoists, neo-Confucians did not believe in an external world unconnected with the world of matter. In addition, Neo-Confucians in general rejected the idea of reincarnation and the associated idea of karma.

Different Neo-Confucians had differing ideas for how to do so. Zhu Xi believed in ''gewu'' , the Investigation of Things, essentially an academic form of observational science, based on the idea that ''li'' lies within the world. Wang Yangming , probably the second most influential Neo-Confucian, came to another conclusion: namely, that if ''li'' is in all things, and ''li'' is in one's heart, there is no better place to seek than within oneself. His preferred method of doing so was ''jingzuo'' , a practice that strongly resembles zazen or meditation. Wang Yangming developed the idea of ''innate knowing'', arguing that every person knows from birth the difference between and evil. Such knowledge is intuitive and not . These revolutionizing ideas of Wang Yangming would later inspire prominent Japanese thinkers like Motoori Norinaga, who argued that because of the Shinto deities, Japanese people alone had the intuitive ability to distinguish good and evil without complex rationalization. Wang Yangming's school of thought also provided, in part, an ideological basis for some samurai who sought to pursue action based on intuition rather than scholasticism. As such, it also provided an intellectual foundation for the radical political actions of low ranking samurai in the decades prior to the Meiji Ishin , in which the Tokugawa authority was overthrown.

The importance of ''li'' in Neo-Confucianism gave the movement its Chinese name, literally "The study of Li."

Bureaucratic examinations

Neo-Confucianism became the interpretation of Confucianism whose mastery was necessary to pass the by the , and continued in this way through the Qing dynasty until the end of the Imperial examination system in 1905. However, many scholars such as Benjamin Elman have questioned the degree to which their role as the orthodox interpretation in reflects the degree to which both the bureaucrats and Chinese gentry actually believed those interpretations, and point out that there were very active schools such as Han learning which offered competing interpretations of Confucianism.

The competing school of Confucianism was called the Evidential School or Han Learning and argued that Neo-Confucianism had caused the teachings of Confucianism to be hopelessly contaminated with Buddhist thinking. This school also criticized Neo-Confucianism for being detached from reality with empty philosophical speculation that was unconnected with reality.

Confucian canon

The Confucian canon as it exists today was essentially compiled by Zhu Xi. Zhu codified the canon of Four Books which in the subsequent Ming and Qing Dynasties were made the core of the official curriculum for the civil service examinations.

Prominent neo-Confucian scholars

China

*
* Lu Xiangshan aka Lu Jiuyuan
* Ouyang Xiu
* Shao Yong
* Su Shi, aka Su Dongpo
* Wang Yangming aka Wang Shouren
* Ye Shi
* Zhang Sanfeng
* Zhang Zai
* Zhou Dunyi
* Zhu Xi

Japan

* Fujiwara Seika
* Hayashi Razan
*
* Yamazaki Ansai
* Kumazawa Banzan
* Yamaga Sokō
* Itō Jinsai
* Kaibara Ekken
* Arai Hakuseki
* Ogyū Sorai
* Nakai Chikuzan
* ?shio Heihachirō

Korea

* An Hyang
* Yi Saek
* Jeong Mong-ju
* Jeong Dojeon
* Gil Jae
* Jeong Inji
* Kim Jong-jik
* Jo Gwang-jo
* Yi Hwang Pen name Toegye
* Jo Sik
* Yi I Pen name Yulgok
* Seong Hon
* Song Si-yeol

Neigong

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Neigong, also spelled ''nei kung'', ''neigung'', or ''nae gong'', is any of a set of and meditation disciplines associated with Daoism and especially the Chinese martial arts. Neigong practice is normally associated with the so called "soft style", "internal" or nèijiā 內家 Chinese martial arts, as opposed to the category known as waigong 外功 or "external skill" which is historically associated with shaolinquan or the so called "hard style", "external" or 外家 Chinese martial arts. Both have many different schools, disciplines and practices and historically there has been mutual influence between the two and distinguishing precisely between them differs from school to school.

There is both martial and non-martial neigong. Well known examples of martial neigong are the various breathing and focus trainings taught in some traditional Taijiquan, Baguazhang and Xingyiquan schools. An example of non-martial neigong is the discipline known as Daoyin.

Neigong and the internal martial arts

The martial art school of neigong emphasises training the coordination of the individual's body with the breath, known has the harmonisation of the inner and outer, 內外合一, creating a basis for a particular school's method of utilising power and technique.

Neigong exercises that are part of the neijia tradition involve cultivating physical stillness and or conscious movement, designed to produce relaxation or releasing of muscular tension combined with special breathing techniques known as the "tortoise" or "reverse" breathing methods to name but a few. The fundamental purpose of this process is to develop a high level of coordination, concentration and technical skill that is known in the martial arts world as 內勁. The ultimate purpose of this practice is for the individual to become at one with heaven or the Dao 天人合一. As Zhuangzi stated, "Heaven, earth and I are born of one, and I am at one with all that exists 天地與我並生, 萬物與我唯一".

Neigong and meditation

This type of practice is said to require concentration and internal reflection which results in a heightened self-awareness that increases over time with continued practice. Neigong practitioners report awareness of the mechanics of their blood circulation, peristalsis, muscular movement, skeletal alignment, balance, etc.

What is said to be occurring as the result of continual practice is a type of internal alchemy, that is a refinement and transmutation of the "Three Treasures" or ''San Bao'' 三寳, in Chinese. The Three Treasures are known as 精, Qi 氣 and 神 and can be loosely translated as Essence, Vitality and Spirit.

According to Daoist doctrine the Three Treasures can be described as three types of energy available to humans. The Dao De Jing purported to be written by Lao zi states in chapter 42 that "The Dao 道 gives birth to the One, the One gives birth to the Two and the Two gives birth to the Three and lastly the Three gives birth to the 10,000 Things ; which is all that exists in heaven and on earth.

Neijia

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The term "nèijiā" usually refers to Wudangquan or the internal styles of Chinese martial arts, which Sun Lutang identified in the 1920s as T'ai Chi Ch'uan, Xíngyìquán and Bāguàzhǎng. This classifies most other martial arts as "wàijiā" . Some other Chinese arts, such as Liuhebafa, Bak Mei Pai, Bok Foo Pai and Yiquan are frequently classified as internal or having internal qualities . These secondary neijia may be related to, or derived from, the primary arts.

Taoist martial arts

Shaolin is a family of Chinese martial arts that are linked with Buddhism and a particular mountain monastery that are categorized as wàijiā martial arts. The family of martial arts that are linked with Taoism are linked with the Taoist monastery on Wudang mountain and categorized as nèijiā martial arts. However, there is very little evidence that any of these internal styles actually originated in the Wudang area. There are additional ways of parsing the distinctions and defining the criteria that separate these two families of arts. All of these categories have some level of ambiguity and even the line between Buddhist and Taoist practices is not always a clear way to distinguish wàijiā and nèijiā martial arts.

Criteria for distinguishing the neijia arts

Sun Lutang identified the following as the criteria that distinguish an internal martial art:
# An emphasis on the use of the mind to coordinate the leverage of the relaxed body as opposed to the use of brute strength.
# The internal development, circulation, and expression of qì.
# The application of Taoist dǎoyǐn, qìgōng, and principles of external movement.

fuses principles from all three arts he named as neijia. Some Chinese martial arts other than the ones Sun named also teach what are termed internal practices, despite being generally classified as external . Some non-Chinese martial arts also claim to be internal. e.g. Aikido, I Liq Chuan, Ip Sun, and Kito Ryu jujutsu. Many martial artists, especially outside of China, disregard the distinction entirely. Some neijia schools refer to their arts as "" martial arts.

Earlier classifications

The term "nèijiā" and the distinction between internal and external martial arts first appears in Huang Zongxi's 1669 ''Epitaph for Wang Zhengnan''.
Stanley Henning proposes that the ''Epitaph'''s identification of the internal martial arts with the Taoism indigenous to China and of the external martial arts with the foreign Buddhism of —and the Manchu Qing Dynasty to which Huang Zongxi was opposed—was an act of political defiance rather than one of technical classification.

In 1676 Huang Zongxi's son, Huang Baijia, who learned martial arts from Wang Zhengnan, compiled the earliest extant manual of internal martial arts, the ''Nèijiā quánfǎ''.

Characteristics of neijia training

Internal styles focus on awareness of the spirit, mind, chi and the use of relaxed leverage rather than unrefined muscular tension. Pushing hands is a training method commonly used in neijia arts to develop sensitivity and softness.

In recent years, many of "New Age"-oriented schools have appeared, which traditionalists criticize for emphasizing philosophy and speculation at the expense of hard work. For this reason, and because in most internal schools beginning students are expected to work on very basic principles for an extended period of time, many people believe internal styles lack "external" physical training. In the older schools, this is usually not the case. Much time may be spent on basic physical training, such as stance training , stretching and strengthening of muscles, as well as on empty hand and weapon forms which can be quite demanding. Also, many internal styles have basic two-person training, such as pushing hands and duet forms.

Some forms in internal styles are performed slowly, although some include sudden outbursts of explosive movements , such as those the is famous for teaching earlier than some other styles . The reason for the generally slow pace is to improve coordination and balance by increasing the work load, and to require the student to pay minute attention to their whole body and its weight as they perform a technique. At an advanced level, and in actual fighting, internal styles are performed quickly, but the goal is to learn to involve the entire body in every motion, to stay relaxed, with deep, controlled breathing, and to coordinate the motions of the body and the breathing accurately according to the dictates of the forms while maintaining perfect balance.

Differences between internal and external arts

The reason for the label "internal," according to most schools, is that there is a focus on the internal aspects earlier in the training, once these internal relationships are apprehended they are then applied to the external applications of the styles in question.

External style are characterized by fast and explosive movements and a focus on physical strength and agility. External styles include both the traditional styles focusing on application and fighting, as well as the modern styles adapted for competition and exercise. Examples of external styles are Shaolinquan, with its direct explosive attacks and many forms that have spectacular aerial techniques. External styles begin with a training focus on muscular power, speed and application, and generally integrate their qigong aspects in advanced training, after their desired "hard" physical level has been reached.

Some say that there is no differentiation between the so-called internal and external systems of the Chinese martial arts, while other well known teachers have expressed differing opinions. For example, the Taijiquan teacher Wu Jianquan:

Those who practice Shaolinquan leap about with strength and force; people not proficient at this kind of training soon lose their breath and are exhausted. Taijiquan is unlike this. Strive for quiescence of body, mind and intention.

Current practice of neijia arts

Today, only a few traditional schools teaching internal styles train martially. Most schools teach forms that are practised for health benefits only, as this is in higher demand. To condition oneself well enough to become adept at the internal style martial arts is a long-term proposition; many simply lose interest after a few years and never continue the practice. Many people who have not fully learned the martial aspects of their style teach publicly anyway, leading to a further diminution of the martial applications taught in many schools. Some instructors supplement what they are teaching with elements from other martial arts and their training becomes further diluted. Many health-oriented schools and teachers believe that the martial practices of neijia are no longer necessary in the modern world, as well as claiming that students may not need to practice martially to derive a benefit from the training. Traditionalists feel that a school not teaching martial aspects somewhere in their syllabus cannot be said to be actually teaching the art itself, that they have accredited themselves prematurely. Traditional teachers also believe that understanding the core theoretical principles of neijia and the ability to apply them are a necessary gateway to health benefits.

Neijia in fiction

Internal styles have been associated in legend and in much popular fiction with the Taoist monasteries of Wudangshan in central China.

Neijia are a common theme in Chinese Wuxia novels and films, and are usually represented as originating in Wudang or similar mythologies. Often, genuine internal practices are highly exaggerated to the point of making them seem miraculous, as in ''Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon'' or ''Tai Chi Master''. Internal concepts have also been a source of comedy, such as in the films ''Shaolin Soccer'' and ''Kung Fu Hustle''.

Neidan

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Neidan , a method of internal alchemy. Part of the Chinese alchemical meditative tradition that is said to have been separated into internal and external at some point during the Tang dynasty.

The neidan tradition of internal alchemy was practised by working with the energies that were already present in the human body, as opposed to using natural substances, medicines or elixirs, from outside of the body. The Shangqing tradition of Daoism played an important role in the emergence of neidan alchemy, after using Wiedan mainly as a meditative practise, and therefore turning it from an external to an internal art.

Closely related to Daoism, it is believed that the goal of neidan was to merge the two energies of yin and yang, and return to the primordial unity of the Dao.

Mozi

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Mozi , was a philosopher who lived in China during the Hundred Schools of Thought period . He founded the school of Mohism and argued strongly against Confucianism and Daoism. During the Warring States Period, Mohism was actively developed and practiced in many states, but fell out of favour when the Qin Dynasty came to power. During that period many Mohist classics were ruined when Qin Shihuang carried out the burning of books and burying of scholars. The importance of Mohism further declined when Confucianism became the dominant school of thought during the Han Dynasty, disappearing by the middle of the Western Han Dynasty.

Life

Most historians believe that Mozi was a member of the lower artisan class who managed to climb his way to an official post. Mozi was a native of the , although for a time he served as a minister in the . Like Confucius, Mozi was known to have maintained a school for those who desired to become officials serving in the different ruling courts of the Warring States.

Mozi was a master engineer and craftsman, designing everything from mechanical birds to wheeled, mobile "cloud ladders" used to besiege city walls . Though he did not hold a high official position, Mozi was sought out by various rulers as an expert on fortification, and managed to attract a large following during his lifetime which rivaled that of Confucius. His followers – mostly technicians and craftspeople – were organized in a disciplined order that studied both Mozi's philosophical and technical writings.

His pacifism led Mozi to travel from one crisis zone to another through the ravaged landscape of the Warring States, trying to dissuade rulers from their plans of conquest. According to the chapter "Gongshu" in ''Mozi'', he once walked for ten days to the state of Chu in order to forestall an attack on the state of Song. At the Chu court, Mozi engaged in simulated war games with Gongshu Ban, the chief military strategist of Chu, and overturned each one of his stratagems. When Gongshu Ban threatened him with death, Mozi informed the king that his disciples had already trained the soldiers of Song on his fortification methods, so it would be useless to kill him. The Chu king was forced to call off the war. On the way back, however, the soldiers of Song, not recognizing him, would not allow Mozi to enter their city, and he had to spend a night freezing in the rain.

Though Mozi's school faded into obscurity after the Warring States period, he was studied again two millennia after his death: Both the revolutionaries of 1911 and the saw in him a surprisingly modern thinker who was stifled early in Chinese history.

Philosophy

In contrast to those of Confucius, Mozi's moral teachings emphasized self-reflection and authenticity rather than obedience to ritual. He observed that we often learn about the world through adversity . By reflecting on one's own successes and failures, one attains true self-knowledge rather than mere conformity with ritual. Mozi exhorted the gentleman to lead a life of asceticism and self-restraint, renouncing both material and spiritual extravagance.

Like Confucius, Mozi idealized the Xia Dynasty and the ancients of Chinese mythology, but he criticized the Confucian belief that modern life should be patterned on the ways of the ancients. After all, he pointed out, what we think of as "ancient" was actually innovative in its time, and thus should not be used to hinder present-day innovation . Though Mozi did not believe that history necessarily progresses, as did Han Fei Zi, he shared the latter's critique of . Mozi believed that people were capable of changing their circumstances and directing their own lives. They could do this by applying their senses to observing the world, judging objects and events by their causes, their function, and their historical basis. This was the "three-prong method" Mozi recommended for testing the truth or falsehood of statements. His students later expanded on this to form the .

Mozi tended to evaluate actions based on whether they provide benefit to the people, which he measured in terms of an enlarged population , a prosperous economy, and social order. Similar to the Western , Mozi thought that actions should be measured by the way they contribute to the "greatest good of the greatest number." With this criterion Mozi denounced things as diverse as offensive warfare, expensive funerals, and even and which he saw as serving no useful purpose. Mozi did not reject to music in principle--"It's not that I don't like the sound of the drum" --but because of the heavy tax burden such activities placed on commoners and also due to the fact that officials tended to indulge in them at the expense of their duties.

Mozi tried to replace what he considered to be the long-entrenched Chinese over-attachment to family and structures with the concept of 兼愛 → ''jian ai'' which can be translated as "impartial caring" or "universal love". In this, he argued directly against Confucians who had argued that it was natural and correct for people to care about different people in different degrees. Mozi, by contrast, argued people in principle should care for all people equally, a notion that philosophers in other schools found absurd, as they interpreted this notion as implying no special amount of care or duty towards one's parents and family. Overlooked by those critics, however, is a passage in the chapter on "Self-Cultivation" which states "When people near-by are not befriended, there is no use endeavoring to attract those at a distance." This point is also precisely articulated by a Mohist in a debate with Mencius where the Mohist argues in relation to carrying out universal love, that "We begin with what is near." Also, in the first chapter of the writings of Mozi on universal love, Mozi argues that the best way of being filial to one’s parents is to be filial to the parents of others. The foundational principle is that benevolence, as well as malevolence, is requited, and that one
will be treated by others as one treats others. Mozi quotes a popular passage from the to bring home this point: "When one throws to me a peach, I return to him a plum."
One’s parents will be treated by others as one treats the parents of others. In pursuing this line of argument, Mozi was directly appealing to the idea of in social relations. Also of note is that Mozi differentiated between "intention" and "actuality" thereby placing a central importance on the will to love even though in practice it may very well be impossible to bring benefit to everyone.

In addition, Mozi argued that benevolence comes to human beings “as naturally as fire turns upward or water turns downward”, provided that persons in position of authority illustrate benevolence in their own lives. Furthermore, Mozi’s basic argument concerning universal love asserts that universal love is supremely practical, this argument directed against those who objected that love could not be put into practice.

Mozi also held a belief in the power of ghosts and spirits, although he is often thought to have only worshipped them pragmatically. In fact, in his discussion on ghosts and spirits, he remarks that even if they did not exist, communal gatherings for the sake of making sacrificial offering would play a role in strengthing social bonds. Furthermore, for the will of heaven was that people should love one another, and that mutual love by all would bring benefit to all. Therefore, it was in everyone's interest that they love others "as they love themselves." Heaven should be respected because failing to do so would subject one to punishment. For Mozi, heaven was not the amoral, mystical Nature of the Taoists. Rather, it was a benevolent, moral force that rewarded the good and punished the evil, similar to the Christian/Islamic idea of God. Thus he writes that "Bo-ai is the way of heaven", since "heaven nourishes and sustains all life without regard to status". Mozi's ideal of government, which advocated a meritocracy based on talent rather than background, also followed his idea of heaven.

Works and Influence

The ''Mozi'' is the name of the philosophical text compiled by Mohists from Mozi's thought. Because Mohism disappeared as a living tradition from China, its texts were not well maintained, and many chapters are missing or in a corrupted state. For example, of the three chapters "Against Confucianism", only one remains.

Mohism was suppressed under the and died out completely under the , who made Confucianism the official doctrine. However, many of its ideas were dissolved into the mainstream of Chinese thought and re-examined in modern times. Sun Yat-Sen used "bo-ai" as one of the foundations for his idea of Chinese democracy. More recently, Chinese scholars under Communism have tried to rehabilitate Mozi as a "philosopher of the people", highlighting his rational-empirical approach to the world as well as his "proletarian" background.

From a modern point of view, Mozi's philosophy was at once more advanced and less so than that of Confucius. His concept of "jian-ai" embraced a broader idea of human community than the Confucians, but he is less tolerant than Confucius in his condemnation of all that is not directly "useful", neglecting the humanizing functions of art and music. Zhuangzi, who criticized both the Confucians and the Mohists, had this in mind in his parables on the "uselessness of the useful". Of course, this insistence on usefulness comes from a time when war and famine were widespread and could well have made all cultural activities look frivolous.

Mohism and Science

According to Joseph Needham, ''Mozi'' contains the following sentence: 'The cessation of motion is due to the opposing force ... If there is no opposing force ... the motion will never stop. This is as true as that an ox is not a horse.' which, he claims, is a precursor to . ''Mozi'' also contains speculations in optics and mechanics that are similarly strikingly original, although their ideas were not taken up by later Chinese philosophers. The Mohist tradition is also highly unusual in Chinese thought in that it devoted time to developing principles of logic, similar to those of Aristotle. For example, it describes the difference between necessary condition and sufficient condition .

Mohism

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Mohism or Moism was a Chinese philosophy developed by the followers of Mozi . It evolved at about the same time as Confucianism, Taoism and and was one of the four main during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period . During that time, Mohism was seen as a major rival to Confucianism. The Qin dynasty which united China in 221 BC, adopted as the official government philosophy, and . In the modern era, Mohism has all but disappeared as a school of philosophy, although some Asian secret societies consider themselves to be the modern followers of Mohist thought.

Important beliefs

Mohism rested on the concept of "impartial care" or "universal love" . Mozi believed that "everyone is equal before heaven", and that people should seek to imitate heaven by engaging in the practice of impartial and collective love. His epistemology can be regarded as a form of empiricism; he believed that our cognition ought to be based on our perceptions – our sensory experiences, such as sight and hearing – instead of imagination or internal logic, elements founded on our capacity for abstraction. Mozi's philosophy was described in the book '''', compiled by his students from his lecture notes.

Morality

Mozi is best known for his insistence that all people are equally deserving of receiving material benefit and being protected from physical harm. In Mohism, morality is defined not by tradition, but rather by a constant moral guide that parallels utilitarianism. Tradition is inconsistent, and human beings need an extra-traditional guide to identify which traditions are acceptable. The moral guide must then promote and encourage social behaviors that maximize general utility.

Impartiality

Mohism promotes a philosophy of impartial care - equal care for all individuals.
#Assessing them basing on history
#Assessing them basing on the experiences of common, average people
#Assessing their usefulness by applying them in law or politics Much like Euclid's first and third definitions and Plato's 'beginning of a line', the ''Mo Jing'' stated that "a point may stand at the end or at its beginning like a head-presentation in childbirth. there is nothing similar to it." Similar to the atomists of Democritus, the ''Mo Jing'' stated that a point is the smallest unit, and cannot be cut in half, since 'nothing' cannot be halved. along with principles of space and bounded space. It also described the fact that planes without the quality of thickness cannot be piled up since they cannot mutually touch. The book provided definitions for circumference, diameter, and radius, along with the definition of volume.

Maoism

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Maoism, variably and officially known as Mao Zedong Thought , is a variant of Marxism derived from the teachings of the late leader Mao Zedong , widely applied as the political and military guiding ideology in the Communist Party of China from Mao's ascendancy to its leadership until the inception of Deng Xiaoping Theory and Chinese economic reforms in 1978. It is also applied internationally in contemporary times. Maoist organizations exist in , India, and most prominently, . Its basic tenets include a revolutionary struggle of the vast majority of people termed a People's War involving peasants, and its military strategies essentially involved guerrilla war tactics focused on surrounding the cities from the countryside with a non-professional, popular armed forces.

In its post-revolutionary period, Mao Zedong Thought is defined in the CPC's Constitution as "Marxism-Leninism applied in a Chinese context", synthesized by Mao Zedong and China's first-generation leaders. It provided the CPC's first comprehensive theoretical guideline with regards to how to continue socialist revolution, the creation of a socialist society, socialist military construction, and highlights various contradictions in society to be addressed by what is termed "socialist construction". The ideology survives in name today on the Communist Party's Constitution; it is described as the guiding thought that created "new China" and a revolutionary concept against imperialism and feudalism.

Maoism generally discredits the socialist framework of the Soviet Union under Nikita Khrushchev and dismisses it as Communist revisionism. Some critics claim that Maoists see Joseph Stalin as the last true socialist leader of the Soviet Union, although allowing the Maoist assessments of Stalin vary between the extremely positive and the more ambivalent. whereas some political philosophers have seen in Maoism an attempt to combine Confucianism and Socialism - what one such called 'a third way between communism and capitalism'

Maoism in China

Since the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, and the reforms of Deng Xiaoping starting in 1978, the role of Mao's ideology within the PRC has radically changed. Although Mao Zedong Thought nominally remains the state ideology, Deng's admonition to seek truth from facts means that state policies are judged on their practical consequences and the role of ideology in determining policy has been considerably reduced. Deng also separated Mao from Maoism, making it clear that Mao was fallible and hence that the truth of Maoism comes from observing social consequences rather than by using Mao's quotations as , as was done in Mao's lifetime.

In addition, the party constitution has been rewritten to give the pragmatic ideas of Deng Xiaoping as much prominence as those of Mao. One consequence of this is that groups outside China which describe themselves as Maoist generally regard China as having repudiated Maoism and restored capitalism, and there is a wide perception both in and out of China that China has abandoned Maoism. However, while it is now permissible to question particular actions of Mao and to talk about excesses taken in the name of Maoism, there is a prohibition in China on either publicly questioning the validity of Maoism or questioning whether the current actions of the CCP are "Maoist."

Although Mao Zedong Thought is still listed as one of the four cardinal principles of the People's Republic of China, its historical role has been re-assessed. The Communist Party now says that Maoism was necessary to break China free from its feudal past, but that the actions of Mao are seen to have led to excesses during the Cultural Revolution. The official view is that China has now reached an economic and political stage, known as the , in which China faces new and different problems completely unforeseen by Mao, and as such the solutions that Mao advocated are no longer relevant to China's current conditions. The official proclamation of the new CPC stand came in June 1981, when the Sixth Plenum of the Eleventh National Party Congress Central Committee took place. The 35,000-word "Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic of China" reads:

"Chief responsibility for the grave `Left' error of the `cultural revolution,' an error comprehensive in magnitude and protracted in duration, does indeed lie with Comrade Mao Zedong . . . . far from making a correct analysis of many problems, he confused right and wrong and the people with the enemy. . . . Herein lies his tragedy."

Both Maoist critics outside China and most Western commentators see this re-working of the definition of Maoism as providing an ideological justification for what they see as the restoration of the essentials of capitalism in China by Deng and his successors.

Mao himself is officially regarded by the CCP as a "great revolutionary leader" for his role in fighting the Japanese and creating the People's Republic of China, but Maoism as implemented between 1959 and 1976 is regarded by today's CCP as an economic and political disaster. In Deng's day, support of radical Maoism was regarded as a form of "left deviationism" and being based on a cult of personality, although these 'errors' are officially attributed to the rather than to Mao himself.

Although these ideological categories and disputes are less relevant at the start of the 21st century, these distinctions were very important in the early 1980s, when the Chinese government was faced with the dilemma of how to allow economic reform to proceed without destroying its own legitimacy, and many argue that Deng's success in starting Chinese economic reform was in large part due to his being able to justify those reforms within a Maoist framework.

Some historians today regard Maoism as an ideology devised by Mao as a pretext for his own quest for power. The official view of the Chinese government was that Mao did not create Maoism to gain power, but that in his later years, Mao or those around him were able to use Maoism to create a cult of personality.

Both the official view of the CCP and much public opinion within China regards the latter period of Mao's rule as having been a disaster for their country. The various estimates of the number of deaths attributable to Mao's policies that have been offered remain highly controversial.

Many regret the erosion of guaranteed employment, education, health care, and other gains of the revolution that have been largely lost in the new profit-driven economy. This is reflected in a strain of Chinese Neo-Leftism in the country that seeks to return China to the days after Mao but before Deng; for more on that current's beliefs, see its article.

Some Western scholars argue that China's rapid industrialization and relatively quick recovery from the brutal period of civil wars 1911-1949 was a positive impact of Maoism, and contrast its development specifically to that of Southeast Asia, Russia and India. While others see it as catastrophe for the environment, with Maoism specifically engaged in a battle to dominate and subdue nature.

Maoism internationally

From 1962 onwards the challenge to the Soviet hegemony in the World Communist Movement made by the CCP resulted in various divisions in communist parties around the world. At an early stage, the Albanian Party of Labour sided with the CCP. So did many of the mainstream communist parties in South-East Asia, like the Burmese Communist Party, Communist Party of Thailand, and Communist Party of Indonesia. Some Asian parties, like the Workers Party of Vietnam and the Workers Party of Korea attempted to take a middle-ground position.

In the west and south, a plethora of parties and organizations were formed that upheld links to the CCP. Often they took names such as ''Communist Party '' or ''Revolutionary Communist Party'' to distinguish themselves from the traditional pro-Soviet communist parties. The pro-CCP movements were, in many cases, based amongst the wave of student radicalism that engulfed the world in the 1960s and 1970s.

Only one classic communist party sided with CCP, the Communist Party of New Zealand. Under the leadership of CCP and Mao Zedong, a parallel international communist movement emerged to rival that of the Soviets, although it was never as formalized and homogeneous as the pro-Soviet tendency.

After the death of Mao in 1976 and the resulting power-struggles in China that followed, the international Maoist movement was divided into three camps. One group, composed of various ideologically nonaligned groups, gave weak support to the new Chinese leadership under Deng Xiaoping. Another camp denounced the new leadership as traitors to the cause of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought. The third camp sided with the Albanians in denouncing the Three Worlds Theory of the CCP

The pro-Albanian camp would start to function as an international group, led by Enver Hoxha and the , and was able to amalgamate many of the communist groups in Latin America, including the Communist Party of Brazil.

The new Chinese leadership showed little interest in the various foreign groups supporting Mao's China. Many of the foreign parties that were aligned with the Chinese government before 1975 either disbanded, abandoned the new Chinese government entirely, or even renounced Marxism-Leninism and developed into non-communist, social democratic parties. What is today called the "international Maoist movement" evolved out of the second camp — the parties that opposed Deng and claimed to uphold the legacy of Mao.

During the 1980s two parallel regrouping efforts emerged, one centered around the Communist Party of the Philippines, which gave birth to the , and one that birthed the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement, which the Shining Path communist guerrilla group and the Revolutionary Communist Party USA played a leading role in forming.

Both the International Conference and the RIM tendencies claimed to uphold Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought, although RIM was later to substitute that ideology with what they termed 'Marxism-Leninism-Maoism'.

Maoism today

Today Maoist organizations, grouped in RIM, have their greatest influence in South Asia. They have been involved in violent struggles in Bangladesh and, until recently, Nepal. The Nepalese Maoist militant struggles have ended and the Maoists have peacefully negotiated to become the majority party in the newly formed republic. There are also minor groups active in , Peru and Turkey.

In the Philippines, the Communist Party of the Philippines, which is not part of the RIM, leads an armed struggle through its military wing, the New People's Army.

In Peru, several columns of the are fighting a sporadic war. Since the capture of their leadership, Chairman Gonzalo and other members of their central committee in 1992, the PCP/SL no longer has initiative in the fight. Several different political positions are supported by the leadership of the PCP/SL.

In India, the Communist Party of India have been fighting a protracted war. Formed by the merger of the People's War Group and the Maoist Communist Center originating from the 25 May 1967 peasant uprising., they have expanded their range of operations to over half of India and have been listed by the Prime Minister as the "greatest internal security threat" to the Indian republic since it was founded.

In Germany the -affiliated MLPD is the largest unambiguously-Marxist group in the country.

Maoism has also become a significant political ideology in Nepal. The Maoist insurgency has been fighting against the Royal Nepalese Army and other supporters of the monarchy. The Communist Party of Nepal , a RIM member, has conditionally halted its armed struggle and is participating in an interim government, including in elections for a national assembly.

Military strategy

Mao is widely regarded as a brilliant military strategist even among those who oppose his political or economic ideas. His writings on guerrilla warfare, most notably in his groundbreaking primer ''On Guerrilla Warfare,'' and the notion of people's war are now generally considered to be essential reading, both for those who wish to conduct guerrilla operations and for those who wish to oppose them.

As with his economic and political ideas, Maoist military ideas seem to have more relevance at the start of the 21st century outside of the People's Republic of China than within it. There is a consensus both within and outside the PRC that the military context that the PRC faces in the early 21st century are very different from the one faced by China in the 1930s. As a result, within the People's Liberation Army there has been extensive debate over whether and how to relate Mao's military doctrines to 21st-century military ideas, especially the idea of a revolution in military affairs.

General

* Mao Internet Library
* Mao Zedong Thought.
* Mao's life.
* Text of the leaflets distributed by the Zhengzhou Four.
* Maoist revolutionary film, music, and art archive
* by Samir Amin

Selected organizations listed alphabetically

* *in Chinese*
*
Committee of Marxist-Leninist-Maoist parties from around the world
* ''Revolution'' newspaper online
* Communist Party of Nepal
* Communist Party of Iran *in *
*
*
* PCTP/MRPP

Revolutions

*
* Information on Communist Party Of The Philippines, the New People's Army, and Revolution in the Philippines
* BBC for news about Maoists
* on Google News

Mandate of Heaven

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The Mandate of Heaven is a traditional concept concerning the legitimacy of rulers. Heaven would bless the authority of a just ruler, but would be displeased with a despotic ruler and would withdraw its mandate. The Mandate of Heaven would then transfer to those who would rule best.

The Mandate of Heaven had no time limitations, but instead depended on the just performance of the ruler. The Mandate does not require that a legitimate emperor be of noble birth, and in fact, dynasties were often founded by people of modest birth . The concept of the Mandate of Heaven was first used to support the rule of the of the Zhou Dynasty and later the Emperors of China. ''"Mandate of Heaven"'' was also the first era name of the Qing Dynasty.

Origins

The concept is first found in the written records of the words of the Duke of Zhou, younger brother of King Wu of Zhou and regent for King Wu's infant son King Cheng of Zhou. He is considered by many to have been the originator of the idea. The notion of the Mandate of Heaven was later invoked by Mencius, a very influential Chinese philosopher sage, considered as the second greatest philosopher sage next to Confucius.

The Mandate of Heaven was first used by the Zhou Dynasty to justify their overthrow of the Shang Dynasty and would be used by many succeeding dynasties to come. The Duke of Zhou explained to the people of Shang, that if their king had not misused his power, his Mandate would not have been taken away. Eventually, as Chinese political ideas developed further, the Mandate was linked to the notion of the dynastic cycle. Severe floods or famines were considered evidence of divine repeal of the Mandate of Heaven.

The Shang had legitimized their rule by family connections to divine power. The Shang believed that their founders were deities, and their descendants went to join them in Heaven. As shown by the divination texts preserved on oracle bones from the later Shang, Heaven was thought to be very active and interfered in mysterious ways with earthly rule. The Mandate of Heaven changed the right to rule from divine legitimization to one based on just rule.

Although the Mandate had no time limitation, it held rulers to a clear standard. Over the passage of time, there would inevitably arise a ruler that would cause Heaven to withdraw its Mandate. As the Mandate of Heaven emphasized the performance of the ruler, the social background of the ruler became less important. Historical documents found in ancient China stated that a legitimate ruler could come from any spectrum of the society. The Zhou said that the Xia Dynasty had existed long before the Shang, and that they too were overthrown by the Mandate. This would have given the Zhou the same right to overthrow the Shang. However, there is no concrete evidence for the existence of the Xia, and it is believed by many that the concept of the Mandate of Heaven was created by the Zhou.

Transition between the Shang and the Zhou

The Shang Dynasty had its prosperous times filled with many outstanding accomplishments. Notably, the dynasty lasted for a considerable amount of years in which 31 Kings ruled over an extended period of 17 generations. During this period, the dynasty was able to enjoy a period of peace and tranquility in which jobs were commonly available for citizens. The government was able to control most of its internal affairs due to the firm support provided by the people. Among many of its accomplishments, they were noted primarily for of wealth on wine, women, and tyranny. This abuse of the other social classes consequently led to an upheaval in the dynasty. The corruption in this dynasty mandated the need for a new ruler. This inevitably gave rise to the Zhou Dynasty. Led by Zhou Wu, as the will of heaven, they believed that the Shang were morally implacable because of their degenerated moral standards, therefore, entitling them to overthrow the Shang Dynasty because it was a mandate given by Heaven.

After the Zhou gained control of the dynasty, they instituted mostly their own officials. However, in order to appease some of the citizens, they allowed some of the Shang beneficiaries to continue governing the small Kingdoms in which they had been governing but in compliance with the Zhou rules and regulations. As the empire continued to expand, much intermarriage became eminent. This was done because the rulers believed that it was a method of forming strong allies that enabled them to absorb more countries into the dynasty. In case of a war, the Zhou Dynasty boasted an excellent military and technology mostly because of influence from annexed countries. They also excelled in shipbuilding, which made them excellent mariners because of their discovery of navigating their ships to a precise destination by using the stars as their guide. Intellectually, the Zhou excelled in fields of literature and philosophy. Many governmental positions were dictated around the intellectual ability of a candidate. Many of the literature from the Zhou period included the Book of Changes, , Book Etiquettes, Book of Song, Book of Odes, and the Book of Rites. Most of these literatures observed the progress and political movement of the dynasty. In philosophical terms, Confucius and his followers played an important role in shaping the mentality of the government. These critical thinkers served as a foundation for the government. Their works primarily stressed the importance of the ruling class, respect and their relationship with the lower class. Due to the growing size of the dynasty, it became apparent that a centralized government would lead to a lot of confusion and corruption because the government would not be able to exert its influence or compromise the needs of everyone. To address this political barrier, the dynasty formed a decentralized government in which the empire was broken down into sections. Within these districts were administrators who were appointed by the government, in return, they had to maintain their allegiance to the main internal government. In effect, the Zhou dynasty became a collection of districts. Consequently this marked the fall of the dynasty as it became difficult for the central government to exert influence on all other regions of the empire.

Finally, after the Zhou dynasty became less powerful, it was then wiped out by the Qin because they believed that the Zhou became unfit in ruling. This transition emphasizes the customary trend of Mandate of Heaven which provided leeway for the rise of new power. The Qin initially attempted to capitalize on the mistakes/errors made by the Zhou, by either eliminating the source of error or reforming it. During this reformation, administrative changes were made and a system of legalism was developed which stated that the law is supreme over every individual, including the rulers. Although significant progress was made during the Qin Dynasty, however, the persecution of scholars and ordinary citizens led to an unstable state.

After the death of Emperor Qin Shihuangdi of the Qin dynasty, a widespread revolt by prisoners, peasants, and unhappy soldiers inevitably led to the fall of the Qin Dynasty due to its tyrannical practices. The establishment of the Han Dynasty marked a great period in China’s history. This period was marked by significant changes in the political structure of China. During the Han dynasty, significant changes were made in which the government introduced entrance examinations known as civil service examinations for governmental positions. Additionally, the Han dynasty prospered economically through the Silk Road and other trading means. Throughout the reign of the Han Dynasty, the wealthy elites and the peasants benefited from the wise decisions made by the brilliant minds of the dynasty.

The Five Dynasties Period

During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, there was no dominant Chinese dynasty that ruled all of China. This created a problem for the Song Dynasty that followed, as they wanted to legitimize their rule by claiming that the Mandate of Heaven had passed on them. The scholar-official Xue Juzheng compiled the ''Five Dynasties History'' during the 960s and 970s, after the Song Dynasty had taken northern China from the last of the , the Later Zhou Dynasty. A major purpose was to establish justification for the transference of the Mandate of Heaven through these five dynasties, and thus to the Song Dynasty. He argued that these dynasties met certain vital criteria to be considered as having attained the Mandate of Heaven despite never having ruled all of China. One is that they all ruled the traditional Chinese heartland. They also held considerably more territory than any of the other Chinese states that had existed conterminously in the south.

However, there were certain other areas where these dynasties all clearly fell short. The brutal behavior of and the Later Liang Dynasty was a source of considerable embarrassment, and thus there was pressure to exclude them from the Mandate. The following three dynasties, the , , and were all non-Han Chinese dynasties, all having been ruled by the non-Chinese Shatuo Turks. There is also the concern that though each of them was the most powerful Chinese kingdom of its respective era, none of them ever really had the ability to unify the entire Chinese realm as there were several powerful states to the south. However, it was the conclusion of Xue Juzheng that the Mandate had indeed passed through each of the Five Dynasties, and thus onto the Song Dynasty when it conquered the last of those dynasties.

Divine right in other countries

The Mandate of Heaven is similar to the European notion of the Divine Right of Kings. Both sought to legitimize rule from divine approval. However, Divine Right of Kings granted unconditional legitimacy, whereas the Mandate of Heaven was conditional on just behavior of the ruler. Revolution is never legitimate under the Divine Right of Kings, but the philosophy of the Mandate of Heaven approved of the overthrow of unjust rulers. Chinese historians interpreted a successful revolt as evidence that the Mandate of Heaven had passed. In China, the right of rebellion against an unjust ruler has been a part of political philosophy ever since the Zhou dynasty, and a successful rebellion was understood as evidence of divine approval.

In the East Asian countries that drew much of their political philosophy from ancient China, the concept of a divine political legitimacy that is conditional and could be withdrawn was ideologically problematic. In Japan this problem was obviated because the Imperial House of Japan claimed to be descended in an unbroken line from the Japanese , Amaterasu. Nevertheless, while maintaining his role as a divine descendant and high priest of state, the Japanese emperor became politically marginalized in the Nara and Heian periods by powerful regents of the Fujiwara clan who seized executive control of state. Even though the Japanese imperial line itself remained unbroken after the eighth century, actual political authority passed through successive dynasties of regents and shoguns which cycled in a manner similar to that of Chinese dynasties. Even after the Meiji restoration in 1868, when the emperor was placed back in the center of the political bureaucracy, the throne itself had very little power vis-à-vis the Meiji oligarchy. Actual political power has passed through at least four systems since the Meiji restoration: the Taisho democracy, the , the Occupation of Japan, and . The emperor today is a political figurehead and not a ruling sovereign. It could be said the imperial line of Japan survived for so long precisely because it did not have control over the state, and that the turmoil of succession was projected onto a series of proxy rulers.

Bibliography

Logic in China

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In the history of logic, logic in China plays a particularly interesting role due to its length and relative isolation from the strong current of development of the study of logic in Europe and the Islamic world, though it may have some influence from Indian logic due to the spread of Buddhism.

Confucian legalism

During the imperial era of China, the two philosophies of Confucianism and created an extremely advanced and efficient form of government. A result of Confucian and Legalist principles was the creation of the bureaucracy in government, a standardized and methodical system of management.

Legalism

Legalism is the totalitarian pragmatic political philosophy of Han Fei, with maxims like "when the epoch changed, the ways changed" as its essential principle, than a jurisprudence. In this context, "legalism" here can bear the meaning of "political philosophy that upholds the rule of law", and is thus distinguished from the word's Western sense. Legalism takes an extreme cynical approach to governance; only allowing , opposed to , thinking.

Mohist logic

In China, a contemporary of Confucius, Mozi, "Master Mo", is credited with founding the Mohist school,
whose canons dealt with issues relating to valid inference and the conditions of correct conclusions.

The Mohist school of Chinese philosophy contained an approach to logic and argumentation that stresses over deductive reasoning, and is based on the ''three fa'', or methods of drawing distinctions between kinds of things.

One of the schools that grew out of Mohism, the Logicians, are credited by some scholars for their early investigation of formal logic.

Daoist skepticism

The repression of the study of logic

Unfortunately, due to the harsh rule of in the subsequent Qin Dynasty, this line of investigation disappeared in China until the introduction of Indian philosophy and Indian logic by .

List of Chinese philosophers

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This article is a list of .

philosophers

*Laozi , illusive founder of Taoism and author of the Tao te Ching .
*Zhuangzi , mystical and relativistic skeptic.
*Lie Yukou, said to be the author of the Daoist book ''Liezi''.
* Wang Pi, Three Kingdoms philosopher

Philosophers from other early schools

*Mozi , utilitarian and founder of the school.
*Hui Shi, relativistic who influenced Zhuangzi.
*Gongsun Long, who was known for his paradoxes.
*Han Feizi, synthesizer of theories.

philosophers

*Linji , founder of the Linji school of Buddhism in China, a branch of which is the Rinzai school in Japan.

*Huineng The 6th buddhist patriarch of the Chan School in China, he established the concept of "no mind".

*Zhaozhou A famous chan master during the 8th century, noted for his wisdom. Became known for his subtle teaching methods and his use of gongans.

philosophers

*Zhu Xi , rationalist and leading figure of the School of Principle.
* Tu Wei-ming, ethicist
*Wang Yangming, idealist and leading figure of the School of Mind.

Modern philosophers

* Feng Youlan , rationalist who integrated Neo-Confucian, Taoist, and Western metaphysics.
* Han Yu, founded Neo-Confucianism, essayist, and poet.
* Jin Yuelin Logicial positivist and logician.

Linji

2008-09-11T07:39:00.005-07:00

The Liezi is a Daoist text attributed to Lie Yukou, a circa 5th century BCE Hundred Schools of Thought philosopher, but Chinese and Western scholars believe it was compiled around the 4th century CE.

Textual history

The first two references to the ''Liezi'' book are from the Former Han Dynasty. The editor notes he eliminated repetitions in ''Liezi'' and rearranged it into eight chapters . The Book of Han bibliography section says it has eight chapters and concludes that since the ''Zhuangzi'' quotes Liezi, he must have lived before Zhuangzi. There is a three-century historical gap until the next evidence of the ''Liezi'': the commentary by Zhang Zhan 張湛 . Zhang's preface claims his ''Liezi'' copy was transmitted down from his grandfather. All received ''Liezi'' texts derive from Zhang's version, which is divided into eight chapters .

During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the ''Liezi'' was designated a Daoist classic, completing the trilogy with the more famous ''Daodejing'' and ''Zhuangzi'', and it was honorifically entitled the ''Chongxu zhenjing'' . This "Simplicity and Vacuity" is Wing-tsit Chan's translation; ''chongxu'' usually means "soar aloft, rise high; carefree, unburdened with ambition". During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, the ''Liezi'' was further honored as the ''Chongxu zhide zhenjing'' .

The eight ''Liezi'' chapters are shown below .

Chapter		Pinyin	Translation
1	天瑞	Tian Rui	Heaven's Gifts
2	黃帝	Huang Di	The Yellow Emperor
3	周穆王	Zhou Mu Wang	King Mu of Zhou
4	仲尼	Zhong Ni	Confucius
5	湯問	Tang Wen	The Questions of Tang
6	力命	Li Ming	Endeavor and Destiny
7	楊朱	Yang Zhu	Yang Zhu
8	說符	Shuo Fu	Explaining Conjunctions

Most ''Liezi'' chapters are named after famous figures in Chinese mythology and history. Either sage rulers like the Yellow Emperor , , and King Mu of Zhou ; or philosophers like Confucius and Yang Zhu .

The ''Liezi'' is generally considered to be the most practical of the major Daoist works, compared to the philosophical writings of Laozi and the poetic narrative of Zhuangzi. Although the ''Liezi'' has not been extensively published in the West, some passages are well known. For example, Gengsangzi gives this description of Daoist pure experience:

My body is in accord with my mind, my mind with my energies, my energies with my spirit, my spirit with Nothing. Whenever the minutest existing thing or the faintest sound affects me, whether it is far away beyond the eight borderlands, or close at hand between my eyebrows and eyelashes, I am bound to know it. However, I do not know whether I perceived it with the seven holes in my head and my four limbs, or knew it through my heart and belly and internal organs. It is simply self-knowledge.

Compare the ''Zhuangzi'' saying, "The Perfect Man uses his mind like a mirror — going after nothing, welcoming nothing, responding but not storing. Therefore he can win out over things and not hurt himself."

Authenticity

''Liezi'' scholars have long recognized that it shares many passages with other pre-Han texts like the ''Zhuangzi'', ''Daodejing'', and ''Lüshi Chunqiu''. Barrett says opinion is "divided as to whether it is an ancient work with later interpolations or a forgery confected from ancient sources." On the one hand, the ''Liezi'' could contain a core of circa 400 BCE authentic writings of Lie Yukou; on the other hand, it could be a circa 400 CE compilation forged by Zhang Zhan.

The ''Liezi'' is most similar with the ''Zhuangzi''. They share many characters and stories; Graham lists sixteen complete episodes plus sections from others. The ''Zhuangzi'' also mentions Liezi in four chapters and Lie Yukou in three. For example, this famous passage:

could ride the wind and go soaring around with cool and breezy skill, but after fifteen days he came back to earth. As far as the search for good fortune went, he didn't fret and worry. He escaped the trouble of walking, but he still had to depend on something to get around. If he had only mounted on the truth of Heaven and Earth, ridden the changes of the six breaths, and thus wandered through the boundless, then what would he have had to depend on? Therefore I say, the Perfect Man has no self; the Holy Man has no merit; the Sage has no fame.

The final two chapters have heterogeneous contents that differ from the Daoism elsewhere in the book. Chapter 7 records the Hedonist philosophy of "Yang Zhu" , infamous for the criticism of Mencius that he, "believed in 'every man for himself.' If he could have helped the whole world by plucking out a single hair, he would not have done it." Zhang Zhan speculates that this chapter, focusing on indulgence in physical and temporary pleasures, was from Lie Yuko's earlier years as a hedonist, before he became a Daoist. The well-known scholar of Chinese philosophy, Wing-Tsit Chan calls the "Yang Zhu" chapter "negative Daoism" in contrast with the Daoism of Laozi, Zhuangzi, and Huainanzi that were "all positive in that each represents something new." Chapter 8, "Explaining Conjunctions," is primarily taken from other early sources, not only Daoist but Confucian and Mohist texts, two philosophies that opposed the philosophical Daoism this book expounds.

Angus C. Graham, Professor Emeritus of the School of Oriental and African Studies, illuminated the textual provenance. After translating ''Liezi'' , which Barrett calls undoubtedly "the best translation into a Western language to date", Graham linguistically analyzed internal evidence and textual parallels. He discovered many cases where the ''Liezi'' is clearly secondary to other texts, but none where it is the primary source for a passage. The Preface to the revised ''Liezi'' translation explains his significant change in attitude.

Although in 1960 most scholars in China already recognized the late date of '''', most Westerners were still disinclined to question its antiquity. My own textual studies, not yet completed when this translation first appeared, supported the Chinese dating, which by now prevails also in the West. … One result of the textual investigation came as a surprise to me. The present book describes the hedonist 'Yang ' chapter as 'so unlike the rest of that it must be from another hand … The thought is certainly very different, and it does show the signs of editing and interpolation by the Taoist author … But although close scrutiny generally reveals marked differences in style between the body of the book and passages borrowed from earlier sources, I could find none to distinguish the hedonist chapter from the rest.

Owing to occasional ''Liezi'' textual misunderstandings in Zhang Zhan's commentary, Graham concludes that the "guiding hand" probably belonged to Zhang's father or grandfather, which would mean circa 300 CE.

Suggestions of Buddhist influences in ''Liezi'' chapters 3 and 6 are potentially corroborating evidence for a late date of composition; see Buddhism in China. "King Mu of Zhou" discusses sense perceptions as illusions; "Endeavor and Destiny" takes a fatalistic view of destiny, which goes against the traditional Daoist concept of .

Translations

There are fewer English translations of the ''Liezi'' than other Daoist texts. The first were partial versions; Lionel Giles translated chapters 1-6 and 8, while Anton Forke covered chapter 7 . As mentioned above, A.C. Graham wrote a definitive scholarly translation. The most recent ''Liezi'' rendition is by Eva Wong .

Li Tang (hall of worship)

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Xu - The emblem of ]]

The Li Tang is a place to perform religious rituals and to learn the teachings of Confucius. Basically the function of Wen Miao and Li Tang are the same; the only difference perhaps is the architecture.

Boen Bio

Boen Tjhiang Soe , which then become Boen Bio , was built in 1883 and is located at Jalan Kapasan No. 131 Surabaya. The Colonial Dutch called it "Gredja Boen Bio" or "Geredja Khonghoetjoe" or Confucius Church. At the present time it is a place of worship for Confucians in Surabaya, which being cultivated by MAKIN – , the Council of Confucianism of Indonesia in Surabaya.

Li Tang

Besides Boen Bio, Confucians in Indonesia established throughout Indonesia what they called Li Tang - Halls of Worship.

For detailed information regarding Wen Miao, please see Temple of Confucius)

List of Li Tang throughout Indonesia

* Island of Jawa
*# Boen Bio Wen Miao, Jalan Kapasan No. 131, Surabaya.

*Island of Sumatra

*Island of Kalimantan

*Island of Sulawesi
*# Litang Gerbang Kebajikan, Manado.

Dr Thomas Kang had an impressive experience when he made a pilgrimage to Confucian Churches in Indonesia.
*

Legalism (Chinese philosophy)

2008-09-11T07:39:00.001-07:00

In , Legalism was one of the four main philosophic schools during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period . This period was an era of great cultural and intellectual ferment in China, and gave rise to the important Hundred Schools of Thought. In China under the political leadership of Li Si, his form of Legalism became a ideology in China, Li Si's Legalism one of the earliest known totalitarian ideologies.

Legalism was a pragmatic political philosophy that does not address higher questions like the nature and purpose of life. It has s like "when the epoch changed, legalism is the act of following all laws", and its essential principle is one of jurisprudence. "Legalism" here has the meaning of "political philosophy that upholds the rule of law", and is thus distinguished from the Western meaning of the word. The school's most famous proponent and contributor Han Fei believed that a ruler should govern his subjects by the following trinity:

# Fa : The law code must be clearly written and made public. All people under the ruler were equal before the law. Laws should reward those who obey them and punish accordingly those who dare to break them. Thus it is guaranteed that actions taken are systematically predictable. In addition, the system of law ran the state, not the ruler. If the law is successfully enforced, even a weak ruler will be strong.
# Shu : Special tactics and "secrets" are to be employed by the ruler to make sure others don't take over control of the state. Especially important is that no one can fathom the ruler's motivations, and thus no one can know which behaviour might help them getting ahead; except for following the 法 or laws.
# Shi : It is the position of the ruler, not the ruler himself or herself, that holds the power. Therefore, analysis of the trends, the context, and the facts are essential for a real ruler.

Origin

Legalism was first created by Shang Yang as a realist reform oriented philosophy to turn the state of from a backward state to a powerful state. Qin would eventually conquer the other six states and create China. Shang Yang's law theories advocate the belief that all people are fundamentally equal and that stringent laws and harsh punishments are required to keep them in order. Shang Yang became prime minister of the Qin under the rule of Duke Xiao of Qin and gradually began transforming the state into a vigorously regulated machine, the sole purpose of which was the elimination of all rivals. Shang Yang swept away the aristocracy and implemented a meritocracy – only those who achieved could reach high places and birth privilege was reserved exclusively for the ruler of the state. Previously the army had been controlled by nobles and constituted of feudal . Now generals could come from any part of society, provided they had sufficient skill. In addition, troops were highly trained and disciplined. From then on, Qin was taking its shape to become the most powerful state in China before it eventually brought all of the six other states together under the First Emperor .

Role of the ruler

Primarily members of the ruling class, the Legalists emphasized that the head of state was endowed with the "mystery of authority” , and as such his decisions must always command the respect and obedience of the people. The emperor’s very figure brought legitimacy. In emphasizing the power of rulership, Legalists such as Shen Dao and Shen Buhai sought to devalue the importance of the charismatic ruler. Skillful rulers hid their true intentions and feigned nonchalance. To ensure that all of his words were revered, the wise ruler kept a low profile. Thus, theoretically, by cloaking both his desires and his will, the Emperors checked sycophancy and forced his subject to heed his dictates. While Shang Yang would allow rulers to listen to musical instruments rather than focus on foreign policy, Han Fei demanded more of the wise ruler. A good leader, by Han Fei's standards, must not only accept the advice of loyal ministers when shown to be in error, but must also extend courtesy to those beneath him or her and not be too avaricious. The adept ruler also understood the importance of strictness over benevolence. Although the ruler was expected to be paternalistic, the Legalists emphasized that being too kind would spoil the populace and threaten the state's internal order. Interestingly, according to 's Grand Historian Sima Qian , while the First Emperor hid himself from the rest of the world and thus maintained a low profile, he did not necessarily follow all of the Legalists’ advice on the role of the ruler.

Role of ministers in Legalist thought

To aid the ruler and help prevent misgovernance, Shen Buhai – a minister from the state of for fifteen years – formalized the concept of shu , or the bureaucratic model of administration that served to advance the ideal Legalist ruler’s program. To the Legalists, the intelligent minister was the ruler's most important aide. Whereas the minister’s duty was to understand specific affairs, the ruler was responsible for correctly judging ministers’ performances. Stressing that ministers and other officials too often sought favours from foreign powers by abusing their positions, Han Fei urged rulers to control these individuals by the two handles of punishment and favour. Officials were required, through fear, to ensure that ministers' accomplishments were neither greater than nor inferior to the assigned undertaking. According to the eminent sinologist Robin Yates, newly discovered Qin Dynasty legal codes show that officials were required to correctly calculate the exact amount of labor expected of all artisans; if the artisan was ordered to perform either too much work or too little work, the official would be held accountable. Thus, in Legalist theory, ministers and other officials were prevented from performing some other official's duties and were punished if they attempted to blind the ruler with words or failed to warn the ruler of danger. One consequence of this situation was that the ministers could always be held accountable for royal misadventures while the ruler’s name was never to be tarnished. By emphasizing performance, however, over sophistry, the Legalists hoped to eliminate bureaucratic corruption and intrigues amongst the officialdom through fear.

Purpose of law

The laws supported by the Legalists were meant to support the state, the king, and his military. They were also reform-oriented and innovative. In theory, the Legalists believed that if the punishments were heavy and the law equally applied, neither the powerful nor the weak would be able to escape state control. The Legalists especially emphasized pragmatism over precedence and custom as the basis of law. Guided by Legalist thought, the First Qin Emperor, Qin Shi Huang , would weaken the power of the feudal lords , divide the unified empire into thirty-six administrative provinces, and standardize the writing system. Reflecting Legalist passion for order and structure, Qin soldiers were only mobilized when both halves of tiger-shaped tallies were brought together. Likewise, all documents in the empire had to have recorded the year they were written, the scribe who copied them, and up to the exact hour of delivery. Accepting Shang Yang’s earlier emphasis on the standardization of weights and measures, the Qin Shi Huang would also accept Shang Yang’s philosophy that no individual in the state should be above the law and that families should be divided into smaller households. While there is reason to doubt Sima Qian’s claim that Qin Shi Huang did in fact divide households into groups of ten, certainly the other examples of standardization and administrative organization undertaken by the First Emperor reflect the importance of Legalist thought in Qin law. Based on promoting the interests of the state Qin, the law served as a vehicle to both control the populace and eliminate dissent.

Legalism and individual autonomy

The Legalist philosophers emphasized the primacy of the state over individual autonomy. The lone individual had no legitimate civil rights and any personal freedom had to strengthen the ruler. Han Fei , in particular, would be very caustic towards the concept of individual rights. Fundamentally, the Legalists viewed the plebeian and their actions as evil and foolish.

However, Legalism allowed the common people to gain in rank if they performed well. For example, soldiers would gain in rank according to the number of heads the soldiers collected. A soldier may even gain noble rank. In contrast, some other states allowed only the well-connected to gain higher ranks. An example of this would be Lü Buwei, who originally a merchant, was able to become Chancellor of China, an occurrence that would never happen in the other six states. However, it should be noted that he played a major role in King Zhuangxiang of Qin's rise to power.

According to Shang Yang's ''The Book of Lord Shang'', the people themselves wanted a ruler to generate order. Social cohesion in the Legalist state mandated that the populace never escape punishment. The Qin dynasty used the people, for example, to maintain vigilant mutual surveillance over one another under threat of death.

This intrastate realpolitik would end up devouring the Legalist philosophers themselves. Shang Yang, in advocating the state’s right to punish even the heir-apparent’s tutor, would run afoul of the future King Huiwen of Qin . Whereas at one point, he had the power to exile his opponents to border regions of the state, he died when torn into pieces by chariots. Similarly, Han Fei would end up being poisoned by his envious former classmate Li Si, who in turn would be killed by the violent Second Qin Emperor he had helped to enthrone.

Power politics between the philosophies

Most Chinese philosophers and political thinkers have had very negative views toward Legalism blaming it for what today would be considered a totalitarian society. Many Chinese scholars believe that it was a reaction against legalism that gave Chinese Imperial politics its personalistic and moralistic flavor rather than emphasis on the rule of law.

However, this view of the Qin may be biased, as most of the Chinese historical records were written by Confucian scholars, who were persecuted under the Qin.

Decline

In later dynasties, Legalism was discredited and ceased to be an independent school of thought. However, both ancient and modern Confucian observers of Chinese politics have argued that some Legalist ideas have merged with mainstream Confucianism and still play a major role in government. The philosophy of imperial China has been described as a Confucian exterior covering a core of Legalism . In other words, Confucian values are used to sugarcoat the harsh Legalist ideas that underly the Imperial system. During the and Tang dynasty, ideas were also part of the external face of the imperial system.

There was a brief revival of Legalism during the Sui dynasty's efforts to reunify China. After the Sui dynasty was replaced by the Tang dynasty, the Tang government still used the government structure left behind by the Sui dynasty, albeit with much reduced punishments.

More recently, Mao Zedong, who had some knowledge of ancient Chinese philosophy, compared himself with Qin Shi Huang and publicly approved of some Legalist methods. One such method approved in the 1980s under Deng Xiaoping administration is the reward and punishment, which has increased the size of the Beijing government in the process. However, since the 1990s the related concept of the rule of law has gained currency.

Related figures

The Confucian thinker Xun Zi is sometimes considered as being influenced by or having nourished Legalist ideas, mostly because two of his disciples were strict Legalists.

Related philosophies

* Confucianism
* Meritocracy
* Mohism
* Platonism
*

Contrasting philosophies

* Taoism
* Stoicism

King Wen sequence

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The ''I Ching'' , or “Yì Jīng” ; also called “Classic of Changes” or “Book of Changes” is one of the oldest of the Chinese classic texts. The book is a symbol system used to identify order in chance events. The text describes an ancient system of cosmology and philosophy that is intrinsic to ancient Chinese cultural beliefs. The cosmology centres on the ideas of ''the dynamic balance of opposites'', ''the evolution of events as a process,'' and ''acceptance of the inevitability of change'' . In cultures and modern East Asia, the ''I Ching'' is sometimes regarded as a system of divination. The classic consists of a series of symbols, rules for manipulating these symbols, poems, and commentary.

Implications of the title

* 易 , while as a verb it implies “to change“ or 'to exchange/substitute one thing for another'.
* 經 here means “classic ”, derived from its original meaning of “regularity” or “persistency”, implying that the text describes the which will not change throughout the flow of time. This same character was later appropriated to translate the Sanskrit word 'sūtra' into Chinese in reference to Buddhist scripture. In this sense the two concepts, in as much as they mean 'treatise,' 'great teaching,' or 'canonical scripture,' are equivalent.

The ''I Ching'' is a "reflection of the universe in miniature." The word "I" has three meanings: ease and simplicity, change and transformation, and invariability. Thus the three principles underlying the ''I Ching'' are the following:
# ''Simplicity'' - the root of the substance. The fundamental law underlying everything in the universe is utterly plain and simple, no matter how abstruse or complex some things may appear to be.
# ''Variability'' - the use of the substance. Everything in the universe is continually changing. By comprehending this one may realize the importance of flexibility in life and may thus cultivate the proper attitude for dealing with a multiplicity of diverse situations.
# ''Persistency'' - the essence of the substance. While everything in the universe seems to be changing, among the changing tides there is a persistent principle, a central rule, which does not vary with space and time.
::— 易一名而含三義：易簡一也；變易二也；不易三也。 commented on by Zheng Xuan in his writings ''Critique of I Ching'' and ''Commentary on I Ching'' of Eastern Han Dynasty.

History

Traditional view

Traditionally it was believed that the principles of the ''I Ching'' originated with the mythical Fu Xi . In this respect he is seen as an early culture hero, one of the earliest legendary rulers of China , reputed to have had the 8 revealed to him supernaturally. By the time of the legendary 2194 BCE–2149 BCE, the trigrams had supposedly been developed into 64 hexagrams , which were recorded in the scripture Lian Shan . ''Lian Shan'', meaning “continuous mountains” in Chinese, begins with the hexagram , which depicts a ''mountain'' mounting on another and is believed to be the origin of the scripture's name.

After the traditionally recorded Xia Dynasty was overthrown by the Shang Dynasty, the hexagrams are said to have been re-deduced to form Gui Cang , and the hexagram became the first hexagram. ''Gui Cang'' may be literally translated into “return and be contained”, which refers to ''earth'' as the first hexagram itself indicates. At the time of Shang's last king, Zhou Wang, King Wen of Zhou is said to have deduced the hexagram and discovered that the hexagrams beginning with revealed the rise of . He then gave each hexagram a description regarding its own nature, thus Gua Ci .

When King Wu of Zhou, son of King Wen, toppled the Shang Dynasty, his brother Zhou Gong Dan is said to have created Yao Ci to clarify the significance of each horizontal line in each hexagram. It was not until then that the whole context of ''I Ching'' was understood. Its philosophy heavily influenced the literature and government administration of the Zhou Dynasty .

Later, during the time of Spring and Autumn , Confucius is traditionally said to have written the Shi Yi , a group of commentaries on the ''I Ching''. By the time of Han Wu Di of the Western Han Dynasty , ''Shi Yi'' was often called ''Yi Zhuan'' , and together with the ''I Ching'' they composed ''Zhou Yi'' . All later texts about ''Zhou Yi'' were explanations only, due to the classic's deep meaning.

Modernist view

In the past 50 years a “Modernist” history of the ''I Ching'' has been emerging, based on context criticism and research into Shang and Zhou dynasty oracle bones, as well as Zhou bronze inscriptions and other sources . These reconstructions are dealt with in a growing number of books, such as '''', by S. J. Marshall, and Richard Rutt's ''Zhouyi: The Book of Changes'', .

Scholarly works dealing with the new view of the Book of Changes include doctoral dissertations by Richard Kunst and Edward Shaughnessy and a 2008 study by Richard J. Smith. These and other scholars have been helped immensely by the discovery, in the 1970s, by Chinese archaeologists, of intact Han dynasty era tombs in Mawangdui near Changsha, Hunan province. One of the tombs contained more or less of the ''I Ching'', the ''Dao De Jing'' and other works, which are mostly similar yet in some ways diverge significantly from the “received”, or traditional, texts preserved historically.

The tomb texts include additional commentaries on the ''I Ching'', previously unknown, and apparently attributed to Confucius. All of the Mawangdui texts are many centuries older than the earliest known attestations of the texts in question. When talking about the evolution of the Book of Changes, therefore, the Modernists contend that it is important to distinguish between the traditional history assigned to texts such as the ''I Ching'' , assignations in commentaries which have themselves been canonized over the centuries along with their subjects, and the more recent scholarly history aided by modern linguistic textual criticism and archaeology.

Many hold that these perspectives are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but, for instance, many Modernist scholars doubt the actual existence of Fuxi, or think Confucius had nothing to do with the Book of Changes, and contend that the hexagrams came before the trigrams. Modern scholarship comparing poetic usage and formulaic phrasing in this book with that in ancient bronze inscriptions has shown that the text cannot be attributed to King Wen or Zhou Gong, and that it likely was not compiled until the late Western Zhou, perhaps ca. the late 9th century BCE.

Rather than being the work of one or several legendary or historical figures, the core divinatory text is now thought to be an accretion of Western Zhou divinatory concepts. As for the Shi Yi commentaries traditionally attributed to Confucius, scholars from the time of the 11th century A.D. scholar Ouyang Xiu onward have doubted this, based on textual analysis, and modern scholars date most of them to the late Warring States period , with some sections perhaps being as late as the Western Han period .

Structure

The text of the ''I Ching'' is a set of predictions represented by a set of 64 abstract line arrangements called '''' . Each hexagram is a figure composed of six stacked horizontal lines , where each line is either , or . With six such lines stacked from bottom to top there are 2⁶ or 64 possible combinations, and thus 64 hexagrams represented.

The hexagram diagram is conceptually subdivided into two three-line arrangements called ''trigrams'' . There are 2³, hence 8, possible trigrams. The traditional view was that the hexagrams were a later development and resulted from combining the two trigrams. However, in the earliest relevant archaeological evidence, groups of numerical symbols on many Western Zhou bronzes and a very few Shang oracle bones, such groups already usually appear in sets of six. A few have been found in sets of three numbers, but these are somewhat later. Note also that these numerical sets greatly predate the groups of broken and unbroken lines, leading modern scholars to doubt the mythical early attributions of the hexagram system.

Each hexagram represents a description of a state or process. When a hexagram is cast using one of the traditional processes of , each of the yin or yang lines will be indicated as either ''moving'' , or ''fixed'' . Moving lines will change to their opposites, that is “young” lines of the other type -- old yang becoming young yin, and old yin becoming young yang.

The oldest method for casting the hexagrams, using yarrow stalks, is a ''biased'' random number generator, so the possible answers are not equiprobable. While the probability of getting either yin or yang is equal, the probability of getting old yang is three times greater than old yin.

The yarrow stalk method was gradually replaced during the Han Dynasty by the three coins method. Using this method the imbalance in generating old yin and old yang was eliminated. There is no theoretical basis for indicating what should be the optimal probability basis of the old lines versus the young lines. Of course, the whole idea behind this system of divination is that the oracle will select the appropriate answer, regardless of the probabilities.

There have been several arrangements of the trigrams and hexagrams over the ages. The is a circular arrangement of the trigrams, traditionally printed on a mirror, or disk. According to legend, Fu Hsi found the bā gùa on the scales of a tortoise's back. They function rather like a magic square, with the four axes summing to the same value .

The King Wen sequence is the traditional sequence of the hexagrams used in most contemporary editions of the ''I Ching.'' The King Wen sequence has been shown to contain within it a demonstration of advanced mathematical knowledge.

Trigrams

The solid line represents ''yang'', the creative principle. The open line represents ''yin'', the receptive principle. These principles are also represented in a common circular symbol , known as taijitu , but more commonly known in the west as the ''yin-yang'' diagram, expressing the idea of complementarity of changes: when Yang is at top, Yin is increasing, and the reverse.

In the following lists, the trigrams and hexagrams are represented using a common textual convention, horizontally from left-to-right, using '|' for yang and '?' for yin, rather than the traditional bottom-to-top. In a more modern usage, the numbers 0 and 1 can also be used to represent yin and yang, being read left-to-right.

There are eight possible trigrams :

The first three lines of the hexagram, called the ''lower trigram'', are seen as the ''inner aspect'' of the change that is occurring. The ''upper trigram'' , is the ''outer aspect''. The change described is thus the dynamic of the inner aspect relating to the outer situation. Thus, hexagram 04 ?|???| Enveloping, is composed of the inner trigram Gorge, relating to the outer trigram Bound.

Hexagram Lookup Table

The hexagrams

The text of the ''I Ching'' describes each of the 64 hexagrams, and later scholars added commentaries and analyses of each one; these have been subsumed into the text comprising the ''I Ching''.

Each hexagram's common translation is accompanied by the corresponding R. Wilhelm translation, which is the source for the Unicode names.

{|
|-----
| valign="top" |

| valign="top" |

|}

The hexagrams, though, are mere mnemonics for the philosophical concepts embodied in each one. The philosophy centres around the ideas of ''balance through opposites'' and ''acceptance of change''.

Unicode

In Unicode, monograms cover code points U+268A to U+268B, digrams cover code points U+268C to U+268F, trigrams cover code points U+2630 to U+2637, hexagram symbols cover code points U+4DC0 to U+4DFF .

Tai Xuan Jing digrams cover code points U+1D301 to U+1D305, tetragrams cover code points U+1D306 to U+1D356. The monograms cover code points U+1D300 , U+268A , U+268B .

Philosophy

The hexagrams are built from gradations of binary expressions based on yin and yang. They consist of: old yang, old yin, young yang or young yin Yin and yang, while common expressions associated with many schools of classical Chinese culture, are especially associated with the Taoists.

Another view holds that the ''I Ching'' is primarily a ethical or philosophical document. This view is based upon the following:
* The Wings or Appendices are attributed to Confucius.
* The study of the ''I Ching'' was required as part of the Civil Service Exams in the period that these exams only studied Confucianist texts.
* It is one of the Five Confucian Classics.
* It does not appear in any surviving editions of the Daozang.
* The major commentaries were written by Confucianists, or Neo-Confucianists.
* Taoist scripture avoids, even mocks, all attempts at categorizing the world's myriad phenomena and forming a static philosophy.
* Taoists venerate the non-useful. The ''I Ching'' could be used for good or evil purposes.

Both views may be seen to show that the ''I Ching'' was at the heart of Chinese thought, serving as a common ground for the Confucian and Taoist schools. Partly forgotten due to the rise of Chinese Buddhism during the Tang dynasty, the ''I Ching'' returned to the attention of scholars during the Song dynasty. This was concomitant with the reassessment of Confucianism by Confucians in the light of Taoist and Buddhist metaphysics, and is known in the West as Neo-Confucianism. The book, unquestionably an ancient Chinese scripture, helped Song Confucian thinkers to synthesize Buddhist and Taoist cosmologies with Confucian and Mencian ethics. The end product was a new cosmogony that could be linked to the so-called “lost Tao” of Confucius and Mencius.

Binary sequence

In his article ''Explication de l'Arithmétique Binaire'' Gottfried Leibniz writes that he has found in the hexagrams a base for claiming the universality of the binary numeral system. He takes the layout of the combinatorial exercise found in the hexagrams to represent binary sequences, so that ?????? would correspond to the binary sequence 000000 and ?????| would be 000001, and so forth.

The binary arrangement of hexagrams is associated with the famous Chinese scholar and philosopher Shao Yung in the 11th century. He displayed it in two different formats, a circle, and a rectangular block. Thus, he clearly understood the sequence represented a logical progression of values. However, while it is true that these sequences do represent the values 0 through 63 in a binary display, there is no evidence that Shao understood that the numbers could be used in computations such as addition or subtraction.

It should be noted that Shao Yung had been attributed with the original Segregation Table of the symbols of the book of changes ''Fu-Hsi Liu-shih-ssu Kua Tzhu Hsu'' from Chu Hsi's Chou I Pen I Thu Shou .

The Symbolic and Numerical Language

The oracular interpretation of the symbolic language based on trigram symbols formed from yang and yin components is well known. However, the inherent numerical language of line change and non-change is relatively unknown.

When the translated text reads "Nine in the beginning means...." this is the equivalent of saying: "When the positive line in the first place is represented by the number 9, it has the following meaning.....". If, on the other hand, the line is represented by the number 7, it is disregarded in interpreting the oracle. The same principle holds for lines represented by the numbers 6 and 8 respectively.

Thus, line transformation or non-transformation can be represented numerically, as follows:

A POSITIVE transforming into a NEGATIVE = 9

A POSITIVE transforming into a POSITIVE = 7

A NEGATIVE transforming into a POSITIVE = 6

A NEGATIVE transforming into a NEGATIVE = 8

This changes the ancient symbolic linear language of the I Ching into a simple numerical language that enables the practitioner to create sixteen numerical codes, which consist of three numbers, from each circular arrangement of eight trigrams.

John C. Compton suggests that these numerical codes represent specific codons of the Genetic Code.

Divination

The ''I Ching'' has long been used as an oracle and many different ways coexist to “cast” a reading, i.e., a hexagram, with its dynamic relationship to others. In China the ''I Ching'' had two distinct functions. The first was as a compendium and classic of ancient cosmic principles. The second function was that of divination text. As a divination text the world of the ''I Ching'' was that of the marketplace fortune teller and roadside oracle. These individuals served the illiterate peasantry. The educated Confucian elite in China were of an entirely different disposition. The future results of our actions were a function of our personal virtues. The Confucian literati actually had little use for the ''I Ching'' as a work of divination. In the collected works of the countless educated literati of ancient China there are actually few references to the ''I Ching'' as a divination text. Any eyewitness account of traditional Chinese society, such as S. Wells Williams ''The Middle Kingdom'', and many others, can clarify this very basic distinction. Williams tells us of the ''I Ching'', "The hundred of fortune- tellers seen in the streets of Chinese towns, whose answers to their perplexed customers are more or less founded on these cabala, indicate their influence among the illiterate; while among scholars, who have long since conceded all divination to be vain..."

Symbolism

The Flag of South Korea contains the Taijitu symbol, or ''tàijítú,'' , representing the origin of all things in the universe. The ''taegeuk'' is surrounded by four of the eight trigrams, starting from top left and going clockwise: Heaven, Water, Earth, Fire.

The flag of the Empire of Vietnam used the ''Li'' trigram and was known as ''c? qu? Ly'' because the trigram represents South. Its successor the connected the middle lines, turning it into the Qián trigram. .

Influence on Western culture

The ''I Ching'' has influenced countless Chinese philosophers, artists and even businesspeople throughout history. In more recent times, several Western artists and thinkers have used it in fields as diverse as psychoanalysis, music, film, drama, dance, eschatology, and fiction writing.

Commentary

Early Chinese civilization, as with western civilization, accepted various pre-scientific explanations of natural events, and the ''I Ching'' has been cited as an example of this. As a manual of divination it interpreted natural events through readings based on symbols expressed in the trigrams and hexagrams. Thus any observation in nature could be interpreted as to its significance and cause. This might be compared to the practice of basing decisions on the state of animals' livers. While usually sympathetic to the claims of Chinese culture and science, Joseph Needham, in his second volume of ''Science and Civilization in China'' stated: "Yet really they would have been wiser to tie a millstone about the neck of the ''I Ching'' and cast it into the sea."

Abraham states that Confucius' ten commentaries, called the Ten Wings, transformed the ''I Ching'' from a divination text into a "philosophical masterpiece." It was this form of the ''I Ching'' that inspired the Taoists, Chuang Tzu and Lao Tzu. It has influenced Confucians and other philosophers and scientists ever since. However, Helmut Wilhelm in his ''Change/Eight Lectures on the I Ching'', cautions, "It can no longer be said with certainty whether any of the material-and if any, how much-comes from Confucius' own hand" .

Translations

*Anthony, Carol K. & Moog, Hanna. ''I Ching: The Oracle of the Cosmic Way''. Stow, Massachusetts: Anthony Publishing Company, Inc., 2002. ISBN 1-890764-00-0. The publisher's internet address is www.ichingoracle.com.
*Balkin, Jack M. 2002. “The Laws of Change: I Ching and the Philosophy of Life”. New York: Schocken Books. ISBN 0-8052-4199-X
*Benson, Robert G. 2003. ''I Ching for a New Age: The Book of Answers for Changing Times''. New York: Square One Publishers.
*Blofeld, J. 1965. ''The Book of Changes: A New Translation of the Ancient Chinese I Ching''. New York: E. P. Dutton.
* Cornelius, J Edward & Cornelius, Marlene Y? King: A Beastly Book of Changes. ''Red Flame: A Thelemic Research Journal'' 1998. This book contains Aleister Crowley's notes and comments on the Yi Jing.
*Huang, A. 1998. ''The Complete I Ching: the Definitive Translation From the Taoist Master Alfred Huang''. Rochester, N.Y: Inner Traditions.
*Hua-Ching Ni. 1999. ''I Ching: The Book of Changes and the Unchanging Truth''. . Los Angeles: Seven Star Communications.
*Karcher, Stephen, 2002. ''I Ching: The Classic Chinese Oracle of Change: The First Complete Translation with Concordance''. London: Vega Books. ISBN 1-84333-003-2. The publisher can be found at www.chrysalisbooks.co.uk. This version manages to pull together a wide variety of sources and interpretations into a coherent, intelligible whole which is generally easier to understand than the Wilhelm/Baynes edition. Especially interesting are its multiple translations of the Chinese words used and the concordance at the end.
*Legge, J. 1964. ''I Ching: Book of Changes''. With introduction and study guide by Ch'u Chai and Winberg Chai. New York: Citadel Press.
*''I Ching, The Classic of Changes'', The first English translation of the newly discovered second-century B.C. Mawangdui texts by Edward L. Shaughnessy, Ballantine, 1996. ISBN 0-345-36243-8.
*. & Baynes, C., 1967. ''The I Ching or Book of Changes,'' With foreword by Carl Jung. 3rd. ed., XIX. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press .
*Lynn, Richard J. 1994, ''The Classic of Changes, A New Translation of the I Ching as Interpreted by Wang Bi''. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-08294-0
*Wei, Wu 2005. “I Ching, The Book Of Answers” Power Press ISBN 0-943015-41-3 New revised edition, interpreted by Wu Wei. Appears to follow the Wilhelm and Baynes translation real well, leaving out the sometimes confusing mechanics. Would be handy to use in conjunction with Wilhelm and Baynes when divining for the lay person.
*Cheng Yi translated by Cleary, Thomas 1988, 2003. “I Ching: The Book of Change” Shambala Library, Boston, London ISBN 1-59030-015-7

Jing Qi Shen

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The Huangdi Yinfujing , or Yinfujing, is a circa 8th century CE Daoist scripture associated with Chinese astrology and ''Neidan''-style Internal alchemy. In addition, ''Huangdi Yinfujing'' is also the name of a Chinese Fengshui text on military strategy.

Texts

There are two received versions of the Daoist ''Huangdi Yinfujing'', a shorter text of 332 Chinese characters in one section and a longer one of 445 in three sections. Both versions of this classic explain cosmological correspondences, the Dao of Heaven, Yin and Yang, the Wu Xing, and biospiritual techniques. In the description of Alexander Wylie , "This short Treatise, which is not entirely free from the obscurity of T?oist mysticism, professes to reconcile the decrees of Heaven with the current of mundane affairs." In the explanation of the modern Daoists Zhang Jiyu and Li Yuanguo,

The ''Huangdi yinfu jing'' reflects this later stage of Daoist thought and attempts to "expose heaven's mysteries and reveal divinity's workings." It became one of the most important classics of Daoism, second only in significance to the ''Daode jing''. Zhang Boduan , in his ''Wuzhen pian'' , said: "The treasured ''Yinfu jing'' consists of more than three hundred words whereas the inspired ''Daodejing'' has five thousand characters. All those who attained immortality in the past and attain it in the present have comprehended the true meaning of these scriptures."

The ''Huangdi Yinfujing'''s date of composition is uncertain. Some scholars believed it existed prior to the Zhou Dynasty , while others believe it is a forgery from the Tang Dynasty . The traditional Chinese belief, as well as the eponymous title, ascribed this classic to the legendary Chinese sovereign Huangdi "Yellow Emperor". According to literary legend, in 441 CE the Daoist reformer Kou Qianzhi hid the ''Huangdi Yinfujing'' in a cave near Mount Song, where it was discovered by the Tang scholar Li Quan 李筌 . Li transcribed the text and published it with his commentary . There is consensus among contemporary scholars that Li probably forged the text, which is confirmed by the absence of references in pre-Tang sources. Despite this comparatively late date, the ''Huangdi Yinfujing'' is considered a Chinese classic, and collections like the Daozang and Siku Quanshu include various editions and commentaries.

During the Song Dynasty, the ''Huangdi Yinfujing'' was canonized by the Quanzhen "Complete Perfection" school of Neidan internal alchemy. Liu Chuxuan 劉處玄 , founder of the Suishan lineage, wrote a commentary , and Qiu Chuji 丘處機 , founder of the Longmen lineage, wrote another. Xia Yuanding 夏元鼎 wrote a textual exegesis . The analytical commentary dubiously attributed to the leading Neo-Confucian scholar Zhu Xi first suggested that Li forged the text.

Qing Dynasty scholars used philological methods to analyze classical texts. Liu Yiming 劉一明 , the 11th Longmen Daoist patriarch, wrote an erudite commentary . Acker published an annotated translation of Liu . Li Xiyue 李西月 , leader in the "Western School" of Neidan, also wrote a commentary.

Besides the above Daoist ''Huangdi Yinfujing'' 黃帝陰符經, there is another military text by the same name. It contains 602 characters in 86 rhymed lines, and is a type of strategy manual based on the ''Qimen Dunjia'' method of Fengshui. Ho Peng-Yoke explains the title.

''Yinfu'' 陰符 , according to a military text entitled ''Liutao'' 六韜 and attributed to Jiang Shang 姜尚 in the eleventh century BC, refers to the tallies of various specified lengths used between the emperor and his generals for confidential communication. For example, the tally used to report a conquest in war had a length of one Chinese foot, that to report a victory in battle had a length of nine Chinese inches, that for reporting the occupation of an enemy city was eight Chinese inches long, and so on.

Translations

The ''Huangdi yinfujing'' classic has been translated into English, French, Italian, German, Russian, and Japanese.

The first English versions were published during the Victorian era. Frederic H. Balfour initially translated the ''Yinfujing'' within his ''Taoist Texts'' . James Legge translated the text and Li Xiyue's commentary as an appendix to ''The Texts of Taoism'' .

More recent English translations and studies reflect insights from modern Sinology, as surveyed by Reiter . Christopher Rand's article on Li Quan translates and interprets the ''Huangdi Yinfujing'' as a treatise on Chinese military strategy. Thomas Cleary published a popular translation with Liu Yiming's commentary .

Title

The title ''Huangdi Yinfujing'' combines three Chinese words. The first ''Huangdi'' 黃帝 "Yellow Emperor" and last ''jing'' "classic; scripture; book" are common in titles of other Chinese classic texts. For example, the ''Huangdi Neijing'' "Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic" and ''Huangdi Sijing'' "Yellow Emperor's Four Classics". The second word ''yinfu'' "hidden/secret talisman/correspondence" is an uncommon of ''yin'' "shady place; passive; negative; secret; hidden" and ''fu'' " tally ; talisman; symbol; charm; amulet".

''Fu'' means a seal, divided into two parts. On one half of this seal we have the visible phenomena of the world around us; this we can all see, but, the diagram being incomplete, we require the other half of the seal, that bearing the 道理 of Heaven or the Unseen World, before we can understand the why and the wherefore of the existing order of things.

''Fulu'' 符籙 "Daoist secret talismanic writing; Daoist magic formulas" refers to charms written in peculiar characters, often on yellow paper .

English translations of ''Yinfujing'' illustrate semantic problems with the title:
*Clue to the Unseen
*Classic of the Harmony of the Seen and the Unseen
*Scripture for Joining with Obscurity
*Scripture of the Hidden Contracts
*Classic on Yin Convergence
*Scripture on "Unconscious Unification"
*Secret Military Warrant Manual
*Scripture on the Hidden Talisman
*Scripture on the Hidden Fitness
*Scripture of Hidden Contracts
Note the omission of ''Huangdi'' above, which all the translators render as "Yellow Emperor", excepting Komjathy's "Yellow Thearch"".

Hundred Schools of Thought

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The Huangdi sijing are long-lost Chinese manuscripts that were discovered among the Mawangdui Silk Texts. They are also known as the Huang-Lao boshu , in association with the "Huang-Lao" philosophy named after the legendary ''Huangdi'' and ''Laozi'' .

The four texts

Mawangdui is an archeological site, comprised of three -era tombs, found near Changsha in modern Hunan Province . In December 1973, archeologists excavating "Tomb Number 3" discovered an edifying trove of silk paintings and silk scrolls with manuscripts, charts, and maps. These polymathic texts discussed philosophy, politics, Traditional Chinese Medicine, , Yin and Yang, and astronomy; ranging from the familiar to the unknown .

The Mawangdui manuscripts included two silk copies of the ''Daodejing'', eponymously titled "''Laozi''". Both add other texts and both reverse the received chapter arrangement, giving the ''Dejing'' chapters before the ''Daojing''. The so-called "B Version" included four previously unknown works, each appended with a title and number of characters :
#''Jingfa'' , 5000 characters
#''Shiliu jing'' , 4564
#''Cheng'' , 1600
#''Yuandao'' , 464
Owing to holes in the ancient silk fragments, the original numbers of characters are uncertain.

The two longest texts are subdivided into sections. "The Constancy of Laws" has nine: 1. ''Dao fa'' , 2. ''Guo ci'' , 3. ''Jun zheng'' .... "The Sixteen Classics", which some scholars read as ''Shi da jing'' , has fifteen : 1. ''Li ming'' , 2. ''Guan'' , 3. ''Wu zheng'' ….

In the decades since 1973, scholars have published many Mawangdui manuscript studies . In 1974, the Chinese journal ''Wenwu'' presented a preliminary transcription into modern characters. Tang Lan's influential article gave photocopies with transcriptions, analyzed the textual origins and contents, and cited paralleling passages from Chinese classic texts. Tang was first to identify these texts as the "''Huangdi sijing''", a no-longer extant text attributed to the Yellow Emperor, which the Hanshu's ''Yiwenzhi'' bibliographical section lists as a Daoist text in four ''pian'' . The "''Huangdi sijing''" was lost and is only known by name, and thus the excluded it. While most scholars agree with Tang's evidence, some disagree and call the texts the ''Huang-Lao boshu'' or the ''Huangdi shu'' .

The first complete English translation of the ''Huangdi sijing'' was produced by Leo S. Chang . Subsequent translations include scholarly versions by Yates and by Chang and Feng , as well as some selected versions. Ryden provides an informative examination of "The Yellow Emperor's Four Canons".

Philosophical significance

The ''Huangdi sijing'' reveals some complex connections within Chinese philosophy. Take for example, first lines in "The Constancy of Laws":

The Way generates standards. Standards serve as marking cords to demarcate success and failure and are what clarify the crooked and the straight. Therefore, those who hold fast to the Way generate standards and do not to dare to violate them; having established standards, they do not dare to discard them. Only after you are able to serve as your own marking cord, will you look at and know all-under-Heaven and not be deluded.

This passage echoes concepts from several rival philosophies, Daoism, , Mohism, Confucianism, and School of Names. De Bary and Lufrano describe ''Huangdi sijing'' philosophy as "a syncretism that is grounded in a cosmology of the Way and an ethos of self-cultivation".

"Prior to the Mawangdui discovery," says Peerenboom , "sinologists were more confused than clear about the school of thought known as Huang-Lao." Sima Qian's ''Records of the Grand Historian'' says many early Han thinkers and politicians favored Huang-Lao doctrines during the reigns of , , and . Sima cites Han Fei, Shen Buhai, and Shen Dao as representative Huang-Lao philosophers, advocates that sagely rulers should use ''wuwei'' to organize their government and society. However, after Emperor Wu of Han declared Confucianism the official state philosophy, Huang-Lao followers dwindled and their texts largely vanished.

The ''Huangdi sijing'' texts provide newfound answers to questions about how Chinese philosophy originated. Carrozza explains that, "For a long time, the focal point in the study of early Chinese thought has been the interpretation of a rather limited set of texts, each attributed to a 'Master' and to one of the so-called ''." For instance, tradition says Mozi founded Mohism and his students compiled the ''Mozi'' text. Conversely, Mawangdui textual syncretism reveals "the majority of the ancient texts" are not written by individual authors, "but rather collections of works of different origins."

Huashu

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The ''Guanzi'' is an encyclopedic compilation of materials named after the 7th century BCE philosopher Guan Zhong, Prime Minister to Duke Huan of Qi. The Han Dynasty scholar edited the received ''Guanzi'' text circa 26 BCE, largely from sources associated with the 4th century BCE "Jixia Academy" in the capital of Linzi.

Although most ''Guanzi'' chapters philosophically characterize , other sections blend doctrines from Confucianism and Daoism. For example, the ''Neiye'' chapter has some the oldest recorded descriptions of Daoist meditation techniques.

When you enlarge your mind and let go of it,

When you relax your vital breath and expand it,

When your body is calm and unmoving:

And you can maintain the One and discard the myriad disturbances.

You will see profit and not be enticed by it,

You will see harm and not be frightened by it.

Relaxed and unwound, yet acutely sensitive,

In solitude you delight in your own person.

This is called "revolving the vital breath":

Your thoughts and deeds seem heavenly.

Han learning

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The Four Books of Confucianism , are Chinese classic texts that Zhu Xi selected, in the Song dynasty, as an introduction to Confucianism: the ''Great Learning'', the ''Doctrine of the Mean'', the ''Analects of Confucius,'' and the ''Mencius''. The Four Books were, in the and Dynasties made the core of the official curriculum for the .

''Great Learning''

The ''Great Learning'' was originally one chapter in '''' . It consists of a short main text attributed to Confucius and nine commentary chapters by Zeng Zi, one of Confucius's disciples. Its importance is illustrated by Zeng Zi's foreword that this is the gateway of learning.

It is significant because it expresses many themes of Chinese philosophy and political thinking, and has therefore been extremely influential both in classical and modern Chinese thought. Government, self cultivation and investigation of things are linked. It links together individual action in the form of self-cultivation with higher goals such as ultimate world peace as well as linking together the spiritual and the material. In addition, by defining the path of learning in governmental and social terms, ''the Great Learning'' both links the spiritual with the practical, and creates a vision of dao that is radically different from that presented by Daoism. In particular, ''the Great Learning'' sets Confucianism as being this-worldly rather than other-worldly. Finally, ''the Great Learning'' also creates a conservative political discourse. Instead of basing its authority on an external deity, the Great Learning bases its authority on the practices of ancient kings.

''Doctrine of the Mean''

The ''Doctrine of the Mean'' was also one chapter in ''''. By tradition, the ''Doctrine of the Mean'' is attributed to Confucius' grandson Zisi.

The purpose of this small, 33-chapter book is to demonstrate the usefulness of a golden way to gain perfect virtue. It focuses on the "way" that is prescribed by a heavenly mandate not only to the ruler but to everyone. To follow these heavenly instructions by learning and teaching will automatically result in a Confucian virtue. Because Heaven has laid down what is the way to perfect virtue, it is not that difficult to follow the steps of the holy rulers of old if one only knows what is the right way.

''Analects of Confucius''

The ''Analects of Confucius'' is a record of speeches by Confucius and his disciples, as well as the discussions they held.

Since Confucius's time, the ''Analects'' has heavily influenced the philosophy and moral values of China and later other East Asian countries as well. The imperial examination, started in the and eventually abolished with the founding of the Republic of China, emphasized Confucian studies and expected candidates to quote and apply the words of Confucius in their essays.

A particular point of interest lies in Chapter X of the book, which contains detailed descriptions of Confucius's behaviors in various daily activities. This has been pointed at by Voltaire and Ezra Pound to show how much Confucius was a mere human. Simon Leys, who recently translated ''Analects'' into French and English, said that the book may well have been the first in human history to describe the life of a man.

''Mencius''

The ''Mencius'' is a collections of conversations of the scholar Mencius with kings of his time. In contrast to the sayings of Confucius, which are short and self-contained, the ''Mencius'' consists of long dialogues with extensive prose.

Mencius argued that human beings are born with an innate moral sense, but that society corrupted it through lack of a positive cultivating influence. Therefore, the goal of moral cultivation is to return to the people's innate morality. Consistent with his belief in the individual, Mencius contended that it was permissible for people to overthrow or kill a ruler who ignored the public's needs or ruled harshly.

Han Fei

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The Five Classics is a corpus of five ancient books used by Confucianism as the basis of studies. According to tradition, they were compiled or edited by Confucius himself.

Classic of Changes

The ''Classic of Changes'' or the Book of Changes , also known as the ''I Ching''.

Classic of Poetry

The ''Classic of Poetry'' or The Book of Odes , made up of 305 poems divided into 160 folk songs; 74 minor festal songs, traditionally sung at court festivities; 31 major festal songs, sung at more solemn court ceremonies; and 40 hymns and eulogies, sung at sacrifices to gods and ancestral spirits of the royal house. This book is traditionally credited as a compilation from Confucius.

Classic of Rites

The ''Classic of Rites'' , social forms and ceremonies , a restoration of the original Lijing, lost in the third century B.C., describes ancient rites and court ceremonies.

Classic of History

The ''Classic of History'' is a collection of documents and speeches alleged to have been written by rulers and officials of the early period and before. It contains examples of early Chinese prose.

Spring and Autumn Annals

The ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' , a historical record of the state of Lu, Confucius's native state, from 722 B.C. to 479 B.C. written by Confucius, with implied condemnation of usurpations, murder, incest, etc.

Beyond the 5 Classics

The ''Classic of Music'' is sometime referred to as the sixth classic, but was lost by the time of the Han Dynasty. What remains now forms one of the Books in the ''Classic of Rites''.

Five Precepts (Taoism)

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''Dream of the Red Chamber'' , originally ''The Story of the Stone'' , is well-known as the Chinese tragic novel, masterpiece of Chinese literature and one of the Chinese Four Great Classical Novels. It was composed in the mid 18^th century during the Qing Dynasty. It is attributed to Cao Xueqin .

The novel is believed to be semi-autobiographical, mirroring the fortunes of Cao's own family. As the author details in the first chapter, it is intended to be a memorial to the women he knew in his youth: friends, relatives and servants.

The novel is remarkable not only for its huge cast of characters and psychological scope, but also for its precise and detailed observation of the life and social structures typical of 18th-century Chinese aristocracy.

This novel was published anonymous . This is because of the prevalent in the and Dynasties.

Language

The novel, written in Vernacular Chinese and not Classical Chinese, is one of the works that established the legitimacy of the vernacular idiom. Its author is well versed in Classical Chinese – with tracts written in erudite semi-''wenyan'' – and in Chinese poetry. The novel's conversations were written in a vivid which was to become the basis of modern spoken Chinese, with influences from Nanjing Mandarin .

Themes

The novel is normally called Hung Lou Meng or Hong Lou Meng , literally "Red Chamber Dream". "Red Chamber" was an idiom for the sheltered chambers where the daughters of wealthy families lived. It refers to a dream that Baoyu has, set in a "Red Chamber", where the fates of many of the female characters are foreshadowed.

The name of the main family, "賈", is a homonym with another Chinese character "假", which means false, fake, fictitious, deceitful or sham. Thus, Cao Xueqin suggests that the novel's family is both a realistic reflection and a fictional or "dream" version of his own family.

Buddhist idea is that the whole world is "red dust" , merely illusory and to be shunned. Buddhist and Taoist beliefs that to find , one must realize that the world is but a dream from which we must awake; and one should retire from the world, withdraw from society . But this novel don't think so. It lay stress on reality, especially on social reality; and its purport is questing truth and good in life. This thought was regarded as a religion by some Qing people.. The main character, Jia Baoyu, is the adolescent heir of the family, possibly a reincarnation of the Shenying Servant. The Crimson Pearl Flower is incarnated now as Baoyu's sickly cousin, the emotional Lin Daiyu. Baoyu is predestined in this life to marry another cousin, Xue Baochai. This love triangle against the backdrop of the family's declining fortunes forms the most well-known plot line in the novel.

Characters

Dream of the Red Chamber contains an extraordinarily large number of characters. Nearly thirty of them are considered major, and there are six hundreds of minor ones besides. Jia Baoyu is the male protagonist. Females take center stage and are frequently shown to be more capable than their male counterparts. The names of the maids and bondservants are given in the original pinyin pronunciations and in David Hawkes' translation.

Baoyu and Jinling Twelve Women

*Jia Baoyu - the main protagonist. The adolescent son of Jia Zheng and his wife, Lady Wang . Born with a piece of luminescent jade in his mouth , Baoyu is the heir apparent to the Rongguo line . Frowned on by his strict Confucian father, Baoyu prefers reading ''Zhuangzi'' and Chinese opera novels to the Four Books basic to a classical Chinese education. Baoyu is highly intelligent, but hates the fawning bureaucrats that frequent his father's house. He shuns usual men, considering them morally and spiritually inferior to women. Sensitive and compassionate, Baoyu holds the view that "girls are in essence pure as water, and men are in essence muddled as mud."

*Lin Daiyu - Jia Baoyu's first cousin and love interest. She is the daughter of Lin Ruhai , a Yangzhou scholar-official, and Lady Jia Min , Baoyu's paternal aunt. The novel proper starts in Chapter 3 with Daiyu's arrival at the Rong-guo House shortly after the death of her mother. Beautiful but fragile emotionally, prone to fits of jealousy, Daiyu is nevertheless an extremely accomplished poet and musician. The novel designates her one of the Jinling Twelve Women, and describes her as a lonely, proud and ultimately tragic figure. Daiyu is the reincarnation of the Crimson Pearl Flower, and the purpose of her mortal birth is to repay the water that Baoyu watered as her tears to Baoyu. She is one of the four most important women in Jia Baoyu's life and shares the first place of Jinling Twelve Women with Xue Baochai.

*Xue Baochai - Jia Baoyu's other first cousin. The only daughter of Aunt Xue , sister to Baoyu's mother, Baochai is a foil to Daiyu. Where Daiyu is unconventional and hypersensitive, Baochai is sensible and tactful; a model Chinese feudal maiden. The novel describes her as a beautiful and intelligent girl like snow, but also very reserved. Although reluctant to show the extent of her knowledge, Baochai seems to be quite learned about everything, from Buddhist teachings to how not to make a paint plate crack. Also one of the Jinling Twelve Women, Baochai has a round face, fair skin, and, some would say, a voluptuous figure in contrast to Daiyu's willowy daintiness. Baochai carries a golden locket with her which contains words given to her in childhood by a Buddhist monk. Baochai's golden locket and Baoyu's jade contain inscriptions that appear to complement one another perfectly. Their marriage is seen in the book as predestined. She is also one of the four most important women in Jia Baoyu's life.

*Jia Yuanchun - Baoyu's elder sister by about a decade. Originally one of the in the imperial palace, Yuanchun later becomes an Imperial Consort, having impressed the Emperor with her virtue and learning. Her illustrious position as a favorite of the Emperor marks the height of the Jia family's powers. Despite her prestigious position, Yuanchun feels imprisoned within the four walls of the imperial palace. Redologies think that in original lost work, eventually Yuanchun's sudden death precipitates the fall of the Jia family, included in Jinling Twelve Women.

*Jia Tanchun - Baoyu's younger half-sister, by Concubine Zhao, bondwoman to Jia Zheng. Brash and extremely outspoken, she is almost as capable as Wang Xifeng. Wang Xifeng herself compliments her privately, but laments that she was "born in the wrong womb," since concubine children are not respected as much as those by first wives. Tanchun is nicknamed "Rose" for her beauty and her prickly personality.

*Shi Xiangyun - Jia Baoyu's second cousin, Grandmother Jia's grand-niece. Orphaned in infancy, she grows up under her wealthy maternal uncle and aunt who use her unkindly. In spite of this Xiangyun is openhearted and cheerful. A comparatively androgynous beauty, Xiangyun looks good in men's clothes, and loves to drink and barbecue meat by herself . She is forthright without tact, but her forgiving nature takes the sting from her casually truthful remarks. She is learned and as talented a poet as Daiyu or Baochai. Also one of the four most important women in Jia Baoyu's life.

*Miaoyu - a young nun from Buddhist cloisters of the Rong-guo house. Extremely beautiful and learned, while also extremely disdainful and not gregarious; loves clean too much. The novel says she was compelled by her illness to become a nun, and shelters herself under the nunnery in Grandview Garden to dodge political affairs. She likes Zhuangzi's article. Also one of the four most important women in Jia Baoyu's life.

*Jia Yingchun - Second female in the generation of the Jia household after Yuanchun, Yingchun is the daughter of Jia She, Baoyu's uncle and therefore his eldest female cousin. A kind-hearted, weak-willed person, Yingchun is said to have a "wooden" personality and seems rather apathetic toward all worldly affairs. Although very pretty and well-read, she does not compare in intelligence and wit to any of her cousins. Yingchun's most famous trait, it seems, is her unwillingness to meddle in the affairs of her family. Eventually Yingchun marries a new favorite of the imperial court, her marriage merely one her father's desperate attempts to raise the declining fortunes of the Jia family. The newly married Yingchun becomes a victim of domestic abuse and constant violence at the hands of her cruel, abusive husband.

*Jia Xichun - Baoyu's younger second cousin from the Ningguo House, but brought up in the Rongguo House. A gifted painter, she is also a devout Buddhist. She is also the sister of Jia Zhen, head of the Ningguo House. At the end of the novel, after the fall of the house of Jia, she gives up her worldly concerns and becomes a Buddhist nun. She is the second youngest of Jinling Twelve Women, described as a pre-teen in most part of the novel.

*Wang Xifeng , alias Sister Feng - Baoyu's elder cousin-in-law, young wife to Jia Lian , niece to Lady Wang. Xifeng is hence related to Baoyu both by blood and marriage. An extremely handsome woman, Xifeng is capable, clever, amusing and at times, vicious and cruel. Undeniably the most worldly of the women in the novel, Xifeng is in charge of the daily running of the Rongguo household and wields remarkable economic as well as political power within the family. Being a favorite niece of Lady Wang, Xifeng keeps both Lady Wang and Grandmother Jia entertained with her constant jokes and amusing chatter, plays the role of the perfect filial daughter-in-law, and by pleasing Grandmother Jia, rules the entire household with an iron fist. One of the most remarkable multi-faceted personalities in the novel, Xifeng can be kind-hearted toward the poor and helpless. On the other hand, however, Xifeng can be cruel enough to kill. Her feisty personality, her loud laugh and her great beauty formed refreshing contrasts to the many frail, weak-willed beauties that plagued the literature of 18th-century China. Xifeng's name translates to "Prosperous ".

*Jia Qiaojie - Wang Xifeng's and Jia Lian's daughter. The youngest of the Jinling Twelve Women, she was a child through much of the novel. After the fall of the house of Jia, she married the son of Granny Liu's landowner neighbour and lead an uneventful life in the countryside.

*Li Wan - Baoyu's elder sister-in-law, widow of Baoyu's deceased elder brother, Jia Zhu . Her primary task is to bring up her son Lan and watch over her female cousins. The novel portrays Li Wan, a young widow in her late twenties, as a mild-mannered woman with no wants or desires, the perfect Confucian ideal of a proper mourning widow. She eventually attains high social status due to the success of her son at the Imperial Exams, but the novel sees her as a tragic figure because she wasted her youth upholding the strict standards of behavior.

*Qin Keqing - daughter-in-law to Jia Zhen. Of all the characters in the novel the circumstances of her life and early death are amongst the most mysterious. The author has clearly edited the present edition. Apparently a very beautiful and flirtatious woman, she carried on an affair with her father-in-law and died before the second quarter of the novel. The present text hint at death by suicide.

Other main characters

*Grandmother Jia , née Shi. Also called the Matriarch or the Dowager. The daughter of Marquis Shi of Jinling. Grandmother to both Baoyu and Daiyu, she is the highest living authority in the Rongguo house and the oldest and most respected of the entire Clan, yet doting. She has two sons, Jia She and Jia Zheng, and a daughter, Min, Daiyu's mother. Daiyu is brought to the house of the Jias at the insistence of Grandmother Jia, and she helps Daiyu and Baoyu bond as childhood playmates and, later, kindred spirits.

*Jia Zheng - Baoyu's father, a stern disciplinarian and Confucian scholar. Afraid his one surviving son would turn bad, he imposed strict rules and occasional corporal punishment for his son. He has a wife, Lady Wang, and two concubines.

*Lady Wang - Baoyu's mother, a Buddhist, primary wife of Jia Zheng. Because of her purported ill-health, she hands over the running of the household to her niece, Xifeng, as soon as the latter marries into the Jia household, although she retains overall control over Xifeng's affairs so that the latter always has to report to her. Although Lady Wang appears to be a kind mistress and a doting mother, she can be in fact cruel and ruthless when her authority is challenged.

*Jia Lian - Xifeng's husband and Baoyu's paternal elder cousin, a notorious womanizer whose numerous affairs cause much trouble with his jealous wife. His pregnant concubine eventually died by his wife's engineering. He and his wife are in charge of most hiring and monetary allocation decisions, and often fight over this power.

*Xiangling - the Xues' maid, born Zhen Yinglian , the kidnapped and lost daughter to Zhen Shiyin , the country gentleman in Chapter 1. Her name is changed to Qiuling by Xue Pan's spoiled wife, Xia Jin'gui .

*Ping'er - Xifeng's chief maid and personal confidante; also concubine to Xifeng's husband, Jia Lian. The consensus among the novel's characters seem to be that Ping'er is beautiful enough to rival the mistresses in the house. Originally Xifeng's maid in the Wang household, she follows Xifeng as part of her "dowry" when Xifeng marries into the Jia household. She handles her troubles with grace, assists Xifeng capably and appears to have the respect of most of the household servants. She is also one of the very few people who can get close to Xifeng. She wields considerable power in the house as Xifeng's most trusted assistant, but uses her power sparingly and justly.

*Xue Pan - Baochai's older brother, a dissolute, idling rake who was a local bully in Jinling. Not particularly well studied, he once killed a man over a servant-girl and had the manslaughter case done over with money.

*Granny Liu - a country rustic and distant relation to the Wang family, who provides a comic contrast to the ladies of the Rongguo House during two visits. She eventually rescued Qiaojie away from her maternal uncle who wanted to sell her.

*Aunt Xue , née Wang - Baoyu's maternal aunt, mother to Pan and Baochai, sister to Lady Wang. She is kindly and affable for the most part, but finds it hard to control her unruly son.

*Qingwen - Baoyu's handmaiden. Brash, haughty and the most beautiful maid in the household, Qingwen is said to resemble Daiyu very strongly. Of all of Baoyu's maids, she is the only one who dares to argue with Baoyu when reprimanded, but is also extremely devoted to him. She was disdainful of Xiren's attempt to use her sexual relation with Baoyu to raise her status in the family. Lady Wang later suspected her of having an affair with Baoyu and publicly dismissed her on that account; angry at the unfair treatment and of the indignities and slanders that attended her as a result, Qingwen died shortly of an illness after leaving the Jia household.

*Xiren - Baoyu's principle maid and his . Originally the maid of the Dowager, Xiren was given to Baoyu because of her extreme loyalty toward the master she serves. Considerate and forever worrisome over Baoyu, she is the partner of his first adolescent sexual encounter during the early chapters of the novel.

*Zijuan - Daiyu's chief maid, ceded by the Dowager to her granddaughter. She is a very faithful companion to Dai-yu.

*Yuanyang - the Dowager's chief maid. She rejected a marriage proposal to the lecherous Jia She, Grandmother Jia's eldest son. After Grandmother Jia's death during the clan's declining days, she possibly commits suicide.

*Mingyan - Baoyu's young, male servant-attendant. Knows his master like the back of his hand.

*Xueyan - Daiyu's other maid. She came with Daiyu from Yangzhou, and comes across as a young but sweet girl.

*Jia She - elder son of the Dowager. He is the father of Jia Lian and Jia Yingchun. He is a treacherous and greedy man, and is an extreme womanizer.

*Lady Xing - Jia She's wife. She is Jia Lian's mother.

*Concubine Zhao - concubine of Jia Zheng. She is the mother of Jia Tanchun and Jia Huan. She longs to be the mother of the head of the household, which she fails to do. She plots to murder Baoyu with black magic, and it is believed that her plot cost her her life.

*Jia Huan - son of Concubine Zhao.

Notable minor characters

*Qin Zhong - Qin Keqing's younger brother. He is a good friend and classmate to Baoyu.

*Jia Zhen - head of the Ningguo House. He has a wife, Lady Yu, a younger sister, Jia Xichun, and many concubines. He is greedy.

*Lady Yu - wife of Jia Zhen. She is the sole mistress of the Ningguo House, and a loving, caring woman.

*Jia Rong - Jia Zhen's son. He is the husband of Qin Keqing. He is an exact copy of his father. He is the Cavaliar of the Imperial Guards.

*Third Sister Yu - fiancee to Liu Xianglian. Very beautiful. Because of Jia Baoyu's carelessness and Liu Xianglian's misunderstanding, She finally suicided with the gift for marriage given by Xianglian.

*Second Sister Yu - concubine to Jia Lian. She is a beautiful and modest young lady. She was the concubine who Wang Xifeng affected so badly that she committed suicide by swallowing gold. She is the elder sister of Third Sister Yu.

*Sheyue - Baoyu's main maid after Xiren and Qingwen. She is very beautiful and caring, a perfect complement to Xiren.

*Qiutong - Jia Lian's other concubine. Originally a maid of Jia She, she was given to Jia Lian as a concubine. She is a very proud and arrogant woman.

*Sister Silly - a maid who does rough work for the Dowager. She is guileless but amusing and caring. She unintentionally informs Daiyu of Baoyu's secret marriage plans.

Homonyms

The homonyms are one of the features of this book. In this book, many characters' and places' names have their special meanings. Some are satire, some are sigh. This is one of Red Chamber Dream's arts. Rouge Inkstone's note pointed out some hidden meanings inside them.
* Huzhou — Groundless speaking
* Zhen Shiyin — True things were hidden under
* Zhen Yinglian — Really should be pitied
* Feng Su — Costum
* Huo Qi — Disaster starts / Fire is on
* Jia - False, fake, fictitious, deceitful or sham .
* Zhen - Real, true
* Jia Yucun — Unreal words; In fact is not ; Unreal words exists
* Qing Keqing — Sensation should be belittled / Sensation can topple
* ''Yuan''chun, ''Ying''chun, ''Tan''chun, ''Xi''chun — Originally, Should be sighed
* Dian'er — Scapegoat
* Zhang ''Youshi'' — Something is going to be on
* Jia Mei — Suppose disappear
* Wei Ruolan — Smell is like orchid

Versions

The textual problems of the novel are extremely complex and have been the subject of much critical scrutiny, debate and conjecture in modern times. Cao did not live to publish his novel, and only hand-copied manuscripts survived after his death until 1791, when the first printed version was published. This printed version, known as the Chenggao edition, contains edits and revisions not authorised by the author.

Rouge versions

The novel, published up till the 20th century, was anonymous. Since the twentieth century, after Hu Shi's analyses, it is generally agreed Cao Xueqin wrote the first 80 chapters of the novel.

Up until 1791, the novel circulated merely in scribal transcripts. These early hand-copied versions end abruptly at the latest at the 80th chapter. The earlier ones furthermore contain transcribed comments and annotations from unknown commentators in red ink. These commentators' remarks reveal much about the author in person, and it is now believed some may even be members of Cao Xueqin's own family. The most prominent commentator is Rouge Inkstone , who revealed much of the interior structuring of the work and the original MS ending, now lost. These MS are the most textually reliable versions, known amongst scholars as "Rouge versions" . Even amongst the some 11 independent surviving manuscripts, small differences in some characters used, rearrangements and possible rewritings made the texts vary a little from another.

The early 80 chapters brim with prophecies and dramatic foreshadowings which also give hints as to how the book would continue. For example, it is obvious that Lin Daiyu will eventually die in the course of the novel; that Baoyu and Baochai will marry; that Baoyu will become a monk; various characters will suffer in the snow; and that the whole estate will finally be consumed by flames.

Most modern editions have the first 80 chapters based on the Rouge versions.

Chenggao version

In 1791 and Cheng Weiyuan brought together the novel's first movable type edition. This was also the first "complete" edition of ''The Story of the Stone'', which they printed as ''Dream of the Red Chamber''. While the original Rouge manuscripts have eighty chapters, ending roughly three-quarters into the plot and clearly incomplete, the 1791 edition completed the novel in one hundred and twenty chapters. The first eighty chapters were edited from the Rouge versions, but the last forty were newly published.

In 1792, Chen and Gao published a second edition correcting many "typographical and editorial" errors of the 1791 version with a now-famous preface. In the 1792 preface, the two editors claimed to have put together an ending based on the author's working manuscripts, which they bought from a street vendor.

The debate over the last forty chapters and the 1792 preface continues. Most modern scholars believe these chapters were a later addition, with inferior plotting and prose to the first eighty chapters. Hu Shih argued that the ending was simply forged by Gao E, citing the foreshadowing of the main characters' fates in Chapter 5, which does not agree with the ending of the 1791 Chenggao version.

Other critics suggest Gao E and Cheng Weiyuan were duped into taking someone else's forgery as an original work. A minority believe the last forty chapters contain Cao's work.

The book is normally published and read in Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E's one hundred and twenty chapter version. Some editions move the last forty chapters to an appendix. Also some modern editions did not include the last forty chapters.

Translations

The complete, published English translations are:

* ''The Story of the Stone'', David Hawkes and John Minford, Penguin Classics or Bloomington: Indiana University Press, five volumes, 1973-1980 . David Hawkes translated the first eighty chapters and John Minford translated the last forty.

* ''The Dream of the Red Chamber'', New York, U.S.A.: Penguin Group 1996. ISBN 0146001761

* ''A Dream of Red Mansions'', Gladys Yang and Yang Hsien-yi, Beijing: Foreign Language Press, three volumes, 1978-1980.

The typescript of a complete, unpublished translation, by BS Bonsall, is .

Previous incomplete translations include:

* Florence and Isabel McHugh's 1958 translation, which follows the German translation of Franz Kuhn.

* H. Bencraft Joly's translation, Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh, 1892-1893, which translated the first fifty-six chapters, now available on Project Gutenberg.

* Native Wang Chi-Chen's abridged translation, largely translated in 1929, then augmented for publication in 1958.

Translations

*, by H. Bencraft Joly from the Gutenberg Project
* a complete Typewriter-edition translation by Dr. B.S. Bonsall

Dongpo Academy

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The Dongpo Academy or Dongpo Academy of Classical Learning , was an located in Hainan, China. It was originally built in 1098 in memory of the Song dynasty literary figure, Su Dongpo, who was exiled here.

The ''Zaijiutang'' is the building where Su Dongpo lived and gave lectures during exile. The Dongpo Academy is located near the town of Zhonghe, 40 km from Danzhou city. It is now a tourist attraction.

Donglin Academy

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The Donglin Academy , also known as the Guishan Academy , was originally built in A.D. 1111 during the Northern Song dynasty at present-day Wuxi in China. It was originally a school where the neo-Confucian scholar Yang Shi taught, but later fell into disuse.

In 1604, during the Wanli era, Gu Xiancheng (顧憲成 Gù Xiànchéng, , a Ming Grand Secretary, along with Gao Panlong , a scholar, restored the Donglin Academy on the same site with the financial backing of local gentry and officials. The academy gave its name to the resulting Donglin movement.

The Donglin Academy can be found at 867, Jiefang Donglu, Wuxi City.

De (Chinese)

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De is a key concept in Chinese philosophy, usually translated "inherent character; inner power; integrity" in Taoism, "moral character; virtue; morality" in Confucianism and other contexts, and "quality; virtue" or "merit; virtuous deeds" in Chinese Buddhism.

The word

Chinese ''de'' 德 is an ancient and linguistically complex word. The following analyzes it in terms of semantics, graphics, and etymology.

Meanings

The ''Hanyu Da Zidian'', defines twenty meanings for ''de'' 德, translatable as follows:
*1. Rise, go up, climb, ascend.
*2. Morals, morality, virtue, personal conduct, moral integrity, honor.
*3. Denoting a wise/enlightened person with moral character.
*4. Kindness, favor, grace, graciousness.
*5. Grateful, gratefulness, thankful, indebted.
*6. Benevolent rule, good government, good instruction.
*7. Objective regulations/rules.
*8. Quality, nature, basic character, characteristics, attribute.
*9. Intention, purpose, heart, mind. For example: "Be of one heart and mind".
*10. In Five Phases theory, a reference to seasonally productive energy/air.
*11. First growth, initial stage, beginning of something.
*12. A phoenix-head pattern/decoration.
*13. Blessings, good fortune, happiness, resulting from benevolent actions.
*14. Used for ''zhí'' "straight, just".
*15. Used for ''zhí'' "to plant, grow, establish". Plant a tree.
*16. Used for "get, obtain, result in".
*17. A national name. An abbreviation for the Republic of Germany during World War II.
*18. A star name.
*19. A river name. Another name for the Yellow River.
*20. A surname.
This dictionary provides early usage examples, and all of these ''de'' meanings occur in Han or pre-Han Chinese classic texts, except for number 17 .

Translating ''de'' into English is problematic and controversial. Arthur Waley believed that ''de'' was better translated "power" than "virtue", and explained with a "bank of fortune" metaphor.

It is usually translated 'virtue', and this often seems to work quite well; though where the word occurs in early, pre-moralistic texts such a translation is in reality quite false. But if we study the usage of the word carefully we find that ''te'' can be bad as well as good. What is a 'bad virtue'? Clearly 'virtue' is not a satisfactory equivalent. Indeed on examining the history of the word we find that it means something much more like the Indian ''karma'', save that the fruits of ''te'' are generally manifested here and now; whereas ''karma'' is bound up with a theory of transmigration, and its effects are usually not seen in this life, but in a subsequent incarnation. ''Te'' is anything that happens to one or that one does of a kind indicating that, as a consequence, one is going to meet with good or bad luck. It means, so to speak, the stock of credit that at any given moment a man has at the bank of fortune. Such a stock is of course built up partly by the correct carrying out of ritual; but primarily by securing favourable omens; for unless the omens are favourable, no rite can be carried out at all.

Based on the cognate relation between ''de'' and ''zhi'' "to plant", Waley further noted the early Chinese regarded planting seeds as a ''de'', hence it "means a latent power, a 'virtue' inherent in something."

The linguist Peter A. Boodberg investigated the semantics and etymology of ''de'' 德, which he called "perhaps the most significant word, next to ''tao'' 道, in ancient Chinese macro- and microcosmology."

The standard translation for it is "virtue," both in the sense of inherent quality and in that of moral excellence, but with the validity of the traditional rendering somewhat shaken by Arthur Waley's insistence on interpreting it as "power." Indeed, it is believed by many scholars that the term originated in the mytho-magical period of Chinese speculation when ''tê'' was conceived as a kind of ''mana''-like potency inherent in substances, things, and human beings, a potency which, on the one hand, made them true to their essence, and on the other, made possible their influencing of other entities. It appears often as if it had been imagined as a kind of electric charge permeating the thing in question, waxing or waning in accordance with some mysterious law, and capable of being transmitted, in the case of living beings, from one generation to another. Contrary-minded students of ancient Chinese philosophy dispute this interpretation as rather narrow and possibly anachronistic, and point to the fact that ''tê'' had early acquired, at least in Confucian literature, ethical connotations close to our "virtue," that is, as moral, and only rarely amoral or immoral, efficacy. They find, therefore, no quarrel with rendering ''tê'', almost invariably, as "virtue." Philologists are, however, troubled by the absence in the Chinese term of any connotations reminiscent of the Latin etymon ''vir'', such as manliness and virility. They remind us that ''tê'' is free from any contamination with sexual associations and differs in that from its great counterpart, ''tao'', the Way, which, in one or two expressions, such as ''jên tao'' 人道, "the way of men and women," is suggestive of sexual activity. Other recommended translation, such as "energy" and essential quality," seem also inadequate from the etymological point of view.

Victor Mair explains that the difficulty of accurately translating ''de'',

…is evident from the astonishing sweep of thoughtful renderings of its meaning: power, action, life, inner potency, indarrectitude , charisma, mana , sinderesis , and virtue, to name only a few of the brave attempts to convey the meaning of ''te'' in English. Of these, the last is by far the most frequently encountered. Unfortunately, it is also probably the least appropriate of all to serve as an accurate translation of ''te'' in the ''Tao Te Ching''.

Mair concludes that Daoist ''de'' is best translated "integrity", which "means no more than the wholeness or completeness of a given entity," and like ''de'', "it represents the selfhood of every being in the universe."

Characters

''De'' is usually written with the Chinese character in both Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese, but it has logographic variants of and or .

Most Chinese characters are composed of a , which provides semantic information, and a phonetic, which hints at pronunciation. The earliest written forms of ''de'' 惪/德 "power; virtue" are bronzeware script and seal script characters from the Zhou Dynasty . The former character ''de'' 惪/悳 combines the "heart; mind" radical 心 and a ''zhi'' 直 "straight; upright; erect" phonetic. The latter character ''de'' 德 adds the "step; walk; locomotion" radical 彳, which abbreviates the "go; walk; travel; conduct; behavior" radical 行 . In , 徳 is classified as a ''jōyō kanji'' for common usage and 德 as a ''jinmeiyō kanji'' for writing proper names.

Etymologies

Boodberg undertook a "graphophonetic analysis" of ''de''. Based on the phonetic element ''zhi'' 直 "upright; erect" and the radical 行 suggesting movement, he translates ''de'' as English ''arrect'' "set upright; direct upward" or ''insititious'' "ingrafted; inserted" potency . Interpreting the 心 "heart; mind" to connote "innerness", he takes the prefix from Latin ''indoles'' "innate quality; natural disposition" to further neologize ''indarrect''. Boodberg concludes that the noun ''de'' is best translated ''enrective'' in the passive sense of power, or ''arrective'' in the active sense of influencing others. He says the Chinese understood ''de'' as potent but not coercive, and as arrective rather than corrective. Since early texts describe ''de'' 德 as an acquired quality, he proposes it is a paronym of ''de'' 得 "to acquire; to obtain", which is a common definition of ''de'' "power; virtue". Lastly, he notes a possible etymology of "see straight; looking straight at things; intuition" because early ''zhi'' 直 graphs depicted a straight line over an 目 "eye" .

Victor H. Mair proposes a etymology for ''de''.

''Te'' was pronounced approximately ''dugh'' during the early Chou period . The meanings it conveys in texts from that era are "character," " intentions," "quality," "disposition," "personality," "personhood," "personal strength," and "worth." There is a very close correlation between these meanings and words deriving from Proto-Indo-European ''dugh'' . And there is a whole series of words derived from the related Teutonic verbal root ''dugan''. There are Old High German ''tugan'', Middle High German ''tugen'', and modern German ''taugen'', all of which mean "to be good, fit, of use." There is another cognate group of words relating to modern English "doughty" that also contribute to our understanding of ''te''. They are Middle English ''douhti'', ''dohti'', of ''dühti'' .

According to Axel Schuessler's new etymological dictionary of Old Chinese , ''de'' < *''t?k'' 德 "moral force, virtue, character; quality, nature" is probably in the same word family as ''de'' < *''t?k'' 得 "to get" and perhaps ''zhi'' < *''dr?k'' 直 "straight; right". It quotes the proposal of Edwin G. Pulleyblank that ''de'' 德 and ''de'' 得 are cognate with Tibetan language ''thub'' "a mighty one, one having power and authority".

Taoist usages

Classic texts of philosophical Daoism frequently refer to ''de''.

The ''Daodejing''

''De'' is a keyword in the ''Daodejing'' where it occurs 44 times, compared to 76 occurrences of ''dao''. The title refers to a textual division between the ''Daojing'' and the ''Dejing'' . The modern compound word ''daode'' means "morality, ethical principles, ethics, moral philosophy". Two common ''de'' themes are its connection with the ''dao'' and its usefulness in managing people.

The first ''Daojing'' theme is the interrelationship between ''de'' and ''dao''. "Such the scope of the All-pervading Power. That it alone can act through the Way." . The so-called "''De'' Chapter" has the greatest number of occurrences.

The man of highest "power" does not reveal himself as a possessor of "power";
Therefore he keeps his "power".
The man of inferior "power" cannot rid it of the appearance of "power";
Therefore he is in truth without "power".
The man of highest "power" neither acts nor is there any who so regards him; The man of inferior "power" both acts and is so regarded.
The man of highest humanity, though he acts, is not regarded;
Whereas a man of even the highest morality both acts and is so regarded;
While even he who is best versed in ritual not merely acts, but if people fail to respond
Then he will pull up his sleeves and advance upon them. That is why it is said:
"After Tao was lost, then came the 'power';
After the 'power' was lost, then came human kindness."
After human kindness was lost, then came morality,
After morality was lost, then came ritual.

Here is another example.

Truly, if one uses the Way as one's instrument, the results will be like the Way; if one uses the "power" as instrument, the results will be like the "power". If one uses what is the reverse of the "power", the results will be the reverse of the "power".

For to those who have conformed themselves to the Way, the Way readily lends its power. To those who have conformed themselves to the power, the power readily, lends more power. While to those who conform themselves to inefficacy, inefficacy readily lends its ineffectiveness.

Compare this third example.

Tao gave them birth;
The "power" of Tao reared them,
Shaped them according to their kinds,
Perfected them, giving to each its strength.
Therefore of the ten thousand things there is not one that does not worship Tao and do homage to its "power". No mandate ever went forth that accorded to Tao the right to be worshipped, nor to its "power" the right to be worshipped, nor to its "power" the right to receive homage.
It was always and of itself so.
Therefore as Tao bore them and the "power" of Tao reared them, made them grow, fostered them, harboured them, brewed for them, so you must,
Rear them, but not lay claim to them,
Control them, but never lean upon them,
Be chief among them, but not manage them.
This is called the "mysterious power."

Chapters 10 and 65 also use this ''xuande'' phrase.

The second ''Daodejing'' theme is the efficacy of ''de'' for statesmanship . A sage ruler can acquire sufficient ''de'' to influence his subjects through, in effect, ''wuwei'' government.

You cannot rule men nor serve heaven unless you have laid up a store;
This "laying up a store" means quickly absorbing,
And "quickly absorbing" means doubling one's garnered "power".
Double your garnered power and it acquires a strength that nothing can overcome.
If there is nothing it cannot overcome, it know no bounds,
And only what knows no bounds is huge enough to keep a whole kingdom in its grasp.

Compare this description of using one's accumulated ''de'' to affect others.

The best charioteers do not rush ahead;
The best fighters do not make displays of wrath.
The greatest conqueror wins without joining issue;
The best user of men acts as though he were their inferior.
This is called the power that comes of not contending,
Is called the capacity to use men,
The secret of being mated to heaven, to what was of old.

Mair interprets these ''de'' occurrences.

As it is used in the ''Tao Te Ching'', ''te'' signifies the personal qualities or strengths of the individual, one's personhood. ''Te'' is determined by the sum total of one's actions, good and bad. Therefore it is possible to speak of "cultivating one's ''te''." Like karma, ''te'' is the moral weight of a person, which may be either positive or negative. In short, ''te'' is what you are. ''Te'' represents self-nature or seal-realization, only in relation to the cosmos. It is in fact the actualization of the cosmic principle in the self. ''Te'' is the embodiment of the Way and is the character of all entities in the universe. Each creature, each object has a ''te'' which is its own manifestation of the Tao.

The ''Zhuangzi''

The ''Zhuangzi'' uses ''de'' 191 times. Many contexts praise Daoist "integrity; inner power", some mock Confucianist and Mohist "virtue", and others make ''de'' wordplays. One of the chapter titles is "''De chong fu''" .

Several of the ''Zhuangzi'' translators explain the difficulties of rendering ''de'' into English. Frederic H. Balfour succinctly glosses ''de'' with Greek and Chinese.

德. In ethics, Virtue — ''Αρετη'' ; in physics, Energy — '' δυναμι?'' . 道 is the 體 of which 德 is the 用 .

James Legge gives this footnote to the "''De'' Chapter".

論德, 'About the Attributes;' of T?o, that is. It is not easy to render teh here by any other English term than 'virtue,' and yet there would be a danger of its thus misleading us in the interpretations of the chapter.

The 'virtue,' is the activity or operation of the T?o, which is supposed to have come out of its absoluteness. Even Han Fei so defines it here, — 'Teh is the meritorious work of the T?o.'

Fung Yu-lan cites two examples.

Next, we come to the conception of ''Tê'', or virtue. Lao Tz? said:

"''Tao'' produces a thing; ''Tê'' maintains it." – "''Tao Tê Ching''," ''51''.

Chuang Tz? said:

"That which things get in order to live is called ''Tê''." – ''Chapter XII''.

So ''Tê'' is what an individual thing receives from ''Tao''. The total spontaneity of all things is ''Tao''. The spontaneity that an individual thing receives from ''Tao'' is ''Tê''. As some commentator said, the relation between ''Tê'' and ''Tao'' is just like that between the water in river or lake, and water in general.

Burton Watson , whose translation will be cited below, describes the subtle connotations.

In nearly all cases I have rendered ''te'' as "virtue" except where it has the meaning of a favor or good deed done for someone, This word presents certain difficulties in Chuang Tzu. Sometimes he employs it to mean conventional virtue — that is, virtue in the Confucian or Mo-ist sense — in which case it has bad connotations; at other times he employs it in a good sense to mean the true virtue or vital power that belongs to the man of Tao. I prefer not to try to distinguish these two usages in the translation because I do not wish to impose upon the English a distinction that is not explicit in the original. The reader should keep in mind, incidentally, that the words "virtue" and "gain" or "to get" are homophones, and this fact is the basis of frequent puns and word plays — that is, the man of true Taoist virtue is one who, as we would say in English, has "got it."

Victor H. Mair differentiates ''Zhaungzi'''s contextual usages of ''de''.

In Confucian or conventional contexts, ''te'' is translated as "virtue." In Taoist or unconventional contexts, it is translated as "integrity." The most etymologically precise equivalent in English is the archaic word "dough."

''De'' was central in Daoist cosmology, and the ''Zhuangzi'' frequently explains it with ''dao'' "the Way" and ''tian'' "heaven; god". Chapter 12, "Heaven and Earth", has two good illustrations.

In the Great Beginning, there was nonbeing; there was no being, no name. Out of it arose One; there was One, but it had no form. Things got hold of it and came to life, and it was called Virtue. Before things had forms, they had their allotments; these were of many kinds, but not cut off from one another, and they were called fates. Out of the flow and flux, things were born, and as they grew they developed distinctive shapes; these were called forms. The forms and bodies held within them spirits, each with its own characteristics and limitations, and this was called the inborn nature. If the nature is trained, you may return to Virtue, and Virtue at its highest peak is identical with the Beginning. Being identical, you will be empty; being empty, you will be great. You may join in the cheeping and chirping and, when you have joined in the cheeping and chirping, you may join with Heaven and earth. Your joining is wild and confused, as though you were stupid, as though you were demented. This is called Dark Virtue. Rude and unwitting, you take part in the Great Submission.

Pervading Heaven and earth: that is the Way. Moving among the ten thousand things: that is Virtue. Superiors governing the men below them: that is called administration. Ability finding trained expression: that is called skill. Skill is subsumed in administration; administration in duty; duty in Virtue; Virtue in the Way; and the Way in Heaven. Therefore it is said, those who shepherded the world in ancient times were without desire and the world was satisfied, without action and the ten thousand things were transformed. They were deep and silent and the hundred clans were at rest. The Record says: "Stick to the One and the ten thousand tasks will be accomplished; achieve mindlessness and the gods and spirits will bow down."

''Zhide'' occurs seven times . For instance,

When a man has perfect virtue, fire cannot burn him, water cannot drown him, cold and heat cannot afflict him, birds and beasts cannot injure him. I do not say that he makes light of these things. I mean that he distinguishes between safety and danger, contents himself with fortune or misfortune, and is cautious in his comings and goings. Therefore nothing can harm him.

"Hence it is said: the Heavenly is on the inside, the human is on the outside. Virtue resides in the Heavenly. Understand the actions of Heaven and man, base yourself upon Heaven, take your stand in virtue, and then, although you hasten or hold back, bend or stretch, you may return to the essential and speak of the ultimate."

The people have their constant inborn nature. To weave for their clothing, to till for their food — this is the Virtue they share. They are one in it and not partisan, and it is called the Emancipation of Heaven. Therefore in a time of Perfect Virtue the gait of men is slow and ambling; their gaze is steady and mild. In such an age mountains have no paths or trails, lakes no boats or bridges. The ten thousand things live species by species, one group settled close to another. Birds and beasts form their flocks and herds, grass and trees grow to fullest height. So it happens that you can tie a cord to the birds and beasts and lead them about, or bend down the limb and peer into the nest of the crow and the magpie. In this age of Perfect Virtue men live the same as birds and beasts, group themselves side by side with the ten thousand things. Who then knows anything about "gentleman" or "petty man"? Dull and ununwitting, men have no wisdom; thus their Virtue does not depart from them. Dull and unwitting, they have no desire; this is called uncarved simplicity. In uncarved simplicity the people attain their true nature.

Then along comes the sage, huffing and puffing after benevolence, reaching on tiptoe for righteousness, and the world for the first time has doubts; mooning and mouthing over his music, snipping and stitching away at his rites, and the world for the first time is divided. Thus, if the plain unwrought substance had not been blighted, how would there be any sacrificial goblets? If the white jade had not been shattered, how would there be any scepters and batons? If the Way and its Virtue had not been cast aside, how would there be any call for benevolence and righteousness? If the true form of the inborn nature had not been abandoned, how would there be any use for rites and music? If the five colors had not confused men, who would fashion patterns and hues? If the five notes had not confused them, who would try to tune things by the six tones? That the unwrought substance was blighted in order to fashion implements — this was the crime of the artisan. That the Way and its Virtue were destroyed in order to create benevolence and righteousness — this was the fault of the sage.

This parable blaming sages for losing the primordial ''dao'' and ''de'' has several ''Zhuangzi'' parallels. Here are two.

So it is said, With the sage, his life is the working of Heaven, his death the transformation of things. In stillness, he and the yin share a single Virtue; in motion, he and the yang share a single flow. He is not the bearer of good fortune, nor the initiator of bad fortune. Roused by something outside himself, only then does he respond; pressed, only then does he move; finding he has no choice, only then does he rise up. He discards knowledge and purpose and follows along with the reasonableness of Heaven. Therefore he incurs no disaster from Heaven, no entanglement from things, no opposition from man, no blame from the spirits. His life is a floating, his death a rest. He does not ponder or scheme, does not plot for the future. A man of light, he does not shine; of good faith, he keeps no promises. He sleeps without dreaming, wakes without worry. His spirit is pure and clean, his soul never wearied. In emptiness, nonbeing, and limpidity, he joins with the Virtue of Heaven.

So it is said, Grief and happiness are perversions of Virtue; joy and anger are transgressions of the Way; love and hate are offenses against Virtue. When the mind is without care or joy, this is the height of Virtue. When it is unified and unchanging, this is the height of stillness. When it grates against nothing, this is the height of emptiness. When it has no commerce with things, this is the height of limpidity. When it rebels against nothing, this is the height of purity.

The Yellow Emperor said, "Do-Nothing-Say?Nothing — he's the one who is truly right. Wild-and-Witless appears to be so. But you and I in the end are nowhere near it. Those who know do not speak; those who speak do not know. Therefore the sage practices the teaching that has no words. The Way cannot be brought to light; its virtue cannot be forced to come. But benevolence — you can put that into practice; you can discourse on righteousness, you can dupe one another with rites. So it is said, When the Way was lost, then there was virtue; when virtue was lost, then there was benevolence; when benevolence was lost, then there was righteousness; when righteousness was lost, then there were rites. Rites are the frills of the Way and the forerunners of disorder. So it is said, He who practices the Way does less every day, does less and goes on doing less, until he reaches the point where he does nothing, does nothing and yet there is nothing that is not done." Now that we've already become 'things,' if we want to return again to the Root, I'm afraid we'll have a hard time of it! The Great Man — he's the only one who might find it easy.

This theme of sagely rulers using the powers of ''de'' recurs in the "Heaven and Earth" chapter.

Heaven and Earth are huge, but they are alike in their transformations. The ten thousand things are numerous, but they are one in their good order. Human beings are many, but they are all subjects of the sovereign. The sovereign finds his source in Virtue, his completion in Heaven. Therefore it is said that the sovereign of dark antiquity ruled the world through inaction, through Heavenly Virtue and nothing more.

The man of kingly Virtue moves in simplicity and is ashamed to be a master of facts. He takes his stand in the original source and his understanding extends to the spirits. Therefore his Virtue is far?reaching. His mind moves forth only when some external thing has roused it. Without the Way the body can have no life, and without Virtue, life can have no clarity. To preserve the body and live out life, to establish Virtue and make clear the Way — is this not kingly Virtue? Broad and boundless, suddenly he emerges, abruptly he moves, and the ten thousand things follow him — this is what is called the man of kingly Virtue.

One of the Inner Chapters has a dialogue between Confucius and Duke Ai of . The Duke describes meeting a hunchback named Ai Taito, who was famously ugly and charismatic, and asks about his incredible popularity, which the Master attributes to formless and water-like ''de''.

Confucius said, "I once went on a mission to Ch'u, and as I was going along, I saw some little pigs nursing at the body of their dead mother. After a while, they gave a start and all ran away and left her, because they could no longer see their likeness in her; she was not the same as she had been before. In loving their mother, they loved not her body but the thing that moved her body. When a man has been killed in battle and people come to bury him, he has no use for his medals. When a man has had his feet amputated, he doesn't care much about shoes. For both, the thing that is basic no longer exists. When women are selected to be consorts of the Son of Heaven, their nails are not pared and their ears are not pierced. When a man has just taken a wife, he is kept in posts outside and is no longer sent on missions. If so much care is taken to keep the body whole, how much more in the case of a man whose virtue is whole? Now Ai T'ai?t'o says nothing and is trusted, accomplishes nothing and is loved, so that people want to turn over their states to him and are only afraid he won't accept. It must be that his powers are whole, though his virtue takes no form."

"What do you mean when you say his powers are whole?" asked Duke Ai.

Confucius said, "Life, death, preservation, loss, failure, success, poverty, riches, worthiness, unworthiness, slander, fame, hunger, thirst, cold, heat — these are the alternations of the world, the workings of fate. Day and night they change place before us and wisdom cannot spy out their source. Therefore, they should not be enough to destroy your harmony; they should not be allowed to enter the Spirit Storehouse. If you can harmonize and delight in them, master them and never be at a loss for joy, if you can do this day and night without break and make it be spring with everything, mingling with all and creating the moment within your own mind — this is what I call being whole in power."

"What do you mean when you say his virtue takes no form?"

"Among level things, water at rest is the most perfect, and therefore it can serve as a standard. It guards what is inside and shows no movement outside. Virtue is the establishment of perfect harmony. Though virtue takes no form, things cannot break away from it."

The ''Zhuangzi'' is famous for wordplay and witticism. Several passages make puns between ''de'' "obtain" and ''de'' "integrity; virtue" . The "Autumn Floods" chapter quotes a "perfect ''de'' does not ''de''" proverb; "I have heard it said, 'The Man of the Way wins no fame, the highest virtue wins no gain, the Great Man has no self.' To the most perfect degree, he goes along with what has been allotted to him." . ''De'' derogatorily means "virtue; morality" in some contexts mocking the Confucians, Mohists, and School of Names. For instance, this derision of their sophistry: "There is left, there is right, there are theories, there are debates, there are divisions, there are discriminations, there are emulations, and there are contentions. These are called the Eight Virtues." . Translating the witty words of ''Zhuangzi'' can be highly complex. A final instance mentions five types of ''xiongde'' , but only lists the first one ''zhongde'' . Compare these ''de'' translations by Watson and Mair .

There is no greater evil than for the mind to be aware of virtue, and to act as though it were a pair of eyes. For when it starts acting like a pair of eyes, it will peer out from within, and when it peers out from within, it is ruined. There are five types of dangerous virtue, of which inner virtue is the worst. What do I mean by inner virtue? He who possesses inner virtue will think himself always in the right, and denigrate those who do not do as he does.

There is no greater affliction than for integrity to be possessed by the mind and for the mind to be possessed by its eye. Once ruled by the mind's eye, a person looks inward, and when she looks inward she is defeated. There are five types of malevolent integrity and the chief among them is egocentric integrity. What is meant by "egocentric integrity"? She who has egocentric integrity is possessed by self-love and ridicules whatever she does not do herself.

The word ''bade'' 八德 "eight virtues/powers" first appears in the "Discussion on Making All Things Equal" chapter. Although many ''Zhuangzi'' commentators and translators try to give ''de'' "some special meaning other than its ordinary one of "virtue" in this context", notes Watson, "I believe Chuang Tzu is deliberately parodying the ethical categories of the Confucians and Mo-ists."

The Way has never known boundaries; speech has no constancy. But because of "this," there came to be boundaries. Let me tell you what the boundaries are. There is left, there is right, there are theories, there are debates, there are divisions, there are discriminations, there are emulations, and there are contentions. These are called the Eight Virtues.

Later Confucianists misread this Daoist context and moralistically interpreted ''bade'' as ''xiao'' 孝 "filial piety", ''di'' 悌 "sibling piety", ''zhong'' 忠 "loyalty; fidelity", ''xin'' 信 "trust; believe", ''li'' 禮 "ritual; rites; courtesy", ''yi'' 義 "righteousness; right conduct", ''lian'' 廉 "upright; honorable; integrity", and ''zhi'' 恥 "humility; shame".

Confucianist usages

The Four Books of Confucianism give some insightful explanations of ''de'' "virtue". Note that the following quotations cite Charles Muller's scholarly translations of the ''Analects'', ''Doctrine of the Mean'', ''Great Learning'', and ''Mencius''. The more familiar translations of James Legge render ''ren'' "; human-heartedness" as "perfect virtue", which occasionally creates confusion with ''de'' as "virtue". Compare their translations of these two ''Analects'' passages.

Yen Yüan asked about perfect virtue. The Master said, "To subdue one's self and return to propriety, is perfect virtue. If a man can for one day subdue himself and return to propriety, all under heaven will ascribe perfect virtue to him. Is the practice of perfect virtue from a man himself, or is it from others?"

Yen Yüan asked about the meaning of humaneness. The Master said, "To completely overcome selfishness and keep to propriety is humaneness. If for a full day you can overcome selfishness and keep to propriety, everyone in the world will return to humaneness. Does humaneness come from oneself, or from others?"

The Master said, "Let the will be set on the path of duty. Let every attainment in what is good be firmly grasped. Let perfect virtue be accorded with. Let relaxation and enjoyment be found in the polite arts."

Confucius said: "Set your aspirations on the Tao, hold to virtue, rely on your humaneness, and relax in the study of the arts."

The ''Analects''

''De'' occurs 40 times in the Confucian ''Lunyu'' or ''Analects''. While Confucius extolled ''de'' "virtue; morality" — "If you are virtuous, you will not be lonely. You will always have friends." — he frequently criticized his contemporaries for having lost it. He described ''de'' as something that one can augment, and praised sage kings who governed through its compelling powers.

Confucius claimed that the rulers of ancient China had ''zhide'' "perfect/ultimate ''de''" . The two examples below mention the legendary Emperor Yao and Emperor Shun, , the founder of the Zhou Dynasty, and Tai Bo, who ceded the throne to his nephew King Wen.

Confucius said: "T'ai Po can be said to have had a perfected level of virtue. He declined the rule of the kingdom three times, without the people knowing about it."

Shun, with five ministers, was able to successfully govern the empire. King Wu said, "Altogether I have ten ministers." Confucius said, "Their ability is the issue. Don't you think so? When the T'ang and Wu dynasties combined, they had as many ministers as you, with a woman and nine men. King Wen controlled two-thirds of the empire, and with this, served the Yin. Indeed, the virtue of Chou can be called the epitome of virtue!"

Good government is a central ''Analects'' topic, and the following citations illustrate the importance of ''de'' for rulers and officials.

Confucius said: "He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it."

Confucius said: "If you govern the people legalistically and control them by punishment, they will avoid crime, but have no personal sense of shame. If you govern them by means of virtue and control them with propriety, they will gain their own sense of shame, and thus correct themselves."

Confucius said: "The Superior Man cares about virtue; the inferior man cares about material things. The Superior Man seeks discipline; the inferior man seeks favors."

Someone said: "What do you think of the saying: 'Repay harm with virtue'?" Confucius replied, "Then how will you repay virtue? Repay harm with Justice and repay virtue with virtue."

Chi K'ang Tzu asked Confucius about government saying: "Suppose I were to kill the unjust, in order to advance the just. Would that be all right?" Confucius replied: "In doing government, what is the need of killing? If you desire good, the people will be good. The nature of the Superior Man is like the wind, the nature of the inferior man is like the grass. When the wind blows over the grass, it always bends."

In this wind and grass simile, ''de'' clearly does not mean moral "virtue", but something like "nature; character". Compare these two semantically similar usages.

Confucius said: "Heaven gave birth to the virtue within me. What can Huan T'ui do to me?"

Confucius said: "The Southerners have a saying: 'If a man is not constant in his self-cultivation, he cannot be a shaman or a healer.' It is a good proverb. If you are not consistently developing your virtue, what can you give to others? You will not even be able to give a diagnosis."

Confucius recurrently disparaged his Spring and Autumn Period contemporaries for having diminished their natural ''de'' virtue. One notably ironic ''Analects'' passage accuses the Master himself of having lost it.

Chieh Yu, the madman of Ch'u, passed by Confucius, singing: "Phoenix! Phoenix! How your virtue has declined! Your past cannot be corrected, But your future is yet to come. Give up! Give up! Those who involve themselves in Government now Will be in danger." Confucius jumped down, wanting to talk to him, but he ran away, so Confucius couldn't talk to him.

Here are some Confucian quotations about the rarity of people who possessed true ''de'' "virtue".

Confucius said: "Yu, those who understand virtue are few and far between."

Confucius said: "Even over a long period of time, there have been few people who have actualized the Mean into Manifest Virtue."

Confucius said: "I have never seen one who loves virtue as much as he loves sex."

Confucius said: "The virtuous will certainly have something to say, but those who have something to say are not necessarily virtuous. The humane man is always brave, but the brave man is not necessarily possessed of humaneness."

Confucius said: "Clever words disrupt virtue. Lack of patience in small matters leads to the disruption of great plans."

Confucius said: "The 'conventional townsman' is a thief of virtue."

Confucius said: "To apprehend the Tao and lecture on it before actualization is to throw away your accumulation of virtue."

This last quote implies that ''de'' can be accumulated, and Confucius was not completely pessimistic about virtue going astray. For example , he praised his disciple as "a Superior Man, a man of enhanced virtue." These four contexts describe ''de'' as a measurable force that one can "return," "cultivate," "extend," and "heighten".

Tseng Tzu said: "When they are careful to the end and continue in reverence after are long gone, the virtue of the people will return to its natural depth."

Confucius said: "Having virtue and not cultivating it; studying and not sifting; hearing what is just and not following; not being able to change wrongdoing: these are the things that make me uncomfortable."

Tzu Chang said: "Keeping one's virtue without extending it; trusting the Tao without enriching it. What can you gain? And what can you get rid of?"

Fan Chih, while strolling with the Master among the Rain Dance altars, said, "May I ask how to heighten virtue, overcome wickedness and resolve delusion?" The Master said, "An excellent question! If you take care of your responsibilities before you seek your own gain, won't this heighten your virtue? If you attack your own evil rather than the evil of others, won't you overcome wickedness? If, because of a moment's anger, you endanger your own life, as well as that of your parents, is this not delusion?"

The ''Great Learning''

The ''Da Xue'' or "Great Learning" is an early Confucianist text that was transmitted as a ''Liji'' chapter. The brief main passage, which is attributed to Confucius, repeats the phrase ''ming mingde'' , which Legge translates "illustrate illustrious virtue".

The way of great learning consists in manifesting one's bright virtue, consists in loving the people, consists in stopping in perfect goodness. … The ancients who wanted to manifest their bright virtue to all in the world first governed well their own states.

The received ''Great Learning'' includes nine commentaries. The first one was supposedly written by Zeng Zi, a disciple of Confucius. It explains ''mingde'' by quoting three ''Shujing'' sections, an otherwise unknown bathtub inscription of King Tang of Shang, and a ''Shijing'' ode.

In the "Announcement to K'ang" it is said, "He was able to manifest his virtue." The "T'ai-chia" says, "He contemplated Heaven's unveiled mandate." The "Canon of Yao" says, "he was able to manifest his lofty virtue."

The inscription of the bath of King T'ang said, "If you renew yourself for one day, you can renew yourself daily, and continue to do so." In the "Announcement of K'ang" it says, "carry out the renewal of the people." The ''Book of Odes'' says, "Even though Chou was an ancient state, its mandate was sustained anew." Therefore there is nothing in which the Superior Man does not fully exert himself.

The ''Doctrine of the Mean''

The ''Zhongyong'' or ''Doctrine of the Mean'', which like the "Great Learning" above was included in the ''Liji'', uses ''de'' 22 times.

While Confucianist texts generally describe the ''de'' of humans, one passage portrays that of ''guishen'' .

Confucius said: "The overabundance of the power of spiritual beings is truly amazing! Looking for them, they cannot be seen. Listening for them, they cannot be heard. There is nothing that they do not embody. They cause the people of the world to fast for purification, and wear beautiful clothes in order to participate at the sacrifices. They are overflowing, seeming to be above, seeming to be on the left and on the right. The ''Book of Odes'' says: 'Trying to investigate the spirits, we cannot reach them. How could we possibly grasp them with our thoughts?' The manifestation of the subtle and the inconcealability of sincerity is like this."

Note how the ''Doctrine of the Mean'' attributes almost mystical powers to ''cheng'' .

Sincerity is just 'perfecting' and the Way is just 'following.' Sincerity is the beginning and end of all things. Without sincerity there is nothing. Thus the Superior Man values the process of "becoming-sincere." But sincerity is not "just-perfecting"; it also means "perfecting all things." To perfect yourself, you need ''jen''. To perfect others, you need wisdom. The virtue of our nature is that it is none other than the Way by which inner and outer are merged. Thus we can always use it to set things right.

Only that person who has fully actualized sincerity is able to adjust the strings of the Great Net of the World; is able to establish himself in the Great Root of the World; is able to understand the transformations and the nurturing of Heaven and Earth. So sincere is his ''jen''; so unfathomable is his depth; so vast is his spaciousness. Who is able to understand this, but one who has the firm, acute, luminous sagely intelligence – who is permeated with Heavenly Virtue?

Two passages use the compound ''dade'' .

What a good son was Shun ! His virtue was that of a sage, he was venerated as an emperor. His wealth included everything within the four seas. He is sacrificed to in the ancestral temple, and his sons and grandsons have preserved his name. Therefore we can say that the greatly virtuous always attain their appropriate position, always receive their proper reward, always get their recognition and are always long-lived.

Confucius transmitted the legacy of Yao and Shun and modeled his character on that of Wen and Wu. He was ruled by the Heavenly seasons from above, and combined the Earth and Waters below. He was like Heaven and Earth, which have nothing they do not support, and nothing they do not cover. His function was like the revolution of the four seasons, the alternation of sun and moon. He nourishes the myriad things and they grow up together without harming each other, and they follow their courses simultaneously without interfering with each other. His smaller power is like the rivers and streams. His great power is seen in deep transformations. This is why Heaven and Earth are called "great."

The ''Doctrine of the Mean'' also mentions the concept of ''zhide'' "perfect ''de''".

How great is the Way of the sage! Superabundant, it develops all things, extending up to Heaven. How excellent it is! It embraces the three hundred rules of ceremony, and the three thousand rules of conduct; it waits for the right person and then functions. Hence it is said: "If you do not perfect your virtue, the perfect Way cannot be actualized." Therefore the Superior Man esteems his virtuous nature and follows the path of inquiry, extending himself in breadth and greatness, penetrating all subtleties, penetrating its height and brilliance, following the course of the actualization of the Mean. He reviews the old and learns the new, thickening his character through the valorization of propriety.

The ''Mencius''

''De'' 德 "virtue; character" occurs 41 times in the ''Mengzi'' or ''Mencius''. Many occurrences are in quotations, for instance 6A6 and 6A17 quote ''Shijing'' odes 260 and 247. Mencius frequently quotes Confucius about ''de''; 3A4 quotes the ''Lunyu'' 12:19 wind and grass metaphor, and 7B37 quotes 17:13 about "Conventional townsmen are thieves of virtue." Three common ''de'' thematic usages are that wise rulers can utilize its powers, should employ people with ''de'', and should understand how it affects friendship.

The first and most frequent Mencian teaching is that a ruler should develop his ''de'' as a means of controlling people.

The king said: "What kind of qualities are necessary for real kingship?" Mencius said: "Take care of the people, and no one can oppose you."

There was king Wen, moreover, with all the virtue which belonged to him; and who did not die till he had reached a hundred years — and still his influence had not penetrated throughout the kingdom.

Mencius said, "He who uses force as a pretense of Humaneness is the de-facto strongman among the princes. But such a strongman must have a large state in order to be effective. The man who uses his virtue to practice Humaneness is the true king. To be a real king you don't need an especially large territory. T'ang did it with only seventy li and King Wen did it with only one hundred li. When you use your power to force people into submission, they will never submit with their hearts; it is only because they don't have enough strength to resist. When people submit to virtue, they are happy from the bottom of their hearts, and they submit sincerely, the way the seventy disciples submitted to Confucius."

Mencius said, 'When right government prevails in the kingdom, princes of little virtue are submissive to those of great, and those of little worth to those of great. When bad government prevails in the kingdom, princes of small power are submissive to those of great, and the weak to the strong. Both these cases are the rule of Heaven. They who accord with Heaven are preserved, and they who rebel against Heaven perish.

Wan Chang asked Mencius, saying, 'People say, "When the disposal of the kingdom came to Yü, his virtue was inferior to that of Y?o and Shun, and he transmitted it not to the worthiest but to his son." Was it so?' Mencius replied, 'No; it was not so. When Heaven gave the kingdom to the worthiest, it was given to the worthiest. When Heaven gave it to the son of the preceding sovereign, it was given to him. … 'In the case of a private individual obtaining the throne, there must be in him virtue equal to that of Shun or Yü; and moreover there must be the presenting of him to Heaven by the preceding sovereign. It was on this account that Confucius did not obtain the throne.'

Mencius said, 'The administration of government is not difficult — it lies in not offending the great families. He whom the great families affect, will be affected by the whole State; and he whom any one State affects, will be affected by the whole kingdom. When this is the case, such an one's virtue and teachings will spread over all within the four seas like the rush of water.'

'Confucius said, "The flowing progress of virtue is more rapid than the transmission of royal orders by stages and couriers."'

Note how these last two examples describe rapidly flowing powers of ''de''.

The second related theme is that rulers should seek out and employ those individuals who have ''de''.

If a prince hates disgrace, the best course for him to pursue, is to esteem virtue and honour virtuous scholars, giving the worthiest among them places of dignity, and the able offices of trust.

Mencius said: "Humaneness brings glory and non-Humaneness brings disgrace. So if you hate disgrace but still involve yourself in what is not Humaneness, it is like hating moisture and living in a basement. If you really hate it, you should honor virtue and respect the good. Install good men into positions of rank and give jobs to people of ability."

Therefore a prince who is to accomplish great deeds will certainly have ministers whom he does not call to go to him. When he wishes to consult with them, he goes to them. The prince who does not honour the virtuous, and delight in their ways of doing, to this extent, is not worth having to do with.

Chien asked, "How do you go about 'just being content'?" Mencius said, "If you value virtue and enjoy Rightness, you can be content. Hence the gentleman in dire straits does not lose his sense of Rightness, and when successful, does not lose the Path. Since he does not lose his sense of Rightness when in dire straits, the gentleman is able to keep a grasp on himself. Since he does not lose the Path when he becomes successful, the people are not disappointed in him."

Hsien-ch'i? Mang asked Mencius, saying, 'There is the saying, "A scholar of complete virtue may not be employed as a minister by his sovereign, nor treated as a son by his father." … Mencius replied, 'No. These are not the words of a superior man. They are the sayings of an uncultivated person of the east of Qi.'

A third theme in ''Mencius'' is the connection between ''de'' and friendship.

Wan Chang asked Mencius, saying, 'I venture to ask the principles of friendship.' Mencius replied, 'Friendship should be maintained without any presumption on the ground of one's superior age, or station, or the circumstances of his relatives. Friendship with a man is friendship with his virtue, and does not admit of assumptions of superiority.'

During the frequent interviews of the duke M? with Tsze-sze, he one day said to him, "Anciently, princes of a thousand chariots have yet been on terms of friendship with scholars — what do you think of such an intercourse?" Tsze-sze was displeased, and said, "The ancients have said, 'The scholar should be served:' how should they have merely said that he should be made a friend of?" When Tsze-sze was thus displeased, did he not say within himself, — "With regard to our stations, you are sovereign, and I am subject. How can I presume to be on terms of friendship with my sovereign! With regard to our virtue, you ought to make me your master. How can you be on terms of friendship with me?" Thus, when a ruler of a thousand chariots sought to be on terms of friendship with a scholar, he could not obtain his wish — how much less could he call him to his presence!'

One final example of Confucian ''de'' usages is this context where the word has a markedly negative meaning, semantically opposed to moral "virtue".

Mencius said, 'Qiu acted as chief officer to the head of the Ji family, whose evil ways he was unable to change, while he exacted from the people double the grain formerly paid.'

Confucianism

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Confucianism is an ancient and originally developed from the teachings of the early Chinese philosopher Confucius . It focuses on human morality and good deeds. Confucianism is a complex system of moral, social, political, , and thought that has had tremendous influence on the culture and history of East Asia. Some consider it to be the state religion of East Asian countries because of governmental promotion of Confucian values.

Cultures strongly influenced by Confucianism include , Japan, Korea, , and , as well as various territories settled predominantly by .

History

Confucianism was chosen by Han Wudi for use as a political system to govern the state. Despite its loss of influence during the Tang Dynasty, Confucian doctrine remained a mainstream Chinese orthodoxy for two millennia until the 20th century and it was still in most parts of China, when it was attacked by radical Chinese thinkers as a vanguard of a pre-modern system and an obstacle to China's modernization, eventually culminating in its repression during the Cultural Revolution in the People's Republic of China. Since the end of the Cultural Revolution, Confucianism has been revived in mainland China, and both interest in and debate about Confucianism have surged.

Confucianism as passed down to the 19th and 20th centuries derives primarily from the school of the , led by Zhu Xi, who gave Confucianism renewed vigor in the and later dynasties. Neo-Confucianism combined and ideas with existing Confucian ideas to create a more complete metaphysics than had ever existed before. At the same time, many forms of Confucianism have historically declared themselves opposed to the Buddhist and Taoist belief systems.

Confucius was a sage and of China whose teachings have deeply influenced East Asia, including China, Korea, and Japan for two thousand five hundred years. The relationship between Confucianism and Confucius himself, however, is tenuous. Confucius' ideas were not accepted during his lifetime and he frequently bemoaned the fact that he remained unemployed by any of the lords.

As with many other prominent figures, such as Jesus, Socrates, and Buddha, Confucius did not leave any writings to put forward his ideas. Instead, only texts with recollections by his disciples and their students are available. This factor is further complicated by the "", a massive suppression of dissenting thought during the Qin Dynasty, more than two centuries after Confucius' death.

However, we can sketch out Confucius' ideas from the fragments that remain. Confucius was a man of letters who worried about the troubled times in which he lived. He went from place to place trying to spread his political ideas and influence to the many s contending for supremacy in China.

In the , the reigning king of the Zhou gradually became a mere figurehead. In this power vacuum, the rulers of small states began to vie with one another for military and political dominance. Deeply persuaded of the need for his mission — "If right principles prevailed through the empire, there would be no need for me to change its state" ''Analects'' XVIII, 6 — Confucius tirelessly promoted the virtues of ancient illustrious sages such as the Duke of Zhou. Confucius tried to amass sufficient political power to found a new dynasty, as when he planned to accept an invitation from a rebel to "make a Zhou dynasty in the East" . As the common saying that Confucius was a "king without a crown" indicates, however, he never gained the opportunity to apply his ideas. He was expelled from states many times and eventually returned to his homeland to spend the last part of his life teaching. The ''Analects of Confucius'', the closest primary source we have for his thoughts, relates his sayings and discussions with rulers and disciples in short passages. There is considerable debate over how to interpret the Analects.

Unlike most European and American philosophers, Confucius did not rely on deductive reasoning to convince his listeners. Instead, he used figures of rhetoric such as analogy and aphorism to explain his ideas. Most of the time these techniques were highly contextualized. For these reasons, European and American readers might find his philosophy muddled or unclear. However, Confucius claimed that he sought "a unity all pervading" and that there was "one single thread binding my way together." . The first occurrences of a real Confucian system may have been created by his disciples or by their disciples. During the philosophically fertile period of the Hundred Schools of Thought, great early figures of Confucianism such as Mencius and Xun Zi developed Confucianism into an ethical and political doctrine. Both had to fight contemporary ideas and gain the ruler's confidence through argumentation and reasoning. Mencius gave Confucianism a fuller explanation of human nature, of what is needed for good government, of what morality is, and founded his idealist doctrine on the claim that human nature is good. Xun Zi opposed many of Mencius' ideas, and built a structured system upon the idea that human nature is bad and had to be educated and exposed to the rites, before being able to express their goodness for the people. Some of Xun Zi's disciples, such as Han Feizi and Li Si, became s and conceived the state system that allowed Qin Shi Huang to unify China under the strong state control of every human activity. The culmination of Confucius' dream of unification and peace in China can therefore be argued to have come from Legalism, a school of thought almost diametrically opposed to his reliance on rites and virtue.

Rites

"Lead the people with administrative injunctions and put them in their place with penal law, and they will avoid punishments but will be without a sense of shame. Lead them with excellence and put them in their place through roles and ritual practices, and in addition to developing a sense of shame, they will order themselves harmoniously."

The above explains an essential difference between legalism and ritualism and points to a key difference between European / American and East Asian societies, particularly in the realm of an individual's moral compass, when deserving of punishment for breaking penal law.

Of course, as with all translations of literature from ancient sources, excessive literal analysis of one particular translation may lead to unfounded conclusions.
An example would be the following passage, the exact same as the one just provided.

''"The Master said, 'Guide them by edicts, keep them in line with punishments, and the common people will stay out of trouble but will have no sense of shame. Guide them by virtue, keep them in line with the rites, and they will, besides having a sense of shame, reform themselves.''

Varying translations throughout the 18th, 19th, 20th, and now this century have created a large and diverse collection based on the originals. Therefore, only studying all of these translations would allow accurate analysis of the ancient text. The availability of numerous qualified sources for these translations in the modern age can lead to a true "general consensus" of what message Confucius meant to imply.

Confucius argues that under law, ''external'' authorities administer punishments ''after'' illegal actions, so people generally behave well without understanding reasons why they should; where as with ritual, patterns of behavior are ''internalized'' and exert their influence ''before'' actions are taken, so people behave properly because they fear shame and want to avoid . In this sense, "rite" is an ideal form of social norm.

The Chinese character for "rites" previously had the religious meaning of "sacrifice". Its Confucian meaning ranges from politeness and propriety to the understanding of each person's correct place in society. Externally, ritual is used to distinguish between people; their usage allows people to know at all times who is the younger and who the elder, who is the guest and who the host and so forth. Internally, they indicate to people their duty amongst others and what to expect from them.

Internalization is the main process in ritual. Formalized behavior becomes progressively internalized, desires are channeled and personal cultivation becomes the mark of social correctness. Though this idea conflicts with the common saying that "the cowl does not make the monk", in Confucianism sincerity is what enables behavior to be absorbed by individuals. Obeying ritual with sincerity makes ritual the most powerful way to cultivate oneself. Thus,

"Respectfulness, without the Rites, becomes laborious bustle; carefulness, without the Rites, become timidity; boldness, without the Rites, becomes insubordination; straightforwardness, without the Rites, becomes rudeness" .

Ritual can be seen as a means to find the balance between opposing qualities that might otherwise lead to conflict.

Ritual divides people into categories and builds hierarchical relationships through protocols and ceremonies, assigning everyone a place in society and a form of behavior. Music that seems to have played a significant role in Confucius' life is given as an exception as it transcends such boundaries, 'unifying the hearts'.

Although the ''Analects'' promotes ritual heavily, Confucius himself often behaved otherwise; for example, when he cried at his preferred disciple's death, or when he met a fiendish princess . Later more rigid ritualists forgot that ritual is "more than presents of jade and silk" and strayed from their master's position.

Governance

"To govern by virtue, let us compare it to the North Star: it stays in its place, while the myriad stars wait upon it."

Another key Confucian concept is that in order to govern others one must first govern oneself. When developed sufficiently, the king's personal virtue spreads beneficent influence throughout the kingdom. This idea is developed further in the Great Learning and is tightly linked with the concept of wu wei : the less the king does, the more that is done. By being the "calm centre" around which the kingdom turns, the king allows everything to function smoothly and avoids having to tamper with the individual parts of the whole.

This idea may be traced back to early shamanistic beliefs, such as that the king being the axle between the sky, human beings and the Earth. The character itself shows the three levels of the universe, united by a single line. Another complementary view is that this idea may have been used by ministers and counsellors to deter aristocratic whims that would otherwise be to the detriment of the population.

Meritocracy

"In teaching, there should be no distinction of classes."

Although Confucius claimed that he never invented anything but was only transmitting ancient knowledge , he did produce a number of new ideas. Many European and American admirers such as Voltaire and H. G. Creel point to the revolutionary idea of replacing the nobility of blood with one of virtue. Jūnzǐ , which had meant "noble man" before Confucius' work, slowly assumed a new connotation in the course of his writings, rather as "gentleman" did in English. A virtuous plebeian who cultivates his qualities can be a "gentleman", while a shameless son of the king is only a "small man". That he allowed students of different classes to be his disciples is a clear demonstration that he fought against the feudal structures in Chinese society.

Another new idea, that of meritocracy, led to the introduction of the Imperial examination system in China. This system allowed anyone who passed an examination to become a government officer, a position which would bring wealth and honor to the whole family. The Chinese examination system seems to have been started in 165 BCE, when certain candidates for public office were called to the Chinese capital for examination of their moral excellence by the emperor. Over the following centuries the system grew until finally almost anyone who wished to become an official had to prove his worth by passing written government examinations.

Confucius praised those kings who left their kingdoms to those apparently most qualified rather than to their elder sons. His achievement was the setting up of a school that produced statesmen with a strong sense of state and duty, known as 儒家 . During the Warring States Period and the early Han dynasty, China grew greatly and the need for a solid and centralized corporation of government officers able to read and write administrative papers arose. As a result, Confucianism was promoted and the men it produced became an effective counter to the remaining landowner aristocrats otherwise threatening the unity of the state.

Since then Confucianism has been used as a kind of "state religion", with authoritarianism, legitimism, paternalism, and submission to authority used as political tools to rule China. Most emperors used a mix of legalism and Confucianism as their ruling doctrine, often with the latter embellishing the former dog.

Themes in Confucian thought

A simple way to appreciate Confucian thought is to consider it as being based on varying levels of honesty. In practice, the elements of Confucianism accumulated over time and matured into the following forms:

Ritual

In Confucianism the term "ritual " was soon extended to include secular ceremonial behavior before being used to refer to the propriety or politeness which colors everyday life. Rituals were codified and treated as a comprehensive system of norms. Confucius himself tried to revive the etiquette of earlier dynasties. After his death, people regarded him as a great authority on ritual behaviors.

It is important to note that "ritual" has a different meaning in the context of Confucianism, especially today, from its context in many religions. In Confucianism, the acts that people tend to carry out in every day life are considered ritual. Rituals are not necessarily regimented or arbitrary practices, but the routines that people often undergo knowingly or unknowingly through out their lives. Shaping the rituals in a way that leads to a content and healthy society, and to content and healthy people, is one purpose of Confucian philosophy.

Relationships

One theme central to Confucianism is that of relationships, and the differing duties arising from the different status one held in relation to others. Individuals are held to simultaneously stand in different degrees of relationship with different people, namely, as a junior in relation to their parents and elders, and as a senior in relation to their younger siblings, students, and others. While juniors are considered in Confucianism to owe strong duties of reverence and service to their seniors, seniors also have duties of benevolence and concern toward juniors. This theme consistently manifests itself in many aspects of East Asian cultures even to this day, with extensive filial duties on the part of children toward parents and elders, and great concern of parents toward their children.

Social harmony -- the great goal of Confucianism -- thus results partly from every individual knowing his or her place in the social order and playing his or her part well. When Duke Jing of asked about government, by which he meant proper administration so as to bring social harmony, Confucius replied,

"There is government, when the prince is prince, and the minister is minister; when the father is father, and the son is son." .

Filial piety

"Filial piety" is considered among the greatest of virtues and must be shown towards both the living and the dead . The term "filial", meaning "of a child", denotes the respect that a child, originally a son, should show to his parents. This relationship was extended by analogy to a series of ''five relationships'' :

# Sovereign to subject
# Parent to child
# Husband to wife
# Elder to younger sibling
# Friend to friend

Specific duties were prescribed to each of the participants in these sets of relationships. Such duties were also extended to the dead, where the living stood as sons to their deceased family. This led to the .

In time filial piety was also built into the Chinese legal system: a criminal would be punished more harshly if the culprit had committed the crime against a parent, while fathers often exercised enormous power over their children. Much the same was true of other unequal relationships.

The main source of our knowledge of the importance of filial piety is ''The Book of Filial Piety'', a work attributed to Confucius and his son but almost certainly written in the third century BCE. Filial piety has continued to play a central role in Confucian thinking to the present day.

Loyalty

Loyalty is the equivalent of filial piety on a different plane. It was particularly relevant for the social class to which most of Confucius' students belonged, because the only way for an ambitious young scholar to make his way in the Confucian Chinese world was to enter a ruler's civil service. Like filial piety, however, loyalty was often subverted by the autocratic regimes of China. Confucius had advocated a sensitivity to the realpolitik of the class relations that existed in his time; he did not propose that "might makes right", but that a superior who had received the "Mandate of Heaven" should be obeyed because of his moral rectitude.

In later ages, however, emphasis was placed more on the obligations of the ruled to the ruler, and less on the ruler's obligations to the ruled.

Loyalty was also an extension of one's duties to friends, family, and spouse. Loyalty to one's leader came first, then to one's family, then to one's spouse, and lastly to one's friends. Loyalty was considered one of the greater human virtues.

Humanity

Confucius was concerned with people's individual development, which he maintained took place within the context of human relationships. Ritual and filial piety are the ways in which one should act towards others from an underlying attitude of humaneness. Confucius' concept of humaneness is probably best expressed in the Confucian version of the Golden Rule: "What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others;".

''Rén'' also has a political dimension. If the ruler lacks ''rén'', Confucianism holds, it will be difficult if not impossible for his subjects to behave humanely. ''Rén'' is the basis of Confucian political theory: it presupposes an autocratic ruler, exhorted to refrain from acting inhumanely towards his subjects. An inhumane ruler runs the risk of losing the "Mandate of Heaven", the right to rule. Such a mandateless ruler need not be obeyed. But a ruler who reigns humanely and takes care of the people is to be obeyed strictly, for the benevolence of his dominion shows that he has been mandated by heaven. Confucius himself had little to say on the will of the people, but his leading follower Mencius did state on one occasion that the people's opinion on certain weighty matters should be polled.

The gentleman

The term "Jūnzǐ" is crucial to classical Confucianism. The ideal of a "gentleman" or "perfect man" is that for which Confucianism exhorts all people to strive. A succinct description of the "perfect man" is one who "combines the qualities of saint, scholar, and gentleman" . In modern times the masculine translation in English is also traditional and is still frequently used. Elitism was bound up with the concept, and gentlemen were expected to act as moral guides to the rest of society.

They were to:
* cultivate themselves morally;
* show filial piety and loyalty where these are due;
* cultivate humanity, or benevolence.

The great exemplar of the perfect gentleman is Confucius himself. Perhaps the greatest tragedy of his life was that he was never awarded the high official position which he desired, from which he wished to demonstrate the general well-being that would ensue if humane persons ruled and administered the state.

The opposite of the ''Jūnzǐ'' was the ''Xiǎorén'' . The character 小 in this context means petty in mind and heart, narrowly self-interested, greedy, superficial, or materialistic.

Rectification of names

Confucius believed that social disorder often stemmed from failure to perceive, understand, and deal with reality. Fundamentally, then, social disorder can stem from the failure to call things by their proper names, and his solution to this was ''Zhèngmíng'' . He gave an explanation of ''zhengming'' to one of his disciples.

Tsze-lu said, "The ruler of Wei has been waiting for you, in order with you to administer the government. What will you consider the first thing to be done?"

The Master replied, "What is necessary is to rectify names."

"So! indeed!" said Tsze-lu. "You are wide of the mark! Why must there be such rectification?"

The Master said, "How uncultivated you are, Yu! A superior man, in regard to what he does not know, shows a cautious reserve.

* If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things.
* If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success.
* When affairs cannot be carried on to success, proprieties and music do not flourish.
* When proprieties and music do not flourish, punishments will not be properly awarded.
* When punishments are not properly awarded, the people do not know how to move hand or foot.

Therefore a superior man considers it necessary that the names he uses may be spoken appropriately, and also that what he speaks may be carried out appropriately. What the superior man requires is just that in his words there may be nothing incorrect."

Xun Zi chapter "On the Rectification of Names" claims the ancient sage kings chose names that directly corresponded with actualities , but later generations confused terminology, coined new nomenclature, and thus could no longer distinguish right from wrong.

Debates

Promotion of corruption

Like some other political philosophies, Confucianism is reluctant to employ laws. In a society where relationships are considered more important than the laws themselves, if no other power forces government officers to take the common interest into consideration, and nepotism may arise.
As government officers' salary was often far lower than the minimum required to raise a family, Chinese society was frequently affected by those problems. Even if some means to control and reduce corruption and nepotism have been successfully used in China, Confucianism is criticized for not providing such a means itself.

''Another new idea, that of meritocracy, led to the introduction of the Imperial examination system in China. This system allowed anyone who passed an examination to become a government officer, a position which would bring wealth and honor to the whole family.''

Is Confucianism a "religion?"

Most religions can be defined as having a God or group of gods, an organized priesthood, a belief in a life after death, and organized traditions, thus it is debatable whether Confucianism should be called a "religion". While it prescribes a great deal of ritual, little of it could be construed as worship or meditation in a formal sense. However, Tian is sacred to many Confucians. Confucius occasionally made statements about the existence of other-worldly beings that sound distinctly agnostic and humanistic to European and American ears. Thus, Confucianism is often considered a secular ethical tradition and not a "religion." It is best described as a philosophy with special rituals and beliefs.

Its effect on Chinese and other East Asian societies and cultures has been immense and parallels the effects of religious movements, seen in other cultures. Those who follow the teachings of Confucius say that they are comforted by it. It includes a great deal of ritual and, in its formulation, gives a comprehensive explanation of the world, of human nature, etc. Moreover, religions in Chinese culture are not mutually exclusive entities — each tradition is free to find its specific niche, its field of specialization. One can practise religions such as Taoism, Christianity, Judaism, Sikhism, the Baha'i Faith, Jainism, Islam, Shinto, Buddhism, or Zoroastrianism and still profess Confucian beliefs.

Although Confucianism may include ancestor worship, sacrifice to ancestral spirits and an abstract celestial deity, and the deification of ancient kings and even Confucius himself, all these features can be traced back to non-Confucian Chinese beliefs established long before Confucius and, in this respect, make it difficult to claim that such rituals make Confucianism a religion.

Generally speaking, Confucianism is not considered a religion by Chinese or other East Asian people. Part of this attitude may be explained by the stigma placed on many "religions" as being superstitious, illogical, or unable to deal with modernity. Many Buddhists state that Buddhism is not a religion, but a philosophy, and this is partially a reaction to negative popular views of religion. Similarly, Confucians maintain that Confucianism is not a religion, but rather a moral code or philosophic world view. Many "religions" practiced in East Asia such as Buddhism and Taoism can be considered as "not religions." There is a much more blurred line between religion and philosophy in non-Western thought. Most of the Western distinction is in fact a relatively recent phenomenon resulting from the Enlightenment period unique to Western Europe. Therefore, much of the confusion is primarily due to the conventional Western definition of religion centered around Judeo-Christian-Muslim traditions. Most scholarly, comprehensive definitions of religion account for this cultural difference. Therefore, it could be said that while Confucianism is not a religion by Western standards , it is a religion in the East Asian sense of the word.

The question of whether Confucianism is a religion, or otherwise, is ultimately a definitional problem. If the definition used is worship of supernatural entities, the answer may be that Confucianism is not a religion. If, on the other hand, a religion is defined as a belief system that includes moral stances, guides for daily life, systematic views of humanity and its place in the universe, etc., then Confucianism most definitely qualifies. As with many such important concepts, the definition of religion is quite contentious. Herbert Fingarette's ''Confucius: The Secular as Sacred'' is a well-known treatment of this issue.

Names for Confucianism

Several names for Confucianism exist in .
* "School of the scholars"
* "Teaching of the scholars"
* "Study of the scholars"
* "Teaching of Confucius"

Three of these four use the Chinese character Rú, meaning "scholar". These names do not use the name "Confucius" at all, but instead center on the figure/ideal of the Confucian scholar. However, the suffixes of jiā, jiào, and xué carry different implications as to the nature of Confucianism itself.

Rújiā contains the character jiā, which literally means "house" or "family". In this context, it is more readily construed as meaning "school of thought", since it is also used to construct the names of philosophical schools contemporary to Confucianism: for example, the Chinese names for and Mohism end in jiā.

Rújiào and Kǒngjiào contain the Chinese character jiào, the noun "teach", used in such as terms as "education" or "educator". The term, however, is notably used to construct the names of religions in Chinese: the terms for Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Shintō and other religions in Chinese all end with jiào.

Rúxué contains xué, meaning literally "study". The term is parallel to "-ology" in English, being used to construct the names of academic fields: the Chinese names of fields such as physic, chemistry, biology, political science, economics, and sociology all end in xué.

Translations

*
* in Chinese with English translations of James Legge and D.C. Lau
* and in Chinese with English translations.
*

Articles and books

* ''Confucius and the Chinese Way.'' Reprint. New York: Harper Torchbooks.
* Fingarette, Herbert. Confucius: The Secular as Sacred ISBN 1-57766-010-2.
* ''Confucian Moral Self Cultivation.'' 2nd rev. ed., Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing.
* Nivison, David S. ''The Ways of Confucianism.'' Chicago: Open Court Press.
* Max Weber, ''The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism''
* Yao, Xinzhong. ''An Introduction to Confucianism''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Chinese literature

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Chinese classic texts or Chinese canonical texts refer to the pre- Chinese texts, especially the Confucian ''Four Books and Five Classics'' . All of these pre-Qin text were written in classical Chinese. They can be referred to as ''jing'' .

More broadly speaking, Chinese classic texts may refer to texts, be they written in vernacular Chinese or in classical Chinese, that existed before 1912, when the last imperial Chinese dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, fell. These can include ''shi'' , ''zi'' and ''ji'' as well as ''jing''.

In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the ''Four Books and Five Classics'', Chinese classic texts chosen by Song dynasty Zhu Xi, were the subject of mandatory study by those scholars who wished to become government officials. Any political discussion was full of references to this background, and one could not be one of the literati, or even a military officer, without knowing them. Generally, children first studied the Chinese characters with rote memorization of the ''Three Character Classic'' and ''Hundred Family Surnames'', then went on to memorize the other classics, in order to ascend in the social hierarchy.

Scholarship on these texts naturally divides itself into two periods, before and after the "Qin Fire" when many of the original texts, especially those of Confucianism, were burned in a political purge.

Before 221 BCE

*The Classics of Confucianism
** The Four Books
*** The ''Great Learning'' is a chapter from the ''Classic of Rites''.
*** The ''Doctrine of the Mean'' is another chapter from the ''Classic of Rites''.
*** The ''Analects of Confucius'', a twenty-chapter work of dialogues between Confucius and his disciples, recorded by later Confucian scholars.
*** The ''Mencius'', a book of conversations between Mencius and some kings of his time.
**The Five Classics
*** The ''I Ching'' is a manual of divination based on the eight trigrams attributed to the mythical figure Fuxi . The ''I Ching'' is still used by modern adherents of folk religion.
*** The ''Classic of Poetry'' is made up of 305 poems divided into 160 folk songs, 74 minor festal songs, traditionally sung at court festivities, 31 major festal songs, sung at more solemn court ceremonies, and 40 hymns and eulogies, sung at sacrifices to gods and ancestral spirits of the royal house. This book is traditionally credited as a compilation from Confucius.
***The ''Three Rites'' are the three ancient ritual texts listed among the classics of Confucianism, a record of social forms and ceremonies of the Western Zhou, and a restoration of the original copy after the burning of Confucian texts in 213 BCE
**** The ''Classic of Rites''
**** The ''Rites of Zhou''
**** The ''Etiquette and Ceremonials''
*** The ''Classic of History'' is a collection of documents and speeches of the , and Western Zhou and period before. It contains examples of the earliest Chinese prose.
*** The ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' is chronologically the earliest annal; consisting of about 16,000 words, it records the events of the State of Lu from 722 BCE to 481 BCE, with implied condemnation of usurpations, murder, incest, etc.
**** The ''Zuo Zhuan'' is a different report of the same events as the ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' with a few significant differences. It covers a longer period than the ''Spring and Autumn Annals''.
**** The ''Commentary of Gongyang'', another surviving commentary on the same events .
**** The ''Commentary of Guliang'', another surviving commentary on the same events .
*** The ''Classic of Music'' is sometimes referred to as the sixth classic; it was lost by the time of the Han Dynasty.
** Other Confucian classics
*** The ''Classic of Filial Piety'' is a very small classical book on how to behave towards a senior, be it one's father, an elder brother, or the ruler.
*** The ''Erya'' is a dictionary explaining the meaning and interpretation of words in the context of the Confucian Canon.
*The Classics of Taoism
** ''Tao Te Ching'', attributed to Laozi.
** ''Zhuangzi'', attributed to the philosopher of the same name, Zhuangzi.
** The ''Classic of the Perfect Emptiness'', attributed to Liezi.
*The Classic of Mohism
** ''Mozi'', attributed to the philosopher of the same name, Mozi.
*The Classics of
** ''The book of lord Shang'', attributed to Shang Yang''.
** '''', attributed to Guan Zhong.
** ''Hanfeizi'', attributed to Han Fei.
** ''Shenzi'', attributed to Shen Buhai; all but one chapter is lost.
** ''Shenzi'', attributed to Shen Dao. It originally consisted of ten volumes and forty-two chapters, of which all but seven chapters have been lost.
** The ''Book of Law'', attributed to .
*The Classics of Military Science
** The '''', attributed to Sunzi.
** The ''Thirty-Six Strategies'', recently recovered.
** The ''Three Strategies of Master Yellow Stone'', attributed to Huangshi Gong.
** The ''Methods of the Minister of War'', attributed to Sima Rangju.
** ''Wuzi'', attributed to Wu Qi.
** ''Weiliaozi'', attributed to Wei Liao.
*The Classics of the History of China
** The '''', a collection of historical records of numerous states recorded the period from Western Zhou to 453 BCE.
** The ''Shan Hai Jing'', a collection of mythical tales from various locations.

After 206 BCE

* The ''Twenty-Four Histories'', a collection of authoritative histories of China, including the ''Records of the Grand Historian'' by Sima Qian and the ''Book of Han'' by Ban Gu.
* The ''Strategies of the Warring States'', attributed to .
* The ''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms'', a historical record of the Sixteen Kingdoms, attributed to Cui Hong, is lost.
* The ''Shiming'', is a dictionary compiled by Liu Xi by the end of 2nd century.
* The ''Dialogues between Li Jing and Tang Taizong'', attributed to Li Jing
* The ''Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government'', with Sima Guang as its main editor.
* The ''Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue'', a historical record of the states of and during the period of Spring and Autumn, attributed to Zhao Ye.
* The ''Shiliuguo Chunqiu'', compiled by Cui Hong, a history book for the Sixteen Kingdoms.
* The ''Jiaoshi Yilin'', a work modelled after ''I Ching'', attributed to Jiao Yanshou.
* The ''The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art'', a mathematics Chinese book composed by several generations scholars of Han Dynasty.
* The ''Thousand Character Classic'', attributed to Zhou Xingsi.
* The ''Treatise on Astrology of the Kaiyuan Era'', compiled by Gautama Siddha, is a Chinese encyclopedia on astrology and divination.
* The ''Shitong'', written by Liu Zhiji, was a work on historiography.
* The ''Tongdian'', written by Du You, a contemporary text focused on the Tang Dynasty.
* The ''Tang Huiyao'', compiled by Wang Pu, is a text based on the institutional history of the Tang Dynasty.
* The ''Great Tang Records on the Western Regions'', compiled by Bianji is a recounts of Xuanzang's journey.
* The ''Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang'', written by Duan Chengshi, which records fantastic stories, anecdotes, and exotic customs,.
* The ''Four Great Books of Song'', was a term referring to the four large compilations during the beginning of Song Dynasty.
* The ''Siku Quanshu'', is the largest compilation of literature in Chinese history.
* ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', a semi-fictionalised account of the fall of the ''Han Dynasty'' and the period that followed until the '''' dynasty reunited China, attributated to ''Luo Guanzhong''

Chinese

* Big classic texts database by Academia Sinica
*
*
* Classics database
* includes
*

Traditional Chinese

* In Chinese, with articles and discussions on literature, history, and philosophy.
*

Chih

2008-09-11T07:33:00.008-07:00

''For the Charlton Athletic F.C. footballer, see Zheng Zhi''

There are many Chinese words whose pronunciation can be represented as "''chih''" in Chinese:

* 志 zhì, aspiration, will. The "will" is a fundamental concept in the philosophy of Mencius, leading authorities such as David Nivison to classify Mencius as a "voluntarist" philosopher. Mencius believes that humans have four fundamental "beginnings" or embryonic drives that can, if protected and properly nurtured, form the basis of a human being who has immense powers to retain his or her autonomy. Each individual's ''zhì'' chooses that person's course in life on the basis of the four fundamental ethical drives and on other factors such as the desire for food, water, and the fulfillment of other ordinary requirements of life.

* 智 zhì, wisdom. This "wisdom" is the name of one of Mencius's four virtues which grow from the above-mentioned four beginnings. It is the innate ability to distinguish right from wrong in the actions of other people. For instance, one will automatically see something wrong when a large and powerful person takes advantage of a weaker adult or a child and be motivated to rectify the situation.

* 質 zhí, substance. The ''Huai-nan-zi'', 3:1a/19, says:

:

Heaven falls as the formless. Fleeting, fluttering, penetrating, amorphous it is, and so it is called the Supreme Luminary. The dao begins in the Void Brightening. The Void Brightening produces the universe . The universe produces qi. Qi has bounds. The clear, yang was ethereal and so formed heaven. The heavy, turbid was congealed and impeded and so formed earth. The conjunction of the clear, yang was fluid and easy. The congelation of the heavy, turbid was strained and difficult. So heaven was formed first and earth was made fast later. The pervading essence of heaven and earth becomes yin and yang. The concentrated essences of yin and yang become the four seasons. The dispersed essences of the four seasons become the myriad creatures. The hot qi of yang in accumulating produces fire. The essence of the fire-qi becomes the sun. The cold qi of yin in accumulating produces water. The essence of the water-qi becomes the moon. The essences produced by coitus of the sun and moon become the stars and celestial markpoints .

The idea that there is a heavier fraction of ''qi'' seems to have originated with this passage. Similar ideas show up in the writing of Song dynasty philosopher, particularly Zhu Xi, and there this kind of "materialized lifebreath" is called ''zhí''. Zhu Xi uses the idea of "materialized lifebreath" to explain what we today would call the nature of a human being as opposed to the nature of that human being.

Burning of books and burying of scholars

2008-09-11T07:33:00.007-07:00

Burning of the books and burial of the scholars is a phrase that refers to a policy and a sequence of events in the Qin Dynasty of China, between the period of 213 and 206 BCE.

Book burning

According to the ''Records of the Grand Historian'', after Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, unified China in 221 BCE, his Li Si suggested suppressing the freedom of speech, unifying all thoughts and political opinions. This was justified by accusations that the intelligentsia sang false praise and raised dissent through libel.

Beginning in 213 BCE, all classic works of the Hundred Schools of Thought — except those from Li Si's own school of philosophy known as — were subject to book burning.

Qin Shi Huang burned the other histories out of fear that they undermined his legitimacy, and wrote his own history books. Afterwards, Li Si took his place in this area.

Li Si proposed that all histories in the imperial archives except those written by the Qin historians be burned; that the ''Classic of Poetry'', the ''Classic of History'', and works by scholars of different schools be handed in to the local authorities for burning; that anyone discussing these two particular books be executed; that those using ancient examples to satirize contemporary politics be put to death, along with their families; that authorities who failed to report cases that came to their attention were equally guilty; and that those who had not burned the listed books within 30 days of the decree were to be banished to the north as convicts working on building the . The only books to be spared in the destruction were books on medicine, agriculture and divination.

Burial of the scholars

After being deceived by two alchemists while seeking prolonged life, Qin Shi Huang ordered more than 460 scholars in the capital to be buried alive in the second year of the proscription. The Crown Prince Fusu counselled that, with the country newly unified, and enemies still not pacified, such a harsh measure imposed on those who respect Confucius would cause instability. However, he was unable to change his father's mind, and instead was sent to guard the frontier in a ''de facto'' exile.

The quick fall of the Qin Dynasty was attributed to this proscription. Confucianism was revived in the Han Dynasty that followed, and became the official ideology of the Chinese imperial state. However, many of the other schools of thought disappeared.

Remembrance in literature

In the Records of the Grand Historian, Sima Qian complained the book burning made his work very difficult, because the only history book he had at hand was that of the State of Qin, which did not record dates properly and used sparse language which was vague on details. .

The events eventually became a Chinese Four-character idiom to describe general policies against educated people. Zhang Jie , a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem that refers to this policy:
* Chinese:
:坑灰未冷山東亂
:劉項原來不讀書
* Translation:
:Even before the ashes in the burning pit became cold, riots had begun in Shandong;
:It turned out that Liu Bang and Xiang Yu were both uneducated.

The poet captures the irony that after all the troubles the Emperor had gone through to oppress scholars and the educated, it turned out that the two people who would end the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu, were not intellectuals of any kind.

Popular culture

The same event occurs in the Hong Kong television drama ''A Step into the Past'' - but with an alternative motive. In order for Zhou Pan to keep the true identity confidential, he must "parricide" his master Hong Siu Long; however, killing Hong will also terminate himself as well because Hong is the "cause" for being the king. Without Hong's existence, the "effect" of being himself will cease to exist. Therefore, Qin Shi Huang decided to get rid of the evidence of the existence of Hong Siu Long by decreeing that the name Hong Siu Long shall never be mentioned again, and as a result burned books and buried scholars.

Buddhist philosophy

2008-09-11T07:33:00.005-07:00

Buddhist philosophy deals extensively with problems in metaphysics, phenomenology, ethics, and epistemology.

Introduction

From early times, Buddhism has employed philosophy as a means to understanding moral and what it means to live a meaningful life without regrets in the end. Unlike most religions, Buddhism generally has no creator god. Buddhists believe that people are all born with the ability to stand out and be all they can be. Buddhism rejects certain philosophical concepts. The Buddha is said to have questioned all concepts of metaphysical being and non-being, and this critique is considered by some to be inextricable from the founding of Buddhism.

Particular points of Buddhist philosophy have often been the subject of disputes between different schools of Buddhism.
Readers should note that theory for its own sake is not valued in Buddhism, but theory pursued in the interest of enlightenment is fully consistent with Buddhist values and ethics.

Some have asserted that Buddhism as a whole is a practical philosophy rather than a religion. It is "practical" in that it has specific methods of application of various sets of philosophical principles. Proponents of such a view may argue that Buddhism is non- and religions necessarily involve some form of theism. Others might contest either part of such an argument. Other arguments for Buddhism "as" philosophy may claim that Buddhism does not have doctrines in the same sense as other religions.

A third perspective might take the position that Buddhism can be practiced either as a religion or as a philosophy. A similar distinction is often made with reference to Taoism.

Lama Anagorika Govinda expressed it as follows in ''A Living Buddhism for the West'':

"Thus we could say that the Buddha's Dharma is,
:as experience and as a way to practical realisation, a religion;
:as the intellectual formulation of this experience, a philosophy;
:and as a result of self-observation and analysis, a psychology.
:Whoever treads this path acquires a norm of behavior that is not dictated from without, but is the result of an inner process of maturation and that we - regarding it from without - can call morality."

In the South and East Asian cultures in which Buddhism achieved most of its development, the distinction between philosophy and religion is somewhat unclear and possibly quite spurious, so this may be a semantic problem arising in the West alone.

Philosophical areas addressed in Buddhism

Epistemology

Decisive in distinguishing Buddhism from what is commonly called Hinduism is the issue of justification. The schools of Indian logic recognize various sets of valid justifications for knowledge, or ''pramana'', while Buddhism recognizes a smaller set. Both accept perception and inference, for example, but for some schools of Hinduism and Buddhism the received textual tradition is an epistemological category equal to perception and inference .

Thus, in the orthodox schools, if a claim was made that could not be substantiated by appeal to the textual canon, it would be considered as ridiculous as a claim that the sky was green and, conversely, a claim which could not be substantiated via conventional means might still be justified through textual reference, differentiating this from the epistemology of .

Some schools of Buddhism, on the other hand, rejected an inflexible reverence of accepted doctrine. As the Buddha said, according to the canonical scriptures:

"Do not accept anything by mere tradition ... Do not accept anything just because it accords with your scriptures ... Do not accept anything merely because it agrees with your pre-conceived notions ... But when you know for yourselves — these things are moral, these things are blameless, these things are praised by the wise, these things, when performed and undertaken, conduce to well-being and happiness — then do you live acting accordingly."

Early Buddhist philosophers and exegetes created a metaphysical and phenomenological system, in which all experiences of people, things and events can be broken down into smaller and smaller perceptual or perceptual- units called ''''. These dharmas were interpreted differently by different schools: some held they were real, some held only some were real, some held all were illusory, some held they were , some held they were intrinsically associated with suffering, etc.

Other debates in metaphysics and phenomenology include the issue of the ''pudgala'', or "person", which was inserted by the Pudgalavada school to replace the ''ātman'' as that which transmigrates and which carries the burden of karma from one life to another. Other schools made unsurprising objection to this. There were further sub-debates regarding whether the ''pudgala'' was real or illusory or something in between. The Yogacara school, somewhat later, would later elevate the mind to act as a substitute for ''brahman'', much as the ''pudgala'' replaces the ''ātman''. And the Tathagatagarbha doctrine of some schools of Mahayana Buddhism would see the Buddha of those Tathagatagarbha sutras insisting that the ''atman'' lies at the very heart of the Buddha himself and of ''nirvana'' , as well as being concealed within the mass of mental/moral contaminants which blight all beings. In what claim to be the final Mahayana teachings of the Buddha, the eternal Self is distinguished from the five impermanent ''skandhas'' which make up the non-Self or worldly ego, and the True Self is identified as the ''dharmakaya'' of the Buddha in deathless Nirvana. Such doctrines saw a shift from a largely apophatic philosophical trend within Buddhism to a decidedly more cataphatic modus.

In many or all of these debates, some would point out the irony of pursuing questions some might consider similar to some of those which the Buddha of the ''agamas'' / Pali Suttas is often prone to refuse to answer, on the grounds that they were non-conducive to enlightenment. The Buddha of the Mahayana, however, would on occasion take a different stand and speak of allegedly higher doctrines suitable for the more advanced of his monks.

For more detailed information, see Schools of Buddhism, Mahayana, Tathagatagarbha and articles devoted to the individual schools themselves.

Dependent Origination

What some consider the original positive Buddhist contribution to the field of metaphysics is '''', which arises from the Buddhist critique of Indian theories of causality. It states that events are not , nor are they random, and it rejects notions of direct causation owing to the need for such theories in the Indian context to be undergirded by a substantialist metaphysics. Instead, it posits the arising of events under certain conditions which are inextricable, such that the units in question at no time have independent existence.

''Pratitya-samutpada'' goes on to posit that certain specific events, concepts, or realities are always dependent on other specific things. Craving, for example, is always dependent on, and caused by, emotion. Emotion is always dependent on contact with our surroundings. This chain of causation purports to show that the cessation of decay, death, and sorrow is indirectly dependent on the cessation of craving, and ultimately dependent on an all-encompassing stillness.

, one of the most influential Buddhist philosophers, asserted a direct connection between, even identity of, dependent origination, anatta, and ?ūnyatā. He pointed out that implicit in the early Buddhist concept of dependent origination is the lack of any substantial being underlying the participants in origination, so that they have no independent existence, a state identified as emptiness , or emptiness of a nature or essence . This element of 's thought is relatively uncontroversial, but it opens the way for his identification of and nirvana, which was revolutionary.

Interpenetration

This doctrine comes from the Avatamsaka Sutra, a Mahayana scripture, and its associated schools. It holds that all phenomena are intimately connected. Two images are used to convey this idea. The first is known as Indra's net. The net is set with jewels which have the extraordinary property that they reflect all of the other jewels. The second image is that of the world text. This image portrays the world as consisting of an enormous text which is as large as the universe itself. The 'words' of the text are composed of the phenomena that make up the world. However, every atom of the world contains the whole text within it. It is the work of a Buddha to let out the text so that beings can be liberated from suffering.

This idea was enormously influential on the Japanese monk Kūkai in founding the school of Buddhism.

Ethics

Although there are many ethical tenets in Buddhism that differ depending on whether one is a monk or a layman, and depending on individual schools, the Buddhist system of ethics can, according to some, be summed up in the Eightfold Path.

:"And this, monks, is the noble truth of the way of practice leading to the cessation of suffering -- precisely this Noble Eightfold Path -- right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration."

The purpose of living an ethical life is to escape the suffering inherent in ''samsara''. Although early Buddhism is contrasted with later Buddhism in that the latter emphasizes striving for the enlightenment of all beings rather than simply oneself, in neither case can the motivation for ethical living be called 'selfish', because Buddhist doctrine holds the notion of a 'self' to be illusory.

Buddhist teachings claim that there is no real difference between ourselves and others; therefore one should attempt to increase the happiness of all living things as eagerly as one's own. This is why some Buddhists choose to be .

Historical development of Buddhist philosophy

Early development

Certain basic teachings appear in many places throughout the early texts, so most scholars conclude that the Buddha must at least have taught something of the kind:
* the three characteristics
* the five aggregates
* dependent arising
* karma and rebirth
* the four noble truths
* the eightfold path
* nirvana

Some scholars disagree, and have proposed many other theories. According to such scholars, there was something they variously call Earliest Buddhism, original Buddhism or pre-canonical Buddhism. According to some of them, its philosophical outlook was primarily negative, in the sense that it focused on what doctrines to ''reject'' more than on what doctrines to ''accept''. This dimension is also found in the Madhyamaka school. It includes critical rejections of all views, which is a form of philosophy, but it is reluctant to posit its own. Only knowledge that is useful in achieving is valued. According to this theory, the cycle of philosophical upheavals that in part drove the diversification of Buddhism into its many schools and sects only began once Buddhists began attempting to make explicit the implicit philosophy of the Buddha and the early Suttas. Other scholars reject this theory.

After the death of the Buddha, attempts were made to gather his teachings and transmit them in a commonly agreed form, first orally, then also in writing .

Later developments

The main Buddhist philosophical schools are the following.
* the Abhidharma schools, particularly
** Theravada
** Sarvastivada
* Madhyamika
* Yogacara
*
* Tiantai

Comparison with other philosophies

* Baruch Spinoza, though he argued for the existence of a permanent reality, asserts that all phenomenal existence is transitory. In his opinion sorrow is conquered "by finding an object of knowledge which is not transient, not ephemeral, but is immutable, permanent, everlasting." Buddhism teaches that such a quest is bound to fail.
* David Hume, after a relentless analysis of the mind, concluded that consciousness consists of fleeting mental states. Hume's Bundle theory is a very similar concept to anatta.
* Arthur Schopenhauer's philosophy was very similar to Buddhism.
* Ludwig Wittgenstein's "word games" map closely to the warning of intellectual speculation as a to understanding, such as the ''Parable of the Poison Arrow''.
* Friedrich Nietzsche, although himself dismissive of Buddhism as yet another nihilism, developed his philosophy of accepting life-as-it-exists and self-cultivation as extremely similar to Buddhism as better understood in the West
* Heidegger's ideas on Being and nothingness have been held by some to be similar to Buddhism today.

Some Buddhist philosophers

* Asanga
*
* Chandrakirti
* Dignaga
* Dogen
* Fazang
* Jinul
* Jizang
* Nagarjuna
* Vasubandhu
* Wonhyo

Antonio Cua

2008-09-11T07:33:00.003-07:00

The ''Analects'' , also known as the ''Analects of Confucius'', are a record of the words and acts of the central thinker and philosopher Confucius and his disciples, as well as the discussions they held. The Chinese title literally means "discussion over words."

Written during the Spring and Autumn Period through the Warring States Period , the ''Analects'' is the representative work of Confucianism and continues to have a tremendous influence on Chinese and East Asian thought and values today.

History and versions

The ''Analects'' were written over a period of 30 to 50 years. Begun some time during the Spring and Autumn Period, the work was probably finished during the Warring States Period, though the exact publication date of the first complete ''Analects'' cannot be pinpointed. Much as the '''' purports to be a collection of Socrates' discussions but actually contains original material from his disciple Plato, the ''Analects'' were almost certainly penned and compiled by disciples and second-generation disciples of Confucius, albeit being mostly about Confucius himself and his thought.

Chapters in the ''Analects'' are grouped by individual themes. However, the chapters are not arranged in any sort of way so as to carry a continuous stream of thought or idea. In fact, the sequence of the chapters could be said to be completely random, with the themes of adjacent chapters completely unrelated to each other.

Moreover, central themes recur repeatedly in different chapters, sometimes in exactly the same wording and sometimes with small variations. This has led some to believe that the book was not written by a single individual, but was the collective effort of many. However, the final editors of the ''Analects'' were likely disciples of Zengzi, who was one of the most established students of Confucius.

A version of the analects, written on bamboo strips from before 55 BCE, was discovered in a tomb at Dingzhou/Dingxian in Hebei province in 1973 and published in 1997. Although fragmentary, the version could shed considerable light on the textual tradition of the Analects if its readings were ever fully employed in a critical edition.

Towards the late Western Han Dynasty, Zhang Yu, who was a teacher of , combined the ''Lu'' and ''Qi'' versions of ''Analects'' but kept to the number of chapters in the ''Lu Analects''. Zhang's version then came to be known as the ''Marquis Zhang Analects'', which is largely the version we know today.

E. Bruce Brooks and Taeko Brooks in their work The Original Analects suggests an alternative interpretation of the chapters' organization, based on language usage patterns within the text. This work suggests that the text of the Analects as we have received them is heavily accreted, and represents the additions of many generations of school heads. Due to the changing political, social, and cultural environments, different heads of the Confucian school chose to praise or denigrate different of their predecessors, and even described very different social practices and ritual environments. Brooks and Brooks view a subset of Analects 4 as representing the ideas of the original Confucius, who lived during a time when the traditional bonds of a warrior-based, personality-based society were breaking down to change to a more mediated society with a broader nobility from the old military elite and with less direct access to the king: these early chapters represent the old military ethic of extreme faithfulness to superiors and paternal care for inferiors, with almost no emphasis on mannered ritual, as chronologically later chapters might suggest.

Influence and significance

Since Confucius' time, the ''Analects'' has heavily influenced the philosophy and moral values of China and later other East Asian countries as well. Together with the other three volumes of the Four Books, it taught the basic Confucian values including propriety , righteousness, loyalty and filial piety, all centered about the central thought of Confucius – humanity .

For almost two thousand years, the ''Analects'' had also been the fundamental course of study for any Chinese scholar, for a man was not considered morally upright or enlightened if he did not study Confucius' works. The imperial examination, started in the and eventually abolished in the dying years of the Qing Dynasty, emphasized Confucian studies and expected candidates to quote and apply the words of Confucius in their essays.

The Analects of Confucius has also been into many languages,
most notably into English by Arthur Waley, Charles Muller and William Edward Soothill.
Portions were translated into Latin by
in the late 16th century.

A particular point of interest lies in Chapter 10 of the book, which contains detailed descriptions of Confucius' behaviors in various daily activities. This has been pointed at by Voltaire and Ezra Pound to show how much Confucius was a mere human. Simon Leys, who recently translated the ''Analects'' into English and French, said that the book may well have been the first in human history to describe the life of an individual, historic personage. Similarly, Elias Canetti writes: "Confucius' ''Conversations'' are the oldest complete intellectual and spiritual portrait of a man. It strikes one as a modern book; everything it contains and indeed everything it lacks is important."

Academies (Shuyuan)

2008-09-11T07:33:00.001-07:00

The Shūyuàn , usually known in English as Academies or Academies of Classical Learning, were a type of school in ancient China. Unlike and district schools, ''shuyuan'' were usually private establishments built away from cities or towns, providing a quiet environment where scholars could engage in studies and contemplation without restrictions and worldly distractions.

History

The ''shuyuan'' originated in 725 during the Tang dynasty. They were places where scholars could teach and study the classics, and where books collected from around the country could be preserved. By the late Tang dynasty, private academies had appeared all over China.

During the Northern Song , many academies were established with government encouragement. Each academy had its own teaching and administrative structure and was economically independent.

The bestowal of a calligraphic signboard by the Emperor was an extremely important symbol of an academy's status during the Northern Song period. The following academies received this honour:

*997: Taishi Academy , bestowed by the Taizong emperor
*1009: Yingtianfu Academy, bestowed by the Zhenzong emperor
*1015: Yuelu Academy, bestowed by the Zhenzong emperor
*1035: Shigu Academy, bestowed by the emperor

Besides signboards, emperors also bestowed books. In 977, the Taizong Emperor bestowed on the White Deer Grotto Academy a copy of the Nine Confucian Classics printed by the Guozijian. The Yuelu Academy, the Songyang Academy and other academies also received books from the Emperor on a number of occasions.

However, academies had begun to decline by the 12th century. The White Deer Grotto Academy, which had fallen into ruin, was rebuilt by the prominent neo-Confucianist Zhu Xi in 1179-80 during the Southern Song dynasty and reopened in 1180. It became an important centre of Confucian thought during eight centuries. Zhu Xi himself taught here during the Southern Song as did Wang Yangming during the Ming. As a result of Zhu Xi's efforts, the ''shuyuan'' became a permanent feature of Chinese education, taking up major responsibilities of local education.

The system of academies was dismantled under the Yuan Dynasty and all academies were placed under government control to became preparatory schools for the Imperial Examinations. However, the system was revived under the and the Qing .

In the Ming dynasty, academies devoted to discussing political issues appeared, such as the Donglin Academy, often resulting in political repression. According to one study, 40% of the 1239 known Ming academies were built during the . During the Qing dynasty, thousands of academies were created for the purpose of preparing students for the Imperial Examination, although there were still some that functioned as centres of study and research.

The academies were finally abolished under the Hundred Days' Reform in 1898 at the end of the Qing dynasty.

There were more than 7,000 academies of Shuyuan recorded. In the late Qing dynasty, some of the Shuyuan became universities, middle schools, public libraries and museums.

In Korea, which also adopted Confucianism, the ''shuyuan'' were known as Seowon.

Shuyuan as a modern term

In the late Qing dynasty, schools teaching Western science and technology were established. Many such schools were called ''Shuyuan'' in Chinese. Despite the common name, these ''shuyuan'' are quite modern in concept and are quite different from traditional academies of classical learning.

Notable Shuyuan

In discussing the ''shuyuan'', it is common to speak of the "Four Great Academies" of ancient China. Usually the "Four Great Academies" refers to the Four Great Academies of the Northern Song. However, sources give a number of different lists, sometimes expanded to Six or Eight Great Academies. Only one academy, the Yuelu Academy, appears in all lists. Each school went up or down the list in different periods. White Deer Grotto Academy had long been an outstanding academy. As for the impact on the politics of China, Donglin Shuyuan in Ming Dynasty is especially notable.

The Four Great Academies

Also known as the Four Great Academies of the Northern Song or the Four Northern Song Academies.
*Songyang Academy
*Yingtianfu Academy
*Yuelu Academy
*White Deer Grotto Academy

Sometimes the Shigu Academy is substituted for the Songyang Academy.

The Four Great Academies of the Early Song

*Shigu Academy
*Jinshan Academy
*Yuelu Academy
*Culai Academy
*White Deer Grotto Academy

The Four Great Academies of the Southern Song

*Lize Academy
*Xiangshan Academy
*Yuelu Academy
*White Deer Grotto Academy

The Six Great Academies

*Songyang Academy
*Yingtianfu Academy
*Yuelu Academy
*White Deer Grotto Academy
plus
*Shigu Academy
*Maoshan Academy

.

The Eight Great Academies of the Northern Song

*Shigu Academy
*Yingtianfu Academy
*Yuelu Academy
*White Deer Grotto Academy
*Songyang Academy
*Maoshan Academy
*Longmen Academy
*Culai Academy

Zhenren

2008-09-11T07:32:00.008-07:00

Zhenren is a Chinese term that first appeared in the ''Zhuangzi'' meaning "Daoist spiritual master", roughly translatable as "Perfected Person". Religious Daoism mythologized ''zhenren'' to rank above '''' "transcendent; immortal" in the celestial hierarchy, while Chinese Buddhism used it to translate ''arhat'' "enlightened one".

Linguistics of ''Zhen'' 真

The common word ''zhen'' 真 "true; real; authentic" is linguistically unusual. It was originally written with an ideogram depicting "spiritual transformation". It originated in the Daoist ''Dao De Jing'' and does not appear in the early Confucian .

Characters

The archaic Chinese character 眞 was reduced into 真, which is the Traditional Chinese character, Simplified Chinese character, and Japanese Kanji. This modern character 真 appears to derive from ''wu'' 兀 "stool" under ''zhi'' 直 "straight", but the ancient 眞 has ''hua'' 匕 "upside-down person; transformation" at the top, rather than ''shi'' 十 "10". This antiquated ''zhen'' 眞 derives from Seal Script characters , It is tentatively identified in the earlier Bronzeware script and unidentified in the earliest Oracle bone script.

Xu Shen's ''Shuowen Jiezi'' , the first Chinese dictionary of characters, gives Small seal script and ''Guwen'' forms of ''zhen'' 眞, noting origins in Daoism. It defines 眞 as "A ''xian'' transforming shape and ascending into Heaven" , and interprets 眞 as an ideogram with 匕 "upside-down person", 目 "eye", and ∟ "conceal" representing the ''xian'' plus 八 representing the conveyance. In Coyle's interpretation,

The etymological components suggest ''transforming'' to a ''higher'' level of character, thus genuineness is to be conceived as fundamentally transformational, that is, as an ongoing process of change. As Wang Bi's commentary to the ''Yijing'' suggests, ''zhen'' is in "constant mutation." By envisioning a new image, it appears, with ''zhen'', the writers of the ''Laozi'' and ''Zhuangzi'' wanted to distinguish their teaching from others.

Duan Yucai's ''Shuowen'' commentary confirms that ''zhen'' originally depicted a Daoist ''zhenren'' and was semantically extended to mean ''cheng'' 誠 "sincere; honest; true; actual; real". It explains the ideographic components in Daoist ''xian'' terms, 匕 for ''hua'' 化 "change; transformation" , 目 for the "eyes; vision" in ''neidan'' practices, ∟ "conceal" for invisibility; and it notes three traditional ''xian'' conveyances into the heavens .

Duan differentiates two semantic sets of words written with the ''zhen'' 真/眞 phonetic element and different . The first words basically mean ''chongshi'' 充實 "real; solid; substantial; substantiate; fill out; strengthen".
*''tian'' 塡/填 "fill in; fill up; stuff; block"
*''tian'' 鎭 "weigh down; press upon; control"
*''tian'' 闐 "full; abundant; rumbling sound"
*''zhen'' 瑱 "earplug; earring"
*''zhen'' 縝 "fine; close woven; careful"
*''cao'' or ''shen'' 愼 "careful; cautious; circumspect"
The second set of words basically mean ''ding'' 頂 "crown ; top; tip; summit; prop up; fall down".
*''dian'' 顚/顛 "top of the head; fall on the head; totter; tumble"
*''dian'' 巓/巔"mountain peak; summit; fall down"
*''dian'' 傎 "topple; overthrow; fall"
*''dian'' 蹎 "stumble; trip; fall"
*''dian'' 癲/厧 "crazy; demented; epileptic"
*''zhen'' 槇 "tip of a tree; fallen tree"

Etymology

The Modern Standard Chinese pronunciation of 真 is ''zhēn'' "true; real". Reconstructed Middle Chinese and Old Chinese pronunciations include ''ty?n'' < *''t?y?n'' , ''t?i?n'' < *''tjien'' , ''t?i?n'' < *''tien'' , or ''t?in'' < *''tin'' .

Tōdō envisions that the original "upside-down ''zhenren''" ideograph pictured a sacrificial victim ''zhen'' 眞 "falling into; fitting into" a burial pit being ''tian'' 塡 "filled in", and proposes an etymon of *''TEN'' "completely full; stuffed" .

Schuessler's etymological dictionary cites Ming Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty transcriptions of ''t?in''. It suggests etymological connections with ''bden-pa'' "true" and possibly Chinese ''zhēn'' 貞 "divination, divine; test; verify; faithful; loyal".

Semantics

The root word of ''zhenren'' is ''zhen'' 真 "true; real; factual; genuine; authentic; actual; really; truly; indeed", which has a special Daoist meaning of a person's "true, original, undamaged character".

The ''Hanyu Da Zidian'', which lists meanings in order of historical development, defines 15 for ''zhen'':
#道家称“修真得道”或“成仙”的人。
#精；淳。
#本来的，固有的。
#本原；本性。
#真实。
#真诚，诚实。
#正。
#身。
#肖像。摹画的人像。
# 古代指实授官职为真。
#汉字楷书的别称。
#真切；清楚。
#古州名。
#通“填 ”。
#姓。
According to this historical dictionary of Chinese characters, the first occurrences of ''zhen'' are in Daoist classics. The ''Dao De Jing'' uses it in meaning 2 and the ''Zhuangzi'' uses ''zhen'' in meanings 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8.

''Zhen'' 真 "true; real" originally occurs three times in the ''Dao De Jing'' , where Coyle says,

t is employed as a special term to contrast with the transitoriness and superficiality of "man-made" formalities. In this novel approach, "genuineness" is not understood as any sort of "unchanging reality," but rather has to do with change and "cultivation." The first time we encounter ''zhen'' in the ''Inner Chapters'' is in the context of the flux and interrelatedness of life and death, where "genuineness" is something ever-present, yet without any apprehensible fixed "identity".

One of these three ''zhen'' usages describes ''Dao'' "Way" and the other two describe '''' "integrity; virtue".

How cavernous and dark! Yet within it there is an essence. Its essence is quite real; Within it there are tokens.

The greatest whiteness seems grimy. Ample integrity seems insufficient. Robust integrity seems apathetic. Plain truth seems sullied.

Cultivated in the person, integrity is true. Cultivated in the family, integrity is ample. Cultivated in the village, integrity lasts long. …

Daoist usages of ''zhenren'' 真人

While the ''Dao De Jing'' has the first occurrences of ''zhen'' "true; real; etc.", the ''Zhuangzi'' has the first recorded usages of ''zhenren'' "true person". Later ''zhenren'' meanings are found in Buddhist and other texts.

''Zhuangzi''

The ''Zhuangzi'' has 66 occurrences of ''zhen'', 19 of them in the compound ''zhenren''. Burton Watson translates it as "True Man", and notes "Another term for the Taoist sage, synonymous with the Perfect Man or the Holy Man." The most descriptive ''zhenren'' passage repeats it 9 times.

There must first be a True Man before there can be true knowledge. What do I mean by a True Man? The True Man of ancient times did not rebel against want, did not grow proud in plenty, and did not plan his affairs. A man like this could commit an error and not regret it, could meet with success and not make a show. A man like this could climb the high places and not be frightened, could enter the water and not get wet, could enter the fire and not get burned. His knowledge was able to climb all the way up to the Way like this.

The True Man of ancient times slept without dreaming and woke without care; he ate without savoring and his breath came from deep inside. The True Man breathes with his heels; the mass of men breathe with their throats. Crushed and bound down, they gasp out their words as though they were retching. Deep in their passions and desires, they are shallow in the workings of Heaven.

The True Man of ancient times knew nothing of loving life, knew nothing of hating death. He emerged without delight; he went back in without a fuss. He came briskly, he went briskly, and that was all. He didn't forget where he began; he didn't try to find out where he would end. He received something and took pleasure in it; he forgot about it and handed it back again. This is what I call not using the mind to repel the Way, not using man to help out Heaven. This is what I call the True Man. …

This was the True Man of old: his bearing was lofty and did not crumble; he appeared to lack but accepted nothing; he was dignified in his correctness but not insistent; he was vast in his emptiness but not ostentatious. Mild and cheerful, he seemed to be happy; reluctant, he could not help doing certain things; annoyed, he let it show in his face; relaxed, he rested in his virtue. Tolerant, he seemed to be part of the world; towering alone, he could be checked by nothing; withdrawn, he seemed to prefer to cut himself off; bemused, he forgot what he was going to say. …

Therefore his liking was one and his not liking was one. His being one was one and his not being one was one. In being one, he was acting as a companion of Heaven. In not being one, he was acting as a companion of man. When man and Heaven do not defeat each other, then we may be said to have the True Man.

Guo Xiang , the earliest known ''Zhuangzi'' editor and commentator, explains this passage.

The ''zhenren'' unifies Heaven and man, and levels the myriad extensions. The myriad extensions do not oppose each other, and Heaven and man do not overcome each other. Thus being vast he is one, being dark he is omnipresent – he mysteriously unifies the other with his own self.

Watson's "True Man of ancient times" and "True Man of old" translate ''gu zhi zhenren'' 古之真人, which the ''Zhuangzi'' uses 7 times. For instance, this contrast with the ''shenren'' 神人 "holy person"

Therefore the Holy Man hates to see the crowd arriving, and if it does arrive, he does not try to be friendly with it; not being friendly with it, he naturally does nothing to benefit it. So he makes sure that there is nothing he is very close to, and nothing he is very distant with. Embracing virtue, infused with harmony, he follows along with the world – this is what is called the True Man. He leaves wisdom to the ants, takes his cue from the fishes, leaves willfulness to the mutton.

Use the eye to look at the eye, the ear to listen to the ear, and the mind to restore the mind. Do this and your levelness will be as though measured with the line, your transformations will be a form of compliance. The True Man of ancient times used Heaven to deal with man; he did not use man to work his way into Heaven. The True Man of ancient times got it and lived, lost it and died; got it and died, lost it and lived. Medicines will serve as an example. There are monkshood, balloonflower, cockscomb, and chinaroot; each has a time when it is the sovereign remedy, though the individual cases are too numerous to describe.

Another ''Zhuangzi'' chapter depicts ''zhenren'' as oblivious to punishment.

Governing is a difficult thing. To dispense favors to men without ever forgetting that you are doing so – this is not Heaven's way of giving. Even merchants and peddlers are unwilling to be ranked with such a person; and although their occupations may seem to rank them with him, in their hearts they will never acquiesce to such a ranking. External punishments are administered by implements of metal and wood; internal punishments are inflicted by frenzy and excess. When the petty man meets with external punishments, the implements of metal and wood bear down on him; when he incurs internal punishment, the yin and yang eat him up. To escape both external and internal punishment – only the True Man is capable of this.

''Huainanzi''

The ''Huainanzi'' mentions ''zhenren'' "true person" 11 times. One ''Huainanzi'' chapter uses ''zhenren'' to describe a spiritual state in which "closing the four senses" results in one's '''' 精 "essence" and '''' 神 "spirit" returning to the ultimate Daoist ''zhen'' 真 "truth".

Hence the spiritual faculties will be hidden in the invisible world, and the spirit will return to the Perfect Body . … The spirit fills the eye, so he sees clearly; it is present in the ear, so he hears acutely; it abides in the mouth, and so the person's words are with wisdom; it accumulates in the mind, so his thoughts are penetrative. Hence the closing down of the Four Senses gives the body rest from troubles, and the individual parts have no sickness. There is no death, no life, no void, no excess; in such a condition of spirit, like the diamond, it will not wear away; such are the characteristics of the Perfect Man.

A second chapter uses ''zhenren'' to describe Fu Xi and Nüwa.

Drifting aimlessly, they led the ghosts and spirits and ascended the Nine Heavens, where they paid court to the Lord as the Sacred Gate and remained reverently silent in the presence of the Great Ancestor. Even then, they would not extol their own merit, or trumpet their own fame. , they concealed within themselves the ''Tao'' of the True Man and thereby followed the unchanging course of Heaven and Earth. How was this ? With their ''Tao'' and ''Te'' they communicated with what was on high, whereas their knowledge of factual matters was obliterated.

A third ''Huainanzi'' chapter contains what Le Blanc considers "the ''locus classicus'' for the True Man's ability to return to the origin."

He who can return to that which produced as if he had not yet acquired form, we call him a True Man. The True Man is he who has not yet begun to differentiate himself from the Great Unity .

Le Blanc describes how the ''Huainanzi'' synthesizes the "other-worldly" ''zhenren'' "True Man" with the "this-worldly" ''shengren'' "Sage"; "In pre-Han works, the expression "''chen-jen''" seems to be found only in works of Taoist inspiration and always refers to the quasi-mystical and contemplative strand of Taoism." He concludes.

The point of the two ''Huai-nan tzu'' fables seems to be that in times of peace the True Man does not reveal his inner greatness. This is a Taoist tenet consistent with the ineffability of ''Tao''. So, petty men of limited scope and skills deride the True Man, who is untrained in any particular skill. But in periods of imminent chaos the True Man suddenly manifests world-shaking power and completely overwhelms his detractors.

''Chuci''

The southern ''Chuci'' , which has Daoist elements although not strictly a "Daoist text", uses ''zhenren'' in two poems. ''Yuan you'' "Far-off journey" contrasts it with ''xian''.

I honoured the wondrous powers of the Pure Ones,
And those of past ages who had become Immortals.
They departed in the flux of change and vanished from men's sight,
Leaving a famous name that endures after them.

''Shou zhi'' "Maintaining Resolution" also uses it, translated here as "Immortals".

I visited Fu Yue, bestriding a dragon,
Joined up in marriage with the Weaving Maiden,
Lifted up Heaven's Net to capture evil,
Drew the Bow of Heaven to shoot at wickedness,
Followed the Immortals fluttering through the sky.

''Liezi''

The Daoist ''Liezi'' uses ''zhenren'' in two chapters. The first usage refers to the ''Zhuangzi'' saying ''zhenren'' slept without dreaming.

A dream is something that comes into contact with the mind; an external event is something that impinges on the body. Hence our feelings by day and our dreams by night are the result of contacts made by mind or body. it follows that if we can concentrate the maid in abstraction, our feelings and our dreams will vanish of themselves. Those who rely on their waking perceptions will not argue about them. Those who put faith in dreams do not understand the processes of change in the external world. "The pure men of old passed their waking existence in self-oblivion, and slept without dreams." How can this be dismissed as an empty phrase?

The other chapter usage concerns the politician Zi Chan 子產 . He was able to govern the state of but not control his brothers who loved wine and women – but were secretly ''zhenren''. Zi Chan asks the Daoist sage Deng Xi 鄧析 how to "save" them, but misunderstands Deng's answer and admonishes his brothers with Confucianist morality and bribes, "Hear my words. Repent in the morning, and in the evening you will have already gained the wage that will support you". His brothers reply,

Long ago we knew it and made our choice. Nor had we to wait for your instructions to enlighten us. It is very difficult to preserve life, and easy to come by one's death. Yet who would think of awaiting death, which comes so easily, on account of the difficulty of preserving life? You value proper conduct and righteousness in order to excel before others, and you do violence to your feelings and nature in striving for glory. That to us appears to be worse than death. Our only fear is lest, wishing to gaze our fill at all the beauties of this one life, and to exhaust all the pleasures of the present years, the repletion of the belly should prevent us from drinking what our palate delights in, or the slackening of our strength not allow us to revel with pretty women. We have no time to trouble about bad reputations or mental dangers. Therefore for you to argue with us and disturb our minds merely because you surpass others in ability to govern, and to try and allure us with promises of glory and appointments, is indeed shameful and deplorable. But we will now settle the question with you. See now. If anybody knows how to regulate external things, the things do not of necessity become regulated, and his body has still to toil and labour. But if anybody knows how to regulate internals, the things go on all right, and the mind obtains peace and rest. Your system of regulating external things will do temporarily and for a single kingdom, but it is not in harmony with the human heart, while our method of regulating internals can be extended to the whole universe, and there would be no more princes and ministers. We always desired to propagate this doctrine of ours, and now you would teach us yours.

Zi Chan is perplexed and speechless, so he goes back to Deng Xi who explains, "You are living together with real men without knowing it. Who calls you wise? Cheng has been governed by chance, and without merit of yours."

''Wenzi''

The little-known Daoist text ''Wenzi'' has 17 occurrences of ''zhenren''. For example, this context echoes ''Zhuangzi'' in defining ''zhenren'' as sleeping without dreaming.

The Way molds myriad beings but is ever formless. Silent and unmoving, it totally comprehends the undifferentiated unknown. No vastness is great enough to be outside it, no minuteness is small enough to be inside it. It has no house but gives birth to all the names of the existent and nonexistent. Real people embody this through open emptiness, even easiness, clear cleanness, flexible yielding, unadulterated purity, and plain simplicity, not getting mixed up in things. Their perfect virtue is the Way of heaven and earth, so they are called real people. Real people know how to deem the self great and the world small, they esteem self-government and disdain governing others. They do not let things disturb their harmony, they do not let desires derange their feelings. Concealing their names, they hide when the Way is in effect and appear when it is not. They act without contrivance, work without striving, and know without intellectualizing. … Therefore real people deliberately return to essence, relying on the support of spirit, thus attaining completeness. So they sleep without dreams and awake without worries.

Later Daoist texts

According to Daniel Coyle,

From the period of the Han to the Six Dynasties the ''zhenren'' took on a more religious significance, becoming one of the linchpins of "Daoism." Movements of alchemy, life-prolonging techniques, and the quest for "immortality" flourished, yet most mystical allusions remained firmly ground in the ''Zhuangzi''. From the Zhuangzian perspective, the ''religious'' experience becomes a personal rapture that elevates one from the microcosmic to an altogether macrocosmic perspective – a perspective that affirms continuity as the fabric of unity – that somehow binds one to the totality of existence in a personal integration and affirmation of all.

Daoists applied the honorific title ''Zhenren'' to their sages. Zhou Yishan 周義山 was called Ziyang Zhenren 紫陽真人 "True Person of Purple Yang", a name later applied to Zhang Ziyang 張紫陽, author of the ''Wuzhen pian'' .

Miura notes that religious Daoism associated the ''zhenren'' with the ''xianren'' "transcendent; immortal" and quotes the ''Ziyang zhenren neizhuan'' 紫陽真人內傳 "Inner Biography of the True Person of Purple Yang" that there are upper, middle, and lower degrees of ''xian'', with ''zhenren'' occupying the upper rank in the celestial bureaucracy.

Other usages of ''zhenren'' 真人

After originating in early Daoist texts, the ''zhenren'' "true person" was semantically expanded to mean Buddhist ''arhat'' and miscellaneous senses such as "honest person".

Buddhist texts

Chinese Buddhists adapted ''zhenren'' 真人 to translate the loanword ''arhat'' or ''arahant'' "one who has achieved enlightenment", which was also transcribed as ''aluohan'' 阿羅漢 or ''luohan'' 羅漢. Buddhist usage contrasts ''zhenren'' "arhat" with ''niren'' 逆人 "contrary person; hateful person; unprincipled person".

The oldest example is the Tang Dynasty Buddhist dictionary ''Yiqie jing yinyi'' 一切經音義 "Pronunciation and Meaning in the ''Tripitaka''" , edited by Xuan Ying 玄應.

Chinese ''zhen'' "true; etc." was used to translate various other Buddhist expressions. ''Mantra'' "instrument of thought" translates as Chinese ''zhenyan'' 真言 "true words" and ''Shingon'' Buddhism. ''Tathata'' "thusness, suchness, the unconditioned, unchanging reality" is Chinese ''zhenru'' 真如 "true resemblance" and Japanese ''shinnyo'' .

Secular texts

Chinese authors used ''zhenren'' "true person" to name sage-rulers, honest people, a star, an evolutionary term, and proper names.

''Zhenren'' can mean "heaven-sent ruler". Beginning around the end of the 1st century BCE, says Miura , "the idea spread that a ''zhenren'' who had received the Heavenly Mandate would appear to renew the world." Emperor Guangwu of Han was called Baishui Zhenren 白水真人 "True Person of the White Water", and Cao Cao of the Kingdom of Wei was also called a ''zhenren''. The Records of the Grand Historian may have a classical precedent for this meaning. It records that the "First Emperor" Qin Shi Huang was fascinated with ''xian'' immortality and decided to call himself ''zhenren'' rather than the homophonous ''zhen'' 朕 " I, we". The emperor summoned the Daoist practitioner Lu Sheng 盧生 who said, "The ''zhenren'' enters water but does not get wet, enters fire but does not get burned, flies among the clouds, and has a length of life equal to that of Heaven and Earth" . The ''Taipingjing'' 太平經 "Scripture of Great Peace" contrasts the ''zhenren'' who rules on earth with a ''shenren'' 神人 "divine person" who rules in heaven.

''Zhenren'' can mean "honest person; well-behaved person", nearly synonymous with ''zhenren'' 貞人 "person of high moral standing and integrity" and ''zhengren'' 正人 "honest/loyal man; gentleman". The earliest recorded example is the ''Book of Han'' biography of Yang Yun 楊惲 . This meaning is expressed in the idiom ''zhengren mian qian bu shuo jia'' 真人面前不說假 "don't tell lies in front of a true/honest person".

Among Traditional Chinese star names, ''Zhenren'' 真人is a literary reference to Gamma Ursae Majoris, near the Big Dipper.

In modern Chinese terms of human evolution, ''zhenren'' means "true human" as distinct from other primates.

Zhenren is a proper name of characters in Chinese folklore , Chinese mythology , and Chinese literature . Note that Japanese 真人 can be pronounced ''shinjin'' in the Daoist sense and Masato or Mahito as a .

''Zhenren'' interpretations

Generations of Western researchers have struggled with translating and explaining the Daoist technical expression ''zhenren''.

Translations

''Zhuangzi'' translators and scholars have variously rendered ''zhenren'' 真人.
*"Divine Man" — Frederic H. Balfour 1881
*"true man" — James Legge 1891, Yu-Lan Fung 1933, Victor H. Mair 1994
*"pure man" — Herbert Giles 1926
*"God's Man" — James R. Ware 1963
*"True Man" — Burton Watson 1968, A.C. Graham 1981
*"Perfected Person" — Lee Yearley 1983
*"Perfect Man" — Toshikiko Izutsu 1984
*"realized beings" — David McCraw 1995
*"Authentic Person" — Roger T. Ames 1998, James D. Sellmann 1998
*"Genuine Person" — Daniel Coyle 1998
Note the diachronic improvements of these ''zhenren'' translations. In Chinese, ''ren'' 人 means "person; people; human" and not "man", which is ''nan'' 男 "man; male"

Ames explains his rationale for translating ''zhenren'' as "Authentic Person".

The common translations of ''zhenren'' – "True Man" or "Real Man" – belies the fact that etymologically ''zhen'' implies both "authenticity" and "transformation." That is, whatever the human exemplar might be, he or she is one who is able to express personal integrity and uniqueness in the context of a transforming world. The choice of "authentic" to translate ''zhen'' is calculated. With the same root as "author," it captures the primacy given to the creative contribution of the particular person. It further registers this contribution as what is most fundamentally "real" and "true."It is because of the primacy of the "authorship" of the "authentic person" in creating human order that "there must be the Authentic Person before there can be authentic knowledge."

Coyle prefers "genuine" over "authentic",

"Authentic person" works well, conveying the idea of "authorship," but it connotes an idea of "human agency" that Zhuangzi is trying to avoid. "Genuine person" seems to work best as it carries the least amount of "philosophical" baggage. Etymologically, "genuine" comes from the Latin ''genuinus'', "natural," which is akin to ''gignere'', to beget , and thus connotes a processionality necessary to any Zhuangzian interpretation.

There are semantic advantages to English translations of ''zhenren'' as a "Person" who is "Perfected", "Realized", or "Genuine". Another possibility is "Actualized Person" in the psychological sense of self actualization.

Descriptions

Morgan provides an early description of the ''zhenren''.

he Perfect Man of the Taoist system, always acts in the spirit of ''wu wei'', of apparently doing nothing. He withdraws from the active arena of affairs and retires into seclusion and does not interfere in public agitations and turmoil; but, as we have already seen, their influence is very effective. The silence they observe carries out the Tao of ''wu wei'', which is of priceless value. But merely learned persons do not appreciate this method nor understand the value of the ''wu wei'' method: and they engage in purposeless discussions and the vanity of words.

In recent years, scholars of Daoism have been reevaluating the ''zhenren'' ideal.

Yearley characterizes the ''zhenren'' in terms of skepticism from a "radical Zhuangzi" framework, intraworldly mysticism, centered responsiveness, the "mind as a mirror" image, subtle detachment, and viewing life as an "esthetic panorama."

Izutsu says "he Perfect Man is in every respect a Perfect image of Heaven and Earth, i.e., the Way as it manifests itself as the world of Being". He analyzes the ''zhenren'' in terms of "unperturbedness", flexibility, and ''wu wei''.

Such being his basic spiritual state, the Perfect Man perceives in the whole world nothing to disturb his cosmic balance of mind, although he does notice accurately all things that happen to him and to others. He does participate in the activities of the world together with all other men, yet at the same time, at the very core of his heart, he remains detached from the clamor and bustle of the world. Calmness and tranquility are the most salient features that characterize both the inside and outside of the Perfect Man.

Fox believes ''zhenren'' inspire us to immerse ourselves into the world and not to detach ourselves into the transcendental Dao.

Therefore it can be said that the ''Zhuangzi'' describes the behavior and attitude of what we might call the "perfectly well-adjusted person," someone who is perfectly at ease in all situations. It is not clear, however, if Zhuangzi thinks that everyone ''should'' be like this, or that everyone ''could'' be like this, or that ''anyone'' could be like this. To generalize in this fashion would itself be inconsistent with the nonformulaic personality of the text. Instead, the text simply presents us with strange and unsettling, though ultimately fascinating and compelling, stories that disturb our balance and force us to adjust. In this way, reading the text becomes a transformative project in itself.

Yongjia School

2008-09-11T07:32:00.007-07:00

Yongjia School was a Chinese school of thought during the Song Dynasty.

Yong

2008-09-11T07:32:00.005-07:00

Yong is the Chinese word for "courage" or "brave" as an adjective; "soldier" as a noun.

Yong can also mean "permanence". It is also unique in that the single character contains eight strokes common to Chinese characters. An explanation for how to write the eight strokes is found in the Eight Principles of Yong.

Yo San University

2008-09-11T07:32:00.003-07:00

Yo San University of Traditional Chinese Medicine is a school of Chinese Medicine in , California. The school was founded in 1989 by Maoshing Ni and Daoshing Ni, and is a traditional, Taoist-based graduate school, unique to Southern California. The school specializes in acupuncture and herbal medicine, preparing students for a Master of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine degree. It is most well-known for its Qi Development Program, which is integrated into the core curriculum. The university's clinic is the largest of its kind in Los Angeles, and offers care to the community.

The Yo San Clinic has affiliations with Venice Family Clinic, Venice Family Clinic's new Chronic Pain Clinic, Premiere Oncology of Santa Monica, and Being Alive, an HIV Wellness Center in West Hollywood, California.

Yin and yang

2008-09-11T07:32:00.001-07:00

In Chinese philosophy, yin and yang are generalized descriptions of the antitheses or mutual correlations in human perceptions of phenomena in the natural world, combining to create a unity of opposites in the theory of the Taiji. The term liang yi , also known as Yin and Yang "Although the Chinese lay claim to the symbol, the earliest yin-yang symbol was found inscribed in stone in Korea." Thus, many historians believe that the concept of Yin and Yang is actually Korean.

The concept of yin and yang describes two opposing and, at the same time, complementary aspects of any one phenomenon or comparison of any two phenomena. They are universal standards of quality at the basis of the systems of correspondence seen in most branches of classical Chinese science and philosophy, traditional Chinese medicine being an example.

Two qualities

''Yin'' qualities are characterized as soft, slow, substantial, wet, cold, conserving, tranquil, gentle, and corresponding to the night.

''Yang'' qualities are characterized as hard, fast, insubstantial, dry, hot, excited, aggressive, and corresponding to the day.

Four Laws of Yin-yang

* Yin-yang are Opposing
** Yin and yang describe the polar effects of phenomena. In viewing any one phenomenon , yin and yang describe the opposing qualities inherent in it. For instance, winter and summer would be the yin and yang, respectively, of the year.
* Yin-yang are Mutually Rooted
** Yin and yang are two complementary qualities. That is to say, the yin and the yang aspect of any one phenomenon will, when put together, form the entire phenomenon. Yin-yang is a philosophy of duality. This is the reason the Chinese word has no "and" between yin and yang - the term always expresses the two making up the one. In the example above, winter plus summer makes up the whole year.
* Yin-yang Mutually Transform
** The maximum effect of one quality will be followed by the transition toward the opposing quality. In other words, once the maximum Yang aspect has manifest, such as the long days of summer, this will be followed by the transition toward the Yin aspect, with the shortening of the days as winter approaches.
* Yin-yang Mutually Wax and Wane
** The Yin and yang aspects are in dynamic equilibrium. As one aspect declines, the other increases to an equal degree. For instance, in the cycle of the year, the long days of summer gradually shorten and the nights gradually lengthen as winter approaches. Throughout the process, however, the length of each day is constant while it is only the relative length of light and darkness that changes .

Yin and yang are neither substances nor forces. They are the terms used in a system of dualistic qualification which can be applied universally. Further dividing Yang and Yin into their respective Yin and Yang aspects, yields four combinations: the Yin of the Yang, the Yang of the Yang, the Yin of the Yin, and the Yang of the Yin. This allows an endless scale of universally defined qualities, which is foundational to classical Chinese thought, as seen in the Tao Te Ching, and science, as seen in the Yellow Emperor's Huangdi Neijing.

Taijitu

The Taijitu or Taiji Diagram , often referred to as ''yin-yang'' in , is a well known symbol deriving from Chinese culture which represents the principle of yin and yang from Taoist and Neo-Confucian philosophy. The term ''Taijitu'' itself refers to any of several schematic diagrams representing these principles.

The taijitu represents an ancient Chinese understanding of how things work. The outer circle represents the entirety of perceivable phenomena, while the black and white shapes within the circle represent the interaction of two principles or aspects, called "yin" and "yang" , which cause the phenomena to appear in their peculiar way. Each of them contains an element or seed of the other, and they cannot exist without each other. There are other ways that Chinese schools of thought graphically represented the principles of yin and yang, an older example being the solid and divided lines of the ''I Ching''.

Wu Jianquan, a famous Chinese martial arts teacher, described the name of the martial art Taijiquan this way at the beginning of the 20th century:

:"Various people have offered different explanations for the name ''Taijiquan''. Some have said: - 'In terms of , one must train from a state of movement towards a state of stillness. ''Taiji'' comes about through the balance of ''yin'' and ''yang''. In terms of the art of attack and defense then, in the context of the of full and empty, one is constantly internally latent, not outwardly expressive, as if the ''yin'' and ''yang'' of ''Taiji'' have not yet divided apart.' Others say: 'Every movement of ''Taijiquan'' is based on circles, just like the shape of a ''Taijitu''. Therefore, it is called ''Taijiquan''.' Both explanations are quite reasonable, especially the second, which is more complete."

In the image showing yin-yang as a circle the white part represents yang and the black part represents yin. Two parts pass through each other on a line because yin and yang are never separated. There is a small black round in white part and a white one in the black part.

In yin yang cosmology, the taiji is preceded by . Wuji separates into taiji or yin and yang . Two symbols became four symbols. Subsequently, four symbols became . And at last, bagua describes the myriad things of creation. This framework underlies both the I Ching and Tao Te Ching.

Other uses of Taijitu-similar symbols

The Yin and Yang symbol was also used on the shields of late military units as regional identifications, as evident from the Notitia Dignitatum. The '''' "Armigeri propugnatores seniores", and the '''' "Mauri Osismiaci" used a variation of the Taijitu symbol on their shields. Note the symbol was not necessarily adopted because of any Chinese influence, and may have been a native European symbol as well.

Dichotomy in other philosophies

The concept of "unity in duality" as underlying the nature of the Cosmos is fundamental in the philosophy of Heraclitus, one of the Presocratics. Note that the Heracletian duality has nothing to do with an dualism.

Indian philosophy has a distinct dualistic strand, known as Samkhya. In this theory, Yin corresponds to Prakrti and Yang to Purusha.

Gnosticism and Zoroastrianism posit a supernatural dualism to explain suffering in this world.

Indonesia has the motto: "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" that is "Unity in diversity" which originates from a quotation of an Old Javanese poem. This idea is similar to yin and yang philosophy. "Tunggal" means the only one, as in "anak tunggal" .

Unicode

Taijitu is defined in code point U+262F . As an alternative, Unicode suggested it can be substituted by U+0FCA , the double body symbol .

Yang Xiong (author)

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Yang Xiong was a Daoist, poet, and author from modern . His name written in Chinese is 揚雄, but it is frequently mistaken as 楊雄 in historical documents, for example the ''Sancai Tuhui''.

Yang is considered a materialist. He did not believe human nature was inherently good as Mencius had written, nor inherently bad as Xunzi had written, but came into existence as a mixture of both. His works include the divinatory ''Taixuan'' , the ''Fayan'' anthology, and the first dialect dictionary ''Fangyan''. He was a close associate of the official and philosopher Huan Tan , an Old Text realist who may have heavily influenced the works of Wang Chong .

Xuanxue

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Xuanxue or Neotaoism is a sub-discipline of Confucianism and Taoism, its main theme is to study the very nature of being, similar to ontology while not being the Chinese counterpart of it. The name means the meta-, deep, profound; is study. Literally speaking, Xuanxue is the study of the deep, profound or meta-nature of being or not being, Tao, etc.

Among its scholars are Wang Bi and Guo Xiang.

Xiuzhen

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Xiuzhen is the principal technique in the Taoist quest for immortality, a historical subject documented since the Yellow Emperor . The Taoist quest of immortality is supported by many Taoism scholars. The term is derived from a yet undatable map called Xiuzhen Tu or the ''Chart of the Cultivation of Perfection'', which some Taoists say would be nearly as old as the Neijing Tu or the ''Chart of Inner Warp'' from the Huangdi Neijing, which outlined the fundamental techniques of Xiuzhen.

Xiuzhen is a knowledge containing alternative biology, ontology and teleology from the perspective of Taoism, and within it complex relations were established among the precepts of yin and yang, wu xing, bagua, I ching, Jing Qi Shen, Jing mai, Shen Xin Yi and karma or causality.

''Xiu'' literally means to practice or to better, ''Zhen'' the truth or the ultimate reality. Taken together someone partaking in ''Xiuzhen'' is to practice and learn the way of the truth. The term was sometimes synonymous with ''Xiudao'' meaning to practice the ways of Tao, or towards understanding the ''Truth''.

Xiuzhen must be practiced in tandem with Xiushen, which is a betterment of one’s conduct based on the principal teachings in Taoism and Confucianism including .

Historical contexts and myths

One of the earliest recorded emperor was Qin Shi Huang who with the wrong counsel, sought eternal youth by reputedly sending fleets of virgins off to Japan for this knowledge. Admittedly there had been many unscrupulous daoshi , con-men whom for profit or power either had no understanding of the nature of Xiuzhen or intentionally distorted the method to render it exclusive and mythical.

Since the days of the Yellow Emperor, the Taoist's orthodox method prescribed the practice of Xiuzhen, in harmonizing with dao and purification of the Jing Qi Shen. And Taoist practitioners do not claim exclusivity to this quest, in that they believe the meditation from Buddhism and other schools would produce the same result, with souls eventually ending up as purified or as one of enlightened Sheng Fok Xian Zhen.

Also mythologized with this immortalization technique were those associated with ''waidan'', deeds and practices of ''Fangshi'' who were able to summon and command the realms with fulu talisman and skills called the Tiangang 36 methods or the thirty-six methods to manipulate the Heaven and the environment , the Disha 72 ways or the seventy-two ways to manipulate the Earth and surroundings, and which were different superhuman skills decreed by heaven onto the specific fangshi. A Taoist guidance book called Tiantang Yiuji explained some of these extraordinary skills in details which included the western alchemy of turning stone to gold, and superhuman feats that no longer exist. Fangshi could be Taoist practitioners and it was their superhuman abilities that scholars generally confuse with the core teaching of Taoism as something akin to superstition or regard as shamanism.

Another prevalent phenomenon was the flourishing of a myriad of branches such as those recorded in Daozang, all claiming legitimacy. This is still happening today. True to the Tao Te Ching , historically authentic practitioners or temples would not stake orthodoxy to flush out these offshoots for power or numbers in the context of ''organized religion''- clarification was just not an agenda, as Xiuzhen is ultimately a self realization. And a potential adherent would need to decide that.

Scholarly myths

Mainstream ''Taoism'' scholars apply to their writings on Taoism with a filter, one that is methodical and analytical, with nomenclature pinned to many Taoist terms when none were called for. One went as far as to divide Taoism into categories like ''contemplative'', ''purposive'', and even ''Hsien'' . Many specific terms in Taoist teachings take on multiple expressions, like the term Tao can be , ''Hunyuan Yiqi'', mother of all beings etc; Jing Qi Shen can be ''Sanqing, Sanyuan, Sanbao'' and so forth.

Early twentieth century scholars have frequently split Taoism into ''Philosophical'' or ''Folk-religions'', that is ''Daojiao'' and ''Daojia''. This is but a taxonomy-filter to reference and group practitioners in order to better understand their thoughts in a scientific methodology. Suffice to say the word ''Jiao'' or ''religion'' did not appear in any classical Chinese literature or Daozang for the concept is foreign. In Tao Te Ching, Taoism was described by Laozi as the ''Door to Dao'', or ''Daomen'' , sometimes as ''Daozhong'' . Taoism is the school of Dao, Daojia in brevity. It is not a religion, and Taoist adherents historically never viewed themselves as belonging to one.

And scholars have not treated the subject of Xiuzhen as a serious treatise although many have given lip service to it, like calling it as ''Hsien-Taoism'', or a search for immortality or longevity, in the main regarding it as superstitious for obvious reasons- Xiuzhen can not yet fit into any current scientifically acceptable or biologically sound model, for scholars to deem it as the principal objective of Taoism.

Core Tenets of Taoism

Daodejing has been interpreted in many ways in the past two millenia , as were classical scriptures like Xishen Jing and Qingjing Jing with applications as wide afield as imperial governance and psychology. Again Xiuzhen or the quest for immortality rarely appeared as the central tenet to Taoism, and possibly it might have alluded scholars that many ''mystical'' or cryptic vocabulary or passages in the TTC and the other classics will become intelligible if the immortality template is used.

Xiuzhen and immortality

The nature of Taoist immortality is at the one level a spiritual immortality, where after attainment the purified souls would return to the original state as ''Yuanling'' , one of the original 9.6 Billion original beings from the ''Mu Gong'' and ''Jing Mu'' in the Chinese creation myth.

The second level is the mythical eternal youth or extended lifespan for the living. In the Taoist fable Laozi himself lived upwards of nine hundred and ninety-six years in his last of thirteen incarnates as Laozi the author of Tao Te Ching, likewise the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors all lived to biologically improbable ages.

In Taoism a parallel objective during the lifespan of a mortal is to attain a state of Xiu Qi Zhi Ping from ''Xiushen Qijia Zhiguo Pingtianxia'' , which is a set of progressive nobler tasks to better one’s being, one’s family to enable one to reign a country eventually contributing to ''world peace''. This is expected as the ultimate humanly goal for all Taoist adherents, in parallel with Xiuzhen striving for spiritual immortality. This set of objectives was explained in Confucius' Lichi.

Xiuzhen and values

Taoists believe that lives do not end at death. Depending on the deeds and de mortals have accrued in their life times, the soul would be subject to a system of rewards and punishment , which is applied at death or in Souyuan, the Chinese equivalent of Judgment Day. Within the system the realms are wide ranging, there is a thirty-three layers of heaven for the enlightened or transcended, ten-prisons and 153 wards or jails in hell for the incarcerated, reincarnation in different forms for those neither pure enough to ascend nor too sinful to damnation. The spiritual remains of mortals had and would reside in one of these realms despite of death.

This is also the reason why the Ancestor worship or veneration was widely practiced by the Chinese throughout history from the Taoist’s perspective. The deceased are not seen as dead, but merely passed on from a physical reality to a spiritual realm. Veneration of parents and elders thus continue well after their departure, as part of the filial piety one accords to them.

Other Xiushen conducts like those in and Deeds, have been passed down and became part of the Chinese culture and Chinese thought.

Divine and Secular Purposes

Taoist look at Xiuzhen from the creator's perspective, that as Yuanling were originally created from Dao, or , that is Xuanxuan Shangren and then the Five Supremes, these primordial souls or original men belong to heaven. All of these Yuanling should therefore seek and attempt to return to the original realm, to Taiji and to Dao. Many latter day Sift Text dictations revealed this as ''Attaining One'' or ''Attaining Unity'' , or as ''Preserving Unity'' as everything in existence in all three realms change and are subject to change, save for the this ''One'' or ''Unity'' , which is the spiritual oneness of ''ling'' .

This transcendental concept can also be understood in some of the writings of Rene Guenon, Ananda Coomaraswamy and Titus Burckhardt in the Traditionalist School on perennial philosophy and the ''Primordial Tradition''. The differences are, the Traditionalist scholars believed much of that knowledge was lost in the Abrahamic Religions and in Hinduism and induced a cosmology similar to that in Taoism; Taoists believe Xiuzhen is still a current, viable vehicle to achieve spiritual transcendence, and within a cosmology that is still active and alive today.

Taoists' Xiuzhen is, at a secular level, an attempt to learn to be a Sheng Fok Xian Zhen, or to be a saint. It is also an attempt to conserve and coalesce one's energy in Jing Qi Shen to the level of pre-birth, an embryonic state, to ''reverse life'' as it were. Life in this regard is only a vehicle or a temporal state for any given yuanling, and one which continues to muddy its purity, until the mortal shell realizes the need to reverse the process. And the consequences otherwise, that is to follow the progress of life and death, a mortal would be subject to cycles of reincarnation without hope of returning to the oneness, or the admission to heaven. Xiuzhen to the Taoists is a process to prolong the physical lifespans on earth and which will eventually contribute to a spiritual immortality.

For this admission an adherent or the candidate needs to be a ''rounded'' person, one who has the prerequisite of living their life by attaining the minimum benchmark Gongde, or Deeds and with ''Three Thousand Deeds and Eight Hundred De'' , according to the part of the heavenly merit system loosely called the Jade Principles Golden Script .

Xiuzhen Tu

Both the Xiuzhen Tu and the Neijing Tu were attempts to visualize crucial aspects of the Jing Qi Shen in the human anatomy identifying the Jing mai, the pressure points, various stages of Neidan attainment. Neijing Tu is more picturesque in that the human anatomy is not depicted where as the Xiuzhen Tu is anatomical.

Definitions

*Three Roles and Five Humanities 三綱五常 where the Three Roles means a King would be the role-model for his Minister, a Father be a role-model for his Son and a Husband be a role-model for his Wife 君為臣綱，父為子綱，夫為妻綱; Five Humanities refers to Benevolence 仁, Honour 義,Code/Courtesy 禮, Wisdom 智 and Trust 信, confer , together establish the cornerstones of human relationships.
*Five Tenets and Eight De 五倫八德, ''Five Tenets'' refers to that between Father and son, King and minister, husband and wife, among sibling in a family and between friends . ''Eight De'' 八德 are Filial Piety 孝, Sibling Piety 悌, Loyalty 忠, Trust 信, Conduct 禮, Honour 義, Integrity 廉 and Humility 恥.

Xiushen

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Xiushen is made up of ''xiu'' meaning to correct or better and ''shen'' body, Xiushen is a term encompassing all of the correct value, the proper conducts for a Taoist adherent to adopt as a way of life and particularly to complement the practice of Xiuzhen. It can be equated as the portion of the Tao Te Ching. The concept has been subsequently elaborated by Confucius in Lichi .

Glossary on Xiushen

Gongde 功德

To accrue deeds or Gong and live by De, deeds are acts of righteousness, charity and goodness in ''Shanxing'' to the world and fellow humanity, De in this application includes all virtues and conduct. Gongde is part of the merit grading in the Tianlun for an adherent.

Three Roles 三綱

The Three Roles ''Sangang'' means a king must be the role-model for his minister, a father be a role-model for his son and a Husband be a role-model for his Wife as in 君為臣綱，父為子綱，夫為妻綱. The common adage associates the ''Three Roles with Five Humanities'' as in 三綱五常.

Five Humanities 五常

The Five Humanities ''Wuchang'' refers to Benevolence , Honour , Courtesy , Wisdom and Trust .

Five Tenets 五倫

The Five Tenets ''Wulun'' establish the five fundamental relations and kinships for all man, starting with one between a king and his minister based on honour , respect by a son to his father and his son, tolerance between a husband and his wife, tolerance among sibling, and finally trust between friends. These tenets are the benchmark conduct as in君臣有義、父子有親、夫婦有別、長幼有序、朋友有信. The Five Tenets are usually coupled with Eight De as in the ''Five Tenets and Eight De'' 五倫八德.

Eight De 八德

Eight De are Filial Piety , Sibling Piety , Loyalty , Trust , Courtesy , Honour , Integrity and Humility . Taoists value all De but one should always start with filial piety, as in the adage ''The Hundred conduct starts with Filial Piety'' . Filial Piety can be further classed as ''high, median and normal'' grading various acts of piety, and it is the principial De that led to the psyche of Chinese culture in Ancestor veneration.

Nine Virtue 九美

The Nine Virtue ''Jiumei'' are Loyalty , Filial Piety , Integrity , Thrift , Benevolence , Honour , Courtesy , Wisdom , Righteousness and Trust . These virtues are commonly spoken as the ''Nine Virtue and Eight De'' 九美八德, as fundamental to Xiushen.

Text Reference

From Lichi : 「修身齊家治國平天下」典出於《禮記》的《大學》篇，原文是：「古之欲明明德於天下者，先治其國。欲治其國者，先齊其家。欲齊其家者，先修其身。欲修其身者，先正其心。」

Xiaokang

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''Xiaokang'' is a term that describes a society of modest means, or a society composed of a functional middle-class. It is loosely equivocated to a "basically well-off" society whereby the people are able to live relatively comfortably, albeit ordinarily. The term was first used in ''Classic of Poetry'' written as early as 3000 years ago.

Ancient Use

Modern Use

Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping used the terms ''Xiaokang society'' in 1979 as the eventual goal of Chinese modernization.

The vision of a ''Xiaokang'' society is one in which most people are moderately well off and middle class, and in which economic prosperity is sufficient to move most of the population in mainland China into comfortable means, but in which economic advancement is not the sole focus of society. Explicitly incorporated into the concept of a ''Xiaokang'' society is the idea that economic growth needs to be balanced with sometimes conflicting goals of social equality and environmental protection.

The current usage of the term also invokes ancient Chinese thought in support of modern Chinese Marxism. In ancient Chinese writing a ''xiaokang'' society was the predecessor to the great unity. There is a rough correspondence between this progression and the progression in Chinese Marxism between a market socialist society and world communism.

The revival of the concept of a ''Xiaokang'' Society was in part a criticism of social trends in mainland China in the 1990s under Jiang Zemin, in which many in China felt was focusing too much on the newly rich and not enough on mainland China's rural poor. Furthermore there has been a fear in some circles that Chinese society has become too materialistic placing material wealth above all other social needs.

In contrast to previous concepts such as the spiritual civilization and the campaigns against bourgeois liberalization in the 1980s, the concept of the ''Xiaokang'' society does not involve heroic self-sacrifice and does not place the material and the spiritual in opposition. The vision of a ''Xiaokang'' society sees the need for economic growth to provide prosperity, but it sees the need for this prosperity to be broadly distributed.

In addition, the concept of a ''Xiaokang'' society is the first time in which the Communist Party of China has used a classical Chinese concept to legitimize its vision for the future of China. Its recent use has been associated with Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao as a goal for mainland China to reach by the year 2020.

Xia (philosophy)

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The xiá is a concept that refers to a person who excels in Chinese martial arts and who uses their armed expertise to protect the innocent and right social unfairness or . Such a person is said to possess "martial virtue" , and usually regarded as a people's champion. The conduct of Xia is not a synonym for ''Righteousness'' as in righting a wrong it may involve breaking the law hence in absolute term Xia adherents do not answer to the laws but to a set of self-imposed morality of right and wrong. Yet it is important to know that Xia is not the chinese term for philosophy zhe xue is.

The ''xiá'' concept is the basis for the Wuxia genre of Chinese literature and , and is fundamental to the understanding of the genre. Liang Yusheng, a founder of the post-war "new school" wuxia literature, once asserted: "I'd rather write a wuxia story with no force or martial arts than one devoid of the spirit of xiá ".

Cultural correlations

''Xiá'' could be roughly compared to "chivalry" or 'heroes/heroines", and similar in part to the Western concept of knights and knighthood, but owing to differences in cultural contexts, there are both major and minor differences:

*The overtones of Charlemagne's or William the Conqueror's cavalry made up of by birth are wholly missing from the Chinese concept. Unlike a knight, the ''xiá'' need not serve a lord or hold any military power; neither are they required to be from an class. In comparison, the main identification of a ''xiá'' is a code of conduct and an ideology of honor and social justice dedicated to serving the good of the people. The philosophy's expectations of good character in teacher-student relationships is a fundamental feature of traditional Chinese martial arts training. Another difference from western knights is that considerable numbers of these ''xiá'' are women.

A well-known description comes from the historian Sima Qian's ''Records of the Grand Historian'':

History

The concept of ''xiá'' goes back to the Zhou dynasty, especially the Spring and Autumn period. Referring to a class of warriors whose social position is sandwiched between the commoners and the royalties, the ''xiá'' is originally the military counterpart of the more scholarly ''shi'' , who eventually developed into Confucian scholars. Both are highly prized by feudal princes and warlords, one becoming intellectual advisors who contribute to the governing of the state, and the other ending up as guest residents of their masters living by the blade. In ancient China, these warriors' preference to use force to resolve a conflict sometimes made them unpopular and inseparable from the common ruffians in the eyes of bureaucrats. The Han Feizi, for example, listed the ''xiá'' among the five vermins of society.

The concept of ''xiá'' however underwent many transformations through the centuries. By the end of the Qing dynasty it has come to represent an ideal hero who wielded power by force, but could withhold it if necessary, and more importantly, possesses a sense of moral justice.

Equivalence in Western Cultures

A close equivalence of ''xiá'' to the English world can be found in Robin Hood, frequently identified by the Chinese as a "''xiá''-robber" — one with his own morally justifiable code of conduct despite being a law-breaker. Cartoon superheroes such as Batman and Spider-Man are also called ''xiá'' in Chinese translation . Although not addressed as ''xiá'' in the Chinese translation, Johnston McCulley's legendary fictional hero Zorro is often regarded as a close resemblance to the Chinese stereotype of ''xiá''.

Wuzhen pian

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The Wuzhen pian is a 1075 CE Daoist classic on Neidan-style internal alchemy. Its author Zhang Boduan 張伯端 was a Song Dynasty scholar of the Three teachings .

Author

Zhang Boduan, or Zhang Ziyang 張紫陽, was a native of Tiantai 天臺 in present-day Zhejiang. After passing the Imperial examination, he began a career as a civil servant, but was banished to the frontier in Lingnan, where he served as a military commissioner. Zhang was later transferred to Guilin and Chengdu, where in 1069 he allegedly experienced sudden realization from a Daoist Master who instructed him in ''Neidan'' internal alchemy. Zhang wrote the ''Wuzhen pian'', its appendices, and a few other texts, including the ''Jindan sibai zi'' 金丹四百字 "Four hundred words on the Golden Elixer" . He was additionally an authority on Chan Buddhism.

Biographical sources agree that Zhang Boduan died in 1082 CE during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of Song, but disagree whether he was born in 983, 984, or 987. Zhang was honorifically called Ziyang Zhenren 紫陽真人, ranking him as a Daoist ''zhenren'' 真人 "real/true/authentic person; perfected/authentic person" , one rank higher than a '''' 仙 "transcendent; immortal" in the celestial hierarchy.

The Quanzhen School of Daoism originated in the 12th century with the Five Northern Patriarchs . In the 13th century, Zhang Boduan posthumously became the second of the Five Southern Patriarchs in the so-called ''Nanzong'' 南宗 "Southern Lineage", which Boltz refers to as "ex post facto".

In Shaanxi, Hong Kong, and Singapore, there are Zhenren Gong 真人宮 "Real/Perfected Person Temples" dedicated to Zhang Boduan.

Texts

The received ''Wuzhen pian'' text contains a preface dated 1075 and a postface dated 1078, both under the name Zhang Boduan. The Daozang "Daoist Canon" includes several textual editions of varying lengths.

The core of the ''Wuzhen pian'' comprises 81 poems: 16 heptasyllabic ''lüshi'' 律詩 "regulated poems", 64 heptasyllabic ''jueju'' 絕句 "stopped-short line" quatrains, and one pentasyllabic verse on the ''Taiyi'' 太一 "Great Unity". Both 16 and 64 have numerological significance, the former denotes two equal "8 ounce" measures of Yin and Yang totaling "16 ounces" , and the latter correlates with the 64 .

Zhang later appended the ''Wuzhen pian'' text with 12 alchemical '''' 詞 "lyrics" that numerologically correspond to the 12 months, and 5 verses related with the ''Wu Xing'' 五行 "Five Phases".

Baldrian-Hussein describes the text.

The verses of the ''Wuzhen pian'' are a work of literary craftsmanship and were probably intended to be sung or chanted. They teem with paradoxes, metaphors, and aphorisms, and their recondite style allows multiple interpretations. The verses are widely accepted as an elaboration of the ''Zhouyi cantong qi'', but their philosophical basis is in the ''Daode jing'' and the ''Yinfu jing''. Life, says Zhang Boduan, is like a bubble on floating water or a spark from a flint, and the search for wealth and fame only results in bodily degeneration; thus human beings should search for the Golden Elixir to become celestial immortals .

The ''Wuzhen pian'' is one of the major scriptures of Daoist ''Neidan'' "Inner Alchemy " and metaphorically uses the vocabulary of ''Waidan'' "External Alchemy", which involved compounding elixirs from minerals and medicinal herbs. The text proposes that External Alchemy is unnecessary because the human body contains the essential components. These are '''' "essence; refined, perfected; extract; sperm, seed", ''qi'' "vitality, energy, force; vapor; breath", and '''' "spirit; soul, mind; god, deity". Through alchemical refinement of bodily ''jing'' and ''qi'', one can supposedly achieve integration with one's spiritual ''shen'' nature.

Commentaries

The intentionally abstruse and highly symbolic language of the ''Wuzhen pian'' is open to diverse interpretations. Many commentators, both Daoist and otherwise, have explicated the text.

The Daoist Canon includes a dozen commentaries and sub-commentaries to the ''Wuzhen pian'' . Major commentaries are by Ye Shibiao 葉士表 , Yuan Gongfu 遠公輔 , and several by Weng Baoquang 翁葆光 and Dai Qizong 戴起宗.

In addition, there are numerous later commentaries to the text. Two notable examples are by Qiu Zhao'ao 仇兆鰲 , who quotes from 25 commentaries, and by Liu Yiming 劉一明 , who was 11th patriarch of the Quanzhen Longmen 龍門 "Dragon Gate" Lineage.

Title

''Wuzhen pian'' combines three Chinese words.
*''wu'' "realize; awaken; understand; perceive ", viz. Japanese ''satori''
*''zhen'' "true, real, genuine; really, truly, clearly; true/authentic character of human beings"
*''pian'' "piece of writing; strip of bamboo, sheet of paper; article, essay, chapter"
The Chinese character ''wu'' 悟 "awaken; realize", which is written with the "heart/mind " 忄and a phonetic of ''wu'' "I; my; we; our", has a literary variant Chinese character ''wu'' "awake; wake up" with the "roof radical" 宀, ''qiang'' 爿 "bed", and this ''wu'' 吾 phonetic. Compare the given name of Sun Wukong 孙悟空, the central character in Journey to the West, which literally means "Awaken to Emptiness".

The ambiguity of the ''Wuzhen pian'' title, and by extension the text itself, is illustrated by these English renderings:
*Essay on the Understanding of the Truth
*Folios on the Apprehension of Perfection
*Awakening to Perfection
*Understanding Reality
*Chapters on Awakening to the Real
*Chapters on Awakening to Perfection

Translations

The ''Wuzhen pian'' has full and partial translations into English. Tenney L. Davis and Chao Yün-ts’ung, who collaborated on several groundbreaking studies of Daoist alchemy, published the first English version . Thomas Cleary fully translated the text and Liu Yiming's commentary. Partial translations are given by Livia Kohn and Eva Wong . Paul Crowe wrote a detailed study of the ''Wuzhen pian'' text and translated the first 16 poems.

Louis Komjathy uses Cleary's version to illustrate the importance of "linguistic competency" in translating Daoist texts. Komjathy describes the ''Wuzhen pian'''s content as "so highly symbolic that it is all but impenetrable without commentaries or oral instructions." For instance, the Chinese original of the third stanza is written in four paired heptasyllabic verses:

學仙須是學天仙、

惟有金丹最的端。

二物會時情性合、

五行全處龍虎蟠。

本因戊己為媒娉、

遂使夫妻鎮合歡。

只候功成朝北闕、

九霞光裏駕祥鸞。

The first translation is by Davis and Chao.

If you are learning to be a ''hsien'' , you should learn to be a heavenly ''hsien''. The most accurate means is ''chin tan'' . The two things, when put into contact with each other, will indicate harmonious properties. The Tiger and the Dragon locate at the places where the ''wu hsing'' 五行 are perfected. I desire to send ''wu ssu'' 戊巳 as a matchmaker to make them husband and wife and to bring them into a union from which real happiness will arise. Wait for the success of the compounding, and you will return to see the north gate of the Imperial palace. You will be able to ride on a phoenix's back, to fly high into the cloud and the light of the sky.

Cleary idiosyncratically translates in capital letters to distinguish the text from his translation of Liu's commentary:

IF YOU ARE GOING TO STUDY IMMORTALITY, YOU SHOULD STUDY CELESTIAL IMMORTALITY; ONLY THE GOLD ELIXIR IS WORTHWHILE. WHEN THE TWO THINGS JOIN, SENSE AND ESSENCE MERGE; WHEN THE FIVE ELEMENTS ARE COMPLETE, THE TIGER AND DRAGON INTERTWINE. STARTING WITH HEAVEN-EARTH AND EARTH-EARTH AS GO-BETWEENS, FINALLY HUSBAND AND WIFE CONJOIN HAPPILY. JUST WAIT FOR THE ACHIEVEMENT TO BE COMPLETED TO PAY COURT TO THE NORTH PALACE GATE; IN THE LIGHT OF NINEFOLD MIST YOU RIDE A FLYING PHOENIX.

Komjathy criticizes both the style and language of Cleary’s translation, noting, "Except for punctuation, Cleary’s format gives the reader little indication that he or she is reading poetry." He also says, "Cleary’s translation choices for various technical terms deviate from more standard renderings, and thus without knowledge of Chinese and the Chinese text one cannot easily identify the relevant correlates." One example concerns two Celestial stems.

Cleary translates the most technical section of this stanza, line five, as “Starting with Heaven-Earth and Earth-Earth as go-betweens.” With no annotation, the reader wonders what Chinese phrases Cleary is translating. An educated reader’s initial guess might be ''Yijing'' hexagrams. As it turns out, the Chinese text has the characters ''wu'' 戊 and ''ji'' 己, the fifth and sixth of the ten Celestial Stems , respectively. Cleary does not provide an explanation for or introduction to such choices, although ''Understanding Reality'', unlike his later publications, contains a glossary of terms.

He suggests a "more accurate and technical translation":

study immortality, you should study celestial immortality ;

This alone is the most superior doctrine of the Golden Elixir .

When the two things meet , the emotions and innate nature are joined;

The Five Phases completely settle, Tiger and Dragon entwine.

From the beginning, ''wu'' and ''ji'' are taken as the matchmaker,

Thus causing husband and wife to be protected in commingled bliss.

Simply wait until the practice is completed, face towards the Northern Tower ;

Amidst the illumination of nine vapors, you mount an auspicious phoenix.

Komjathy concludes, "Although Cleary’s translation has certain deficiencies, he seems intent on staying close to the text and rendering it in a way that generally respects the work’s complexity."

Compare how Paul Crowe translates this same stanza:

study immortality then it must be celestial immortality,

alone is the most superior doctrine of the golden elixir.

When the two things come together emotions and inner nature coalesce,

the dragon and tiger entwine where the five phases become complete.

From the beginning rely upon ''jueji'' to be the matchmaker;

then cause the husband and wife to be calm and joyous.

Simply wait until the work is completed pay court to the Northern Palace;

amidst the brightness in nine rose-coloured clouds ride the auspicious ''luan'' bird.

For translating the thorny ''wuji'' expression, Crowe notes, "''Wu'' 戊 and ''ji'' 己 refer to the fifth and sixth of the ten celestial stems which, in combination, correspond to the earth phase which occupies the central position."

Wuji (philosophy)

2008-09-11T07:29:00.003-07:00

Wang Yangming was a idealist Neo-Confucian philosopher, official, educationist, calligraphist and general. After Zhu Xi, he is commonly regarded as the most important Neo-Confucian thinker, with interpretations of Confucianism that denied the rationalist dualism of the orthodox philosophy of Zhu Xi. He was known as Yangming Xiansheng or Yangming Zi in literary circles.

Life and times

Born Wang Shouren in Yuyao, Zhejiang Province, his courtesy name was Bo'an . His father was an earl and a minister of civil personnel. He earned the "recommended person" in 1492 and the "presented scholar" degree in 1499. He served as an executive assistant in various government departments until being banished for offending a eunuch in 1506. However, his professional career was later ensured when he became the Governor of Jiangxi.

Wang became a successful general and was known for the strict discipline he imposed on his troops, repressing several rebellions. In 1519 AD, while being governor of Jiangxi province, he repressed the uprising of Prince Zhu Chen-hao, and made one of the earliest references in using the ''fo-lang-ji'' in battle, a culverin cannon imported from the newly-arrived venturers to China. While governor of Jiangxi he also built schools, rehabilitated the rebels, and reconstructed what was lost by the enemy during the revolt. Though he was made an earl, he was ostracized for opposing Zhu Xi.

Thirty-eight years after his death, he was given the titles Marquis and Completion of Culture. In 1584 he was offered sacrifice in the Confucian Temple, the highest honour for a scholar.

Philosophy

Wang was the leading figure in the Neo-Confucian School of Mind, founded by Lu Jiuyuan of Southern Song. This school championed an interpretation of Mencius that unified knowledge and . Their rival school, the School of Principle treated gaining knowledge as a kind of preparation or cultivation that, when completed, could guide action.

Innate knowing

Out of Cheng-Zhu's Neo-Confucianism that was mainstream at the time, Wang Yangming developed the idea of ''innate knowing'', arguing that every person knows from birth the difference between and evil. Such knowledge is intuitive and not . These revolutionizing ideas of Wang Yangming would later inspire prominent Japanese thinkers like Motoori Norinaga, who argued that because of the Shinto deities, Japanese people alone had the intuitive ability to distinguish good and evil without complex rationalization. His school of thought also greatly influenced the Japanese samurai ethic.

Knowledge as action

Wang's rejection of the investigation of knowledge comes from the fact that at the time the traditional view of Chinese thought was that once a person gained knowledge, they had a duty to put that knowledge into action. This presupposed two possibilities:

* That one can have knowledge without/prior to corresponding action.
* That one can know what is the proper action, but still fail to act.

Wang rejected both of these which allowed him to develop his philosophy of action. Wang believed that
only through simultaneous action could one gain knowledge and denied all other ways of gaining it. To him, there was no way to use knowledge after gaining it because he believed that knowledge and action were unified as one. Any knowledge that had been gained ''then put'' into action was considered delusion or false.

Mind and the world

He held that objects do not exist entirely apart from the mind because the mind shapes them. He believed that it is not the world that shapes the mind, but the mind that gives reason to the world. Therefore, the mind alone is the source of all reason. He understood this to be an inner light, an innate moral goodness and understanding of what is good. This is similar to the thinking of the Greek philosopher Socrates, who argued that knowledge is virtue.

In order to eliminate selfish desires that cloud the mind’s understanding of goodness, one can practice his type of meditation often called "tranquil repose" or "sitting still" . This is similar to the practice of Chan meditation in Buddhism.

Influence

*Wang Shouren is regarded one of the four greatest masters of Confucianism in history along with Confucius, Mencius and Zhu Xi .

*Wang Yangming found Yaojiang School or Yangming School of Mind , which became one of the dominant confucianism schools in the mid, late Ming period and Qing period China. The typical figures came from this school after Wang were Wang Ji , Qian Dehong , Wang Gen , Huang Zongxi , Li Zhuowu and Liu Zongzhou . Wang Gen formed ''Taizhou School'' , which went to leftism of Wang Yangming's thought. During late Ming period, Wang Yangming's thought was derived a lot in China and became a kind of popular learning.

*The Japanese Admiral of the Russo-Japanese War, Togo Heihachiro, was influenced by Wang, and made a stamp which read, "One's whole life followed the example of Yangming" . In Japan, many scholars and politicians came from Wang Yangming's school in history, including Kumazawa Banzan , Saigō Takamori , Takasugi Shinsaku and Toju Nakae . Toju Nakae is regarded as the founder of Japanese ''?yōmei-gaku''.

* Chiang Kai-shek named a national attraction in Taiwan, Yangmingshan, after Wang.

Wu Xing

2008-09-11T07:29:00.001-07:00

''Thick Black Theory'' is a philosophical treatise written by Li Zhongwu a disgruntled politician and scholar, born at the end of Qing dynasty. It was published in China in 1911. 1911 was a year of chaos in China, when Sun Yat-sen overthrew the Ching dynasty and set up the Chinese Republic. It may be regarded as the Chinese equivalent of 's ''The Prince''.

Quotations

Li was a scientist of political intrigue. He wrote: "When you conceal your will from others, that is Thick. When you impose your will on others, that is Black." Thick Black Theory describes the ruthless, hypocritical means men use to obtain and hold power: "thick faces" , "black heart" . It went through several printings before being banned in China as subversive.

Li argued that "A great hero is no more than a person who is impudent and wicked." According to Li, the wickedest of all was Cao Cao. "I would rather betray someone than be betrayed." It shows how black Cao Cao' s heart was inside. Li picked Liu Bei as the highly-skilled person with a "thick face". He never thought it shameful to live inside another's fence. He was also a frequent crier, appealing to others' sympathy. There is even a saying, "Liu Bei's JiangShan was obtained through his crying."

Modern applicability

Before the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong studied "Houheixue" which is the "Thick Black Theory". Hou means "thick face" in Chinese; it means having a thick hide. Hei means black in Chinese; it means having a black heart. During the 1980s, news spread that Mao had studied the Thick Black Theory and Li Zhongwu was in the spotlight again. In Beijing during the 1990s, many books related to the Thick Black Theory, "thick-black-ology",, were published.

Wenzi

2008-09-11T07:27:00.004-07:00

''The Secret of the Golden Flower'' , a Chinese book about meditation, was translated by Richard Wilhelm . Wilhelm, a friend of Carl Jung, was German, and his translations from Chinese to German were later translated to English by Cary F. Baynes. According to Wilhelm, Lü Dongbin was the main originator of the material presented in the book. More recently , the same work has been translated by Thomas Cleary, a scholar of Eastern studies.

Translations

There are significant differences between the Wilhelm and Cleary translations. Wilhelm was introduced to the work by his Chinese teacher, while Cleary, as an accomplished scholar, arrived at his own translation and interpretation.

Classic works of Chinese philosophy preserve a spectrum of pre-modern science, from a time when philosophy and science were less distinct. The foundations of their teachings often do not comport with modern science, yet the teachings are of significant efficacy in providing a degree of awareness that might otherwise remain obscured by modern society’s attention to more stringent standards of rational thought . To use Chinese terms, these philosophical works include yin thought with yang thought, that is, they reflect intuitive as well as rational perception. Intuitive perception accumulates and improves with practice and time. Rational thought benefits from an enhanced acuity of intuitive perception.

Wilhelm's translation resulted from his presence in China, where he learned classical philosophy from a Chinese sage. In the sense of conveying impressions received from his teacher, Wilhelm's work tends to portray the more yin aspect of ''The Secret of the Golden Flower'', while Cleary's is a more scholarly, yang, translation. Jung provides comments for both of Wilhelm's major Chinese translations, including the nineteen-page Foreword to the Wilhelm/Baynes translation of the I Ching, augmenting the philosophical aspect. Cleary takes several opportunities to criticize the validity of Wilhelm's translation.

Like the story of blind people describing an elephant, it seems the poetic aspect of Chinese philosophy communicates an imagery that serves to inform and confirm practitioners according to their own predispositions. The poetic imagery essentially conveys ideas and perceptions better suited to imagining than reasoning, with the hope that in time a convergence of imagery and reason will take place in a manner that is informative.

Despite the varieties of impressions, interpretation and opinion expressed by Wilhelm, Jung and Cleary, the meditation technique described by ''The Secret of the Golden Flower'' is a straightforward, silent technique . The meditation technique, set forth in poetic language, reduces to a formula of sitting, breathing and contemplating. Sitting primarily relates to a straight posture. Breathing is described in detail, primarily in terms of the esoteric physiology of the path of ''qi'' , or breath energy. The energy path associated with breathing has been described as similar to an internal wheel vertically aligned with the spine. When breathing is steady, the wheel turns forward, with breath energy rising in back and descending in front. Bad breathing habits can cause the wheel not to turn, or move backward, inhibiting the circulation of essential breath energy. In contemplation, one watches thoughts as they arise and recede.

A minimum of fifteen minutes of meditation practice per day is recommended. After one hundred days, one should begin to get a feel for the method. The meditation technique is supplemented by descriptions of affirmations of progress in the course of a daily practice, suggesting stages that could be reached and phenomenon that may be observed such as a feeling of lightness, like floating upward. Such benefits are ascribed to improved internal energy associated with breath energy circulation, improvements that alleviate previously existing impediments. Several drawings portray imagery relevant to the personal evolution of a meditation practitioner, images that may be somewhat confusing in terms of pure rational analysis. The first such illustration represents the first one hundred days, or gathering the light. Stage 2 represents an emergence of meditative consciousness. Stage 3 represents a meditative awareness that exists even in mundane, daily life. Stage 4 represents a higher meditative perception, where all conditions are recognized. Then, varied conditions are portrayed as separately perceived, yet each separate perception is part of a whole of awareness.

Chinese Taoists evaluate

Based on the contents of this book, Chinese Taoists believe this book was written by Wang Chong yang,who is the student of Lu Dong bin. This book focused on the inner alchemy practice techniques rather than the theory.

In the book of Wilhelm's translation, his Chinese teacher taught him one of this explanation: the practitioner will see a bright image in front of the middle point of their two eyes. This image was called Mandala or dkyil-vkhorin Tibetan Buddhism. In various spiritual traditions, such as Mahavairocana Tantra of Hindu and Tibetan Buddhism, Mandala is a key part of meditation practices.

Chinese taoists believe this bright image has close relation to the "Original Essence", "Golden Flower", and "Original Light" . If the practitioner see the Mandala, that means he/she see part of "Original Essence", and he/she are entering the beginning level of the immortal essence. In the book of Wilhelm's translation, he describe some of the pictures of the Mandala.

In Sept. 2007, one hundred years after Wilhelm meeting his Chinese teacher, the 18th transmitter of the Dragon Gate Taoism Taoist Wang Liping trained 8 European based on the techniques of . At the 6th day of the training course, some people saw the Mandala, and finally 6 of the 8 trainer saw the Mandala and draw the images. The results were published in 《contemporary Academic Research 》page 24, Jan. 2008, titled "Study of Internal alchemy practice".

Ti (concept)

2008-09-11T07:27:00.003-07:00

''The Book of Lord Shang'' was an early work generally attributed to the eponymous Lord Shang. It is a foundational work of that harsh tradition: ""''The Book of Lord Shang'' teaches that laws are designed to maintain the stability of the state from the people, who are innately selfish and ignorant. There is no such thing as objective goodness or virtue; it is obedience that is of paramount importance." The philosophy espoused in this work is quite explicitly anti-:

#The Reform of the Law
#An Order to cultivate Waste Lands
#Agriculture and War
#The Elimination of Strength
#Discussion about the People
#The Calculation of Land
#Opening and Debarring
#The Unification of Words
#Establishing Laws
#The Method of Warfare
#The Establishment of Fundamentals
#Military Defense
#Making Orders Strict
#The Cultivation of Right Standard
#The Encouragement of Immigration
#Compendium of Penalties
#Rewards and Punishment
#Policies Planning
#Within the Borders
#Weakening the People
#
#External and Internal Affairs
#Rulers and Ministers
#Interdicts and Encouragements
#Attention to Law
#The Fixing of Rights and Duties

Text of the work

* Chinese-English parallel text, Chinese Text Project
* -
* -
* -

Articles and essays

* for Lord Yang in the ''Encyclop?dia Britannica''
*
*
* on Everything2

Three Treasures (Taoism)

2008-09-11T07:27:00.001-07:00

''The Art of War'' is a treatise that was written during the 6th century BC by Sun Tzu. Composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare, it has long been praised as the definitive work on and of its time.

The Art of War is one of the oldest books on military strategy in the world. It is the first and one of the most successful works on strategy and has had a huge influence on Eastern and Western military thinking, business tactics, and beyond. Sun Tzu was the first to recognize the importance of positioning in strategy and that position is affected both by objective conditions in the physical environment and the subjective opinions of competitive actors in that environment. He taught that strategy was not planning in the sense of working through a to-do list, but rather that it requires quick and appropriate responses to changing conditions. Planning works in a controlled environment, but in a competitive environment, competing plans collide, creating unexpected situations.

The book was first translated into the French language in 1782 by French Jesuit Jean Joseph Marie Amiot, and had possibly influenced , and even the planning of Operation Desert Storm. Leaders as diverse as Mao Zedong, General Vo Nguyen Giap, and General Douglas MacArthur have claimed to have drawn inspiration from the work.

''The Art of War'' has also been applied to business and managerial strategies.

The 13 chapters

The Art of War is divided into 13 chapters , and the collection is referred to as being one Ch'üan . As different translations have used differing titles for each chapter, a selection appears below. Lionel Giles' 1910 translation is considered the standard reference, but the other titles are, given the nature of translation, equally valid.

Chapter summary

#Laying Plans OCS explores the five key elements that define competitive position and how to evaluate your competitive strengths against your competition.
#Waging War explains how to understand the economic nature of competition and how success requires making the winning play, which in turn, requires limiting the cost of competition and conflict.
#Attack by Stratagem defines the source of strength as unity, not size, and the five ingredients that you need to succeed in any competitive situation.
#Tactical Dispositions explains the importance of defending existing positions until you can advance them and how you must recognize opportunities, not try to create them.
#Energy explains the use of creativity and timing in building your competitive momentum.
#Weak Points & Strong explains how your opportunities come from the openings in the environment caused by the relative weakness of your competitors in a given area.
#Maneuvering explains the dangers of direct conflict and how to win those confrontations when they are forced upon you.
#Variation in Tactics focuses on the need for flexibility in your responses. It explains how to respond to shifting circumstances successfully.
#The Army on the March describes the different situations in which you find yourselves as you move into new competitive arenas and how to respond to them. Much of it focuses on evaluating the intentions of others.
#Terrain looks at the three general areas of resistance and the six types of ground positions that arise from them. Each of these six field positions offer certain advantages and disadvantages.
#The Nine Situations describe nine common situations in a competitive campaign, from scattering to deadly, and the specific focus you need to successfully navigate each of them.
#The Attack by Fire explains the use of weapons generally and the use of the environment as a weapon specifically. It examines the five targets for attack, the five types of environmental attack, and the appropriate responses to such attack.
#The Use of Spies focuses on the importance of developing good information sources, specifically the five types of sources and how to manage them.

Annotations

Before the was discovered by archaeologists in April 1972, the most cited version of ''The Art of War'' was the ''Annotation of Sun Tzu's Strategies'' by Cao Cao, the founder of the Kingdom of Wei. In the preface, he wrote that previous annotations were not focused on the essential ideas. Other annotations cited in official history books include Shen You 's ''Sun Tzu's Military Strategy'', Jia Xu's ''Copy of Sun Tzu's Military Strategy'', Cao Cao and Wang Ling's ''Sun Tzu's Military Strategy''.

The ''Book of Sui'' documented seven books named after Sun Tzu. An annotation by Du Mu also includes Cao Cao's annotation. Li Jing's ''The Art of War'' is said to be a revision of Sun Tzu's strategies. Annotations by Cao Cao, Du Mu and Li Quan were translated into the Tangut language before 1040 AD.

After the was invented, ''The Art of War'' was published as a military text book, known as ''Seven Military Classics'' with six other strategy books. A book named ''Ten Schools of The Art of War Annotations'' was published before 1161 AD.

As a required reading military textbook since the Song Dynasty, Seven Military Classics has many annotations. More than 30 differently annotated versions of this book exist today.

Vernacular Chinese became increasingly popular in the late 1920s. Annotations in Vernacular Chinese began to appear after this time. Some of these works were translated from other languages, such as Japanese.

The two most common traditional Chinese versions of the ''Art of War'',
were the sources for early translation into English and other languages. It was not until the 1970s that these works were compiled with more recent archeological discoveries into a single more complete version in Taipei. The resulting work is known as the ''Complete Version of Sun Tzu's Art of War'' for the National Defense Research Investigation Office has been the source for more recent and complete translations.

Quotations

Verses from the book occur in modern daily Chinese idioms and phrases, such as the last verse of Chapter 3:

:故曰：知彼知己，百戰不殆；不知彼而知己，一勝一負；不知彼，不知己，每戰必殆。

:''So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will fight without danger in battles.
If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose.
If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself.''

This has been more tersely interpreted and condensed into the modern proverb:

: 知己知彼百戰不殆（知彼知己，百战不殆）

:''If you know both yourself and your enemy, you can come out of hundreds of battles without danger.''

Many people interpret this sentence as 'If you know both sides, you will win a hundred times in one hundred battles. '. This translation is incorrect. The word '殆' in Chinese means 'danger'. '百' in this sentence is better interpreted as 'numerous' rather than 'hundred'.

Furthermore, knowing both sides doesn't guarantee winning. '知己知彼百戰百勝' is untrue since in the beginning paragraph of chapter four, Sun Tzu wrote 'Hence, we can well predict who would win but there is no strategy guaranteeing winning '. The reason of the uncertainty is quite simple. How about dealing with the opponent who knows both sides better than you do?

Similar verses have also been borrowed -- in a manner construing skillfulness as victory "without fighting" -- for example:

:是故百戰百勝，非善之善者也；不戰而屈人之兵，善之善者也。

:''Therefore one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the most skillful. Seizing the enemy without fighting is the most skillful.''

And, the most famous quotation :

:兵不厭詐。

:''All warfare is based on deception.''

or, alternatively:

:''Never will those who wage war tire of deception.''

Military applications

In many East Asian countries, ''The Art of War'' was part of the syllabus for potential candidates of military service examinations. Various translations are available.

During the in Japan, a daimyo named Takeda Shingen is said to have become almost invincible in all battles without relying on guns, because he studied ''The Art of War''. The book even gave him the inspiration for his famous battle standard "Fūrinkazan" , meaning fast as the wind, silent as a forest, ferocious as fire and immovable as a mountain.

The translator Samuel B. Griffith offers a chapter on "Sun Tzu and Mao Tse-Tung" where ''The Art of War'' is cited as influencing Mao's ''On Guerilla Warfare'', ''On the Protracted War'', and ''Strategic Problems of China's Revolutionary War'' and includes Mao's quote: "We must not belittle the saying in the book of Sun Wu Tzu, the great military expert of ancient China, 'Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a thousand battles without disaster.'"

During the Vietnam War, some officers studied ''The Art of War'', and reportedly could recite entire passages from memory.

The Department of the Army in the United States, through its Command and General Staff College, has directed all units to maintain libraries within their respective headquarters for the continuing education of personnel in the art of war. ''The Art of War'' is specifically mentioned by name as an example of works to be maintained at each individual unit, and staff duty officers are obliged to prepare short papers for presentation to other officers on their readings.

''The Art of War'' is listed on the Marine Corps Professional Reading Program .

Applicability outside the military

Since at least the 1980s, ''The Art of War'' has been applied to fields well outside the military. Much of the text is about how to fight wars without actually having to do battle: it gives tips on how to outsmart one's opponent so that physical battle is not necessary. As such, it has found application as a training guide for many competitive endeavors that do not involve actual combat.

The book has gained popularity in corporate culture; there have been a variety of business books written applying its lessons to "office politics" and corporate strategy. Many Japanese companies make the book required reading for their key .. The book is also popular among Western business management, who have turned to it for inspiration and advice on how to succeed in competitive business situations.

''The Art of War'' has also been the subject of various law books and legal articles on the trial process, including negotiation tactics and trial strategy.

It has also crept its way into sport: Australian cricket coach handed out excerpts from the book to his players before a match against England in 2001, and the book is allegedly a favorite of University of South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier.

coach Luiz Felipe Scolari uses the book to plot his Soccer strategy. In the 2002 FIFA World Cup he gave each of his players copies. In the recent 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany he used the book to plan his team's win against England.

It had been reported what the Aryan Brotherhood let thier new recruits read and study ''The Art of War'' and ''The Book of Five Rings'' before they made them new members.

On the popular reality television show '''', participants were given copies as a source of strategy and advice.

It has found use in political campaigning as well; Republican election strategist Lee Atwater claimed he travelled everywhere with it.

Some have also interpreted ''The Art of War'' as providing methods for developing social strategies, such as social relationships, maintaining romantic relationships, and seduction. The book stresses subtlety and always making it appear like one is trying to achieve something other than one's actual intention.

The use of individual quotations from the book as a source of fortune cookie-like proverbs and not seeing the general coherence of the text has been criticized by many scholars of Chinese history.

The book has also gained influence among players of strategy games, including TCGs, collectible miniatures games, and real-time strategy games.

In 2008 the first fully comprehensive, professional film treatment of the Art of War was released by leading Australian documentary film maker Walt Missingham. The critically acclaimed Art of War on DVD draws on some of the world’s leading experts to analyse both the military and non military applications of the Art of War.

Depiction in media

"The Art of War" has been frequently mentioned in popular media such as film and television. Below are a ''few'' examples of this.

Theatre

*''The Art of War'', by Stephen Jeffreys, is a dramatic interpretation incorporating recitations from the text with the telling of two stories: one of a US commander in the Iraq War and the other of a group of Australian company executives. The play was specially commissioned by the Sydney Theatre Company for their resident "Actor's Company" of twelve actors. It was first performed in May 2007.

Film

*In the 1987 film '''', the main antagonist, Gordon Gekko , says: "I don't throw darts at a board. I bet on sure things. Read Sun-tzu, ''The Art of War''. Every battle is won before it is ever fought." His protegé, Bud , comes back after reading the text and says: "All warfare is based on deception. If your enemy is superior, evade him. If angry, irritate him. If equally matched, fight and if not: split and re-evaluate," to which Gekko smiles in approval.

*The 2000 Wesley Snipes film '''' was named after the book. Snipes is also seen reading the book in his 1992 movie ''Passenger 57''.

*The protagonist of the 1999 film '''', played by Forest Whitaker, makes frequent reference to the text, as well as the ''Hagakure'', upon which he bases his philosophy.

*A passage from the ''Art of War'' is recited in the James Bond film ''Die Another Day'' by Colonel Tan-Sun Moon and General Moon in the final scenes of the film. The book itself also appears during the fight between Miranda Frost and .

*The 2003 movie, ''Gigli'', quotes many of the philosophies in this book.

Television

*In the 2003 animated adaptation of the 'Teen Titans' comic book series, General Immortus quotes the text in the episode 'The Homecoming: Part 2', where he observes the Doom Patrol crossing a vast desert and calls to mind the verse "Strike when your enemy is at his weakest, when he is mired in self-doubt, and your victory will be assured." He also later remarks that Sun Tzu was "one of best students".

*The ''Art of War'' is referenced multiple times as a tool for business strategy in ''''

* The ''Art of War'' also figures prominently in the plot resolution of the 1987 ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode, "," wherein the last verse of Chapter 3 is rendered as "Know your enemy and know yourself and victory will always be yours." It is also said that ''The Art of War'' is required reading at Starfleet Academy.

*In the anime 'Grenadier - The Senshi of Smiles', and her nation hold the policy of winning by dissolving an enemy's will to fight and thus avoiding combat altogether as the ultimate battle strategy.

*In the five-part ''GI Joe'' episode, "Arise Serpentor," one of the DNA's that must be retrieved by Cobra in order to genetically construct Serpentor is that of Sun Tzu.

*In the ''Family Guy'' episode, "A Hero Sits Next Door," Stewie Griffin is reading ''The Art of War'', commenting that it is exquisite, until Lois Griffin, Stewie's mother, takes the book away.

*Tony Soprano, the lead character in The Sopranos, praises the utility of ''The Art of War'' in a number of episodes.

*On the August 29, 2008 edition of ''WWE Smackdown'', wrestler The Brian Kendrick and his bodyguard Ezekiel Jackson were seen in a promo reading ''The Art of War''. Kendrick then referenced combining various philosophies from the book's chapters and combining them into a strategy for winning the WWE Championship.

Video games

*Br?derbund Software published two games based on Sun Tzu's ''The Art of War''. The first, entitled ''The Ancient Art of War'', and the second, ''The Ancient Art of War at Sea''. They are primarily simulation games, incorporating elements of strategy, geography and adventure. They were released on a number of computer platforms including Apple II , Macintosh, and DOS. The first title was written by Ronald G. Helms.

* In Sid Meier's '''' computer game series, "Sun Tsu's Art of War" or "Military Academy" is one of the fictional "World Wonders" that can be created, giving the owner several temporary military advantages.

* A second Sid Meier simulation, ''Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri'', uses an excerpt from ''The Art of War'' as a narrative explanation of military intelligence gathering during a cutscene for the construction of a specific secret project.

* In the ''Total War'' series computer and video games, by The Creative Assembly, much of the AI in the earlier games in the series were programmed based on Sun Tzu's stratagems in ''The Art of War''. Passages from the book were also quoted on the '''' loading screens and were frequently mentioned in .

* The MMORPG ''Eternal Lands'' has a special day named after Sun Tzu, on which players receive more experience points for attack and defence.

Music

* Bone Thugs-n-Harmony released a double disc album entitled The Art of War with a guest appearance by the late Tupac Shakur
* 30 Seconds to Mars quotes lines from the book at the end of their debut self-titled CD released 2002 by Virgin Records.
* '''' is the title of the major label debut album by acclaimed industrial metal act American Head Charge produced by Rick Rubin.
*Chinese American rapper Jin quotes the book in one of his songs.
*The Swedish metal band released the album '''' in 2008, partially based upon the book. Limited edition of this album also included the book itself.

Related material

Sun Tzu is attributed with having a grandson Sun Bin who wrote another treatise on military strategy often called "The Lost Art of War" or "The Art of Warfare". Sun Bin or Sun Pin as he is sometimes called is also known as Sun Tzu II. The following are some published texts in this area:

* This book by Thomas Cleary is a translation of the sequel to Sun Tzu's classic strategic manual.

* This book by Ralph Sawyer is a translation of work written by the purported great-grandson of Sun Tzu in the 4th Century.

* ''Mastering the Art of War'' - Memoirs and notes by famous Chinese military strategists Zhuge Liang and Liu Ji. This book details Zhuge and Liu's personal opinions and comments regarding Sun Tzu's ''The Art of War''. Translated by Thomas Cleary.

Sources and translations

*
*
*
* . The translation by Giles is one of the most widely used today. Giles provided the first "good" translation of ''The Art of War'', as well as providing the first translation by a serious linguist.
* , includes the Yin-ch'ueh-shan texts
* This edition was published as a tie-in with Clavell's ; it is essentially a re-working of the Lionel Giles translation.
* This translation tries to put The Art of War in its original context as a work of military strategy. It also includes a lengthy introduction and translations of some of the "bamboo strips" recovered from the shrine.
* This translation contains two parts. The first part is a completely unadorned, raw version of the core text. The second part is that same text with Chinese commentators as well as others.
* This book is written by General Tao Hanzhang, a senior officer in the People's Liberation Army. He is a senior advisor at the Beijing Institute for International Strategic Studies.
*
* This text is not a new interpretation of same texts that other editions are based on. Mr. Huang writes a new text based on manuscripts recently discovered in Linyi, China that predates all previous texts by as much as 1000 years.
* This book is written by Samuel B. Griffith, Brigadier General , U.S. Marine Corps., with a foreword by . "Wu Ch'i's Art of War" in six chapters is appended.
* This book written by Donald Krause is interpreted for today's business reader.
* This book by Ralph Sawyer is a culmination on various Chinese strategic texts.
* Aimed mainly at the martial artist, Kaufman's rendition of Sun Tzu's work was written from the perspective of a '''' .
*
* Winner of a 2003 Independent Publishers Book Award for Multicultural Nonfiction.
*
* Sun Tzu translated by Paul Brennan . ''The Art of War for Martial Artists''. Odos Books. 2007. ISBN 978-1-60402-416-6
*Sun Tzu translated by Victor H. Mair . ''The Art of War: Sun Zi's Military Methods''. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-13382-1

Ten Precepts (Taoism)

2008-09-11T07:26:00.007-07:00

''Wang Liping'', , Wayfarer of Wang Yongsheng，born in 1949. Master Wang Liping is eighteenth-generation Transmitter of the Dragon Gate Taoism龙门派 branch of Complete Reality Taoism.

Introduction

Master Wang Liping was trained by 3 Taoism hermits, named Zhang Hedao--Dragon Gate Taoism 16th Transmitter, Wang Jiao Ming and Jia Jiaoyi --Dragon Gate Taoism 17th transmitters, who lived in Mount Lao of Shandong Province. Master Wang Liping currently lives in Mainland China. Recent years, he has been known as Modern Taoist . The Chinese versionamed , which describes the process of his training. By using contemporary languages, Master Wang teaches people parts of which is a book about Internal alchemy arts written by Zhongli Quan in Han Dynasty. The art of Master Wang's teaching were called "Internal alchemy of Ling Bao Intelligence Enlightenment". Another book named was published in mainland China. In this book, the Master Wang's 20 years teaching philosophy and practices were recorded.

Public Media Report

Chinese Media Report

Reported by reference 1, China pre-president Jiang Zemin had recommended Master Wang Liping to Russian pre-president Boris Yeltsin for disease treatment. Master Wang Liping taught Taoists and Taoism practitioners Internal alchemy at Lou Guan Temple in 1998 . In 2007, Master Wang Liping taught Taoists and Taoism practitioners Internal alchemy at Yu Chan Temple of Hainan province. In 2007, 8 European were trained by Master Wang Liping for Internal alchemy practicing based on , the report was published in 《contemporary Academic Research 》.

Western Media Report

In 2007, David Verdesi or David Shen and his students trained with Master Wang Liping . It turned out that this group were the first group of western students to study close-door teachings with Wang Liping, a man whose achievements are beyond human imagination; a teacher that Daoist monks and officials wait years to meet let alone train with .

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