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Title: Poetry and Thought in Early China


1
Poetry and Thought in Early China
  • Ca 1000 600 BC

2
A Chapter Overview
  • Chinese civilization first developed in the
    Yellow River basin.
  • The Classic of Poetry, also called The Book of
    Songs, is a lyric poetry collection that stands
    at the beginning of the Chinese literary
    tradition.
  • Greatly valued by Confucius who supposedly edited
    the first copy from an earlier work. Doubtful
    but he certainly valued The Book of Songs and
    refers to them often in his own writing.

3
  • The fusion of ethical thought and idealized Chou
    traditions associated with Confucius were
    recorded in The Analects by Confucius's disciples
    following his death.
  • The Chuang Tzu offers philosophical meditations
    in a multitude of forms, ranging from jokes and
    parables to intricate philosophical arguments.
  • During the period of the Warring States, Ssu-ma
    Ch'ien produced the popular Historical Records
    chronicling the lives of ruling families and
    dynasties in a comprehensive history of China up
    to the time of Emperor Wu's reign.
  • The end of ancient China is often linked with
    the rise of the draconian ruler
    Ch'in Shih-huang. (first
    emperor of China)

4
Pangu
The Mythic Beginning
??
  • The first living being and the creator of all in
    Chinese mythology.
  • In the beginning there was nothing in the
    universe except a formless chaos. However this
    chaos coalesced into a cosmic egg for about
    18,000 years. Within it, the perfectly opposed
    principles of Yin and Yang became balanced and
    Pangu emerged (or woke up) from the egg.

This myth is featured in the film liked to in
Moodle Ancient China
5
  • Pangu set about the task of creating the world
    he separated Yin from Yang with a swing of his
    giant axe, creating the Earth (murky Yin) and the
    Sky (clear Yang).
  • To keep them separated, Pangu stood between them
    and pushed up the Sky. This task took 18,000
    years with each day the sky grew ten feet (3
    meters) higher, the Earth ten feet wider, and
    Pangu ten feet taller.
  • In some versions of the story, Pangu is aided in
    this task by the four most prominent beasts,
    namely the Turtle, the Qilin, the Phoenix,
    and the Dragon.

The Ying Yan idea is spoken about by Huston Smith
in the Moodle linked film Confucianism
6
  • After the 18,000 years, Pangu dies.
  • His breath became the wind his voice the
    thunder left eye the sun and right eye the moon
  • His body became the mountains and extremes of the
    world his blood formed rivers his muscles the
    fertile lands his facial hair the stars and
    milky way his fur the bushes and forests his
    bones the valuable minerals his bone marrows
    sacred diamonds

7
  • His sweat fell as rain and the fleas on his fur
    carried by the wind became the fish and animals
    throughout the land.
  • Nüwa the Goddess then used the mud of the water
    bed to form the shape of humans.

8
Chines History Begins at The Yellow River, or
Huanghe
Timeline Chinese http//www-chaos.umd.edu/history
/time_line.html
9
The Layout of History
Note The "Common Era" (CE/BCE) notation has been
adopted by numerous authors and publishers
wishing to be "neutral" or "sensitive to
non-Christians
Image Drawn from the Web Site http//myweb.uiowa.
edu/cfillebr/prereading.html
10
Xia Dynasty . Before1600 BC ?
  • Almost mythicalthe great flood was supposed to
    have occurred then, and brought under control by
    Yu the Great.
  • Early Chinese history is a tale told and retold
    for generations, during which new elements were
    added to the front end ("Rethinking Erlitou
    legend, history and Chinese archaeology")

11
  • The implied dualism between the Shang and Xia
    which is brought up later, is that while the
    Shang represent fire or the sun, birds and the
    east, the Xia represent the west and water.
  • The development of this mythical Xia, Allan
    argues, is a necessary act on the part of the
    Zhou Dynasty, who justify their conquest of the
    Shang by noting that the Shang had supplanted the
    Xia. (The Shape of the Turtle Myth, Art and
    Cosmos in Early China)

12
  • Shang Dynasty (1600 BC)

http//www.uic.edu/educ/bctpi/whittier/curriculum/
china/
13
Chinese Civilization First Developed in the
Yellow River Basin
  • The first dynasty, the Shang, was a loose
    confederation of city-states ruled by princes
    with a common ancestry.
  • Chinese writing based on characters developed
    during the Shang era.

http//www.artsmia.org/art-of-asia/history/dynasty
-shang.cfm
14
Shang Writing
  • Other than bronze making, the most significant
    achievement of the Shang period was the extensive
    practice of writing.
  • From the Oracle Bones, people had the chance to
    study and determine the earliest and most
    complete evidence of writing in China.

lthttp//www.library.utoronto.ca/east/students02/ho
i_wan_lai/writing.htmgt
15
  • From the unearthed evidence, 150,000 inscriptions
    have been discovered 5,000 ancient Chinese
    characters were found and published
  • and 3,000 of those ancient words were
    successfully translated into modern Chinese
    characters.
  • Actually, writing was not only found on Oracle
    Bones but on some other materials as well,
    including wood, bamboo, and silk.
  • However, all of these materials were perishable.

16
  • The writings found on the Shang Oracles was
    highly developed and sophisticated in form.
  • Scholars found that the inscriptions on the
    Oracle Bones contained many pictographs
    (characters created based on real objects),
    proving that the Chinese writing structure and
    technique had been well developed before the
    Shang period.
  • Scholars realized that the stage of writing in
    Shang had been stylized and that the characters
    were geometric lines and shapes.

17
  • The characters were written from top to bottom,
    and from left to right.
  • Therefore, as the form of writing was
    sophisticated, the creation of words must have
    occurred at least a few hundred years before
    Shang and may even have been created during the
    Hsia Dynasty.
  • Certainly, our modern Chinese language developed
    from ancient language. We can see that some of
    the ancient characters are still in use today,
    just slightly different in shape.

18
The Chau (Zhao) Dynasty
http//www.artsmia.org/art-of-asia/history/dynasty
-chou.cfm
19
A Change the Chou (Zhou)
  • By the end of the second millennium B.C., the
    Chou (Zhou) people migrated from the west and
    conquered the Shang.
  • Tracing their origins from Hou-Chi (Lord Millet),
    the Chou put forth the argument that the last
    rulers of the Shang had been guilty of misrule
    and had caused hardship to the people, which led
    Heaven to transfer power to the Chou.
  • Over the centuries, the idea of heaven changed
    sometimes it was an anthropomorphic deity, a
    natural and moral force, or a collection of
    ancestral spirits.

20
  • Because those in power were expected to rule
    virtuously, rulers typically adhered to the
    statutes and models put in place by former kings.
  • These ideas were recorded in three important
    texts The Book of Documents, a collection of
    statements and proclamations from the early Chou
    period the Classic of Poetry and the Book of
    Changes.

21
The Spring and Autumn Period (Chinese ????
pinyin Chunqiu Shídài)
  • This was a period in Chinese history, which
    roughly corresponds to the first half of the
    Eastern Zhou dynasty (from the second half of the
    8th century BC to the first half of the 5th
    century BC).
  • Its name comes from the Spring and Autumn Annals,
    a chronicle of the state of Lu between 722 BC and
    481 BC, which tradition associates with Confucius.

22
  • During this time, China was ruled by a feudal
    system.
  • The Zhou dynasty kings held nominal power, but
    only directly ruled over a small Royal Domain,
    centered around their capital (modern-day
    Luoyang).
  • They granted fiefdoms over the rest of China to
    several hundreds of hereditary nobles (Zhuhou
    ??).
  • As the era unfolded, larger more powerful states
    annexed or claimed suzerainty over smaller ones.
    By the 6th century BC, most small states had
    disappeared

23
Warring States Period
  • This covers the period from some time in the 5th
    century BCE to the unification of China by the
    Qin Dynasty in 221 BCE.
  • It is nominally considered to be the second part
    of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, following the Spring
    and Autumn Period, although the Zhou dynasty
    itself ended in 256 BCE, 35 years earlier than
    the end of the Warring States period.

24
  • As with the Spring and Autumn Period, the king of
    Zhou acted merely as a figurehead.
  • The name Warring States Period was derived from
    the Record of the Warring States, a work
    historically compiled early in the Han Dynasty.
    The date for the beginning of the Warring States
    Period is somewhat in dispute. While it is
    frequently cited as 475 BCE (following the Spring
    and Autumn Period), 403 BCE the date of the
    tripartition of the Jin is also sometimes
    considered as the beginning of the period.

Tripartition A division by threes, or into
three parts the taking of a third part of any
number or quantity
25
  • The Warring States Period, in contrast to the
    Spring and Autumn Period, was a period when
    regional warlords annexed smaller states around
    them and consolidated their rule.
  • The process began in the Spring and Autumn
    Period, and by the 3rd century BC, seven major
    states had risen to prominence.

26
The Classic of Poetry is a lyric poetry
collection that stands at the beginning of the
Chinese literary tradition.
  • Although it circulated among the Chou (Zhow)
    aristocracy, it is a heterogeneous text that
    includes many types of songs, ranging from hymns,
    temple songs, and hunting songs to love and
    marriage songs.
  • Serving as a the basic educational text of upper
    class Chou, it eventually became part of the
    canon of Confucian classics, along with the Book
    of Changes and the Book of Documents.

27
By the Poems you can stir people and you can
observe things through them you can express your
resentment in them and you can show sociable
feelings. Clot to home you can use them to serve
your father, and on a large scale you can use
them to serve your ruler. Moreover, you can
learn to recognize many names of birds, beasts,
plants, and trees.Confucius speaking about
Classics of Poetry
28
Aspects of the Classics of Poetry
  • In poetry people within the early Chinese could
    say things which were forbidden in other parts of
    their structured culture.
  • Often were used as a means of diplomacy.
  • The Feng ("wind" but also "mores," "folkways,"
    or "customs" ) often involves the communication
    across lines of authority.

29
  • Usually, the Chinese poem is fairly simple on the
    surface.
  • Western culture, which was influenced by
    Shakespeare, Milton, and the Romantic poets, had
    a pronounced tendency to think of poems as
    ornate, elaborate creations made by a few men of
    genius.
  • Chinese culture, influenced by the anonymity of
    the Shih Ching, had a tendency to think of poems
    as something written by common humanity for the
    eyes of other humans. .

30
  • Usually the poem deals with either agrarian
    imagery, courtship and marriage, or dynastic
    concerns.
  • The Zhou (or Chou) dynasty was agrarian in its
    roots, and for its people, "their sense of beauty
    and order is closely related to the cycles and
    abundance of the agricultural year," as Stephen
    Owen suggests (xx).
  • Likewise, the poems often revolve around the
    sorrows and joys of romance, or dealt with the
    heroic and legendary exploits of rulers and
    kings.
  • Other poems, which probably originated in
    folk-songs, deal with the everyday trials and
    tribulations of love, life, and the family

31
  • Each poem is usually composed of lines of four
    syllables,
  • Usually they will with rhymed endings in the
    original Chinese.
  • Often these four syllables appear as four
    pictograms.
  • The normal form of the courtship and marriage
    songs is three verses of four lines each.
  • Only a single non-fragmentary poem consists of a
    single quatrain, the form that later became
    popular in modern Chinese poetry.

32
  • The poetic principle organizing the poem is often
    one of contrast
  • Often Chinese poetry will juxtapose a natural
    scene with a social or personal situation. The
    reader of the poem sees the similarity in the
    natural description and the human condition, and
    comes to a new awareness of each by this
    contrast.
  • In Chinese, this idea is embodied in the terms
    fu, bi, and xing (pronounced "shing"). Fu refers
    to a straightforward narrative with a beginning,
    middle, and conclusion, that stands by itself.
  • Bi, literally "against," implies a comparison or
    contrast, placing two things side by side.

33
  • When one takes two different fu, and places them
    together, the two create a bi.
  • This results in xing, a mental stimulation or
    "lightning" that pervades the mind of the reader,
    bringing new insight or awareness into the nature
    of the individual fu that compose the poem.
    Confucius stated that this xing is the purpose of
    poetry, that the point of a poem was to make the
    mind contemplate its subject deeply.

34
II. YA
  • The second section of the Book of Songs, known as
    the ya or "Courtly Songs,"
  • It consists of 105 poems. Ya translates as
    "elegant" or "refined," the word here seeming to
    indicate that most of the songs are by courtiers
    or members of the aristocracy, not the common
    folk.
  • The ya are further subdivided into seventy-four
    hsiao ya ("Lesser Courtly Songs") and thirty-one
    ta ya ("Greater Courtly Songs"), probably
    distinguished on the basis of differing musical
    accompaniments, now lost.

35
  • The Lesser Courtly Songs
  • concern the aristocratic life centering around
    the Chou court.
  • Even these latter poems, while seeming to focus
    on romantic love, have traditionally been viewed
    as allegories--political satires disguised as
    folksongs.
  • And, indeed, there are many bitter reflections on
    war, as well as outright complaints about
    misgovernment, lying officials, administrators
    living luxuriously, and other political scams.
  • The poems in this section also contain many
    references to specific historical persons and
    events--are topical, in other words a few,
    likewise, include some kind of identification of
    the poet in the last line, especially the
    political complaints.

36
  • The Greater Courtly Songs
  • They manifest, however, a difference in tone and
    superior literary artistry.
  • More reverent, ornate, and formal, a number of
    these poems celebrate the myths and legends of
    the Chou dynasty.
  • Many poems exhibit considerable length, yet are
    marked by more variety and consistency in their
    rhyme schemes, tighter transitions between
    stanzas, and sustained thematic development. The
    most common themes are good wishes,
    congratulations, eulogies, offerings to gods and
    ancestors, and dining and drinking.
  • But there are also poems of "change"--sharp,
    passionate outcries against rulers whose indecent
    behavior brings grief to their subjects and
    threatens their kingdoms with ruin.

37
III. SUNG
  • The sung section can also be read as "Hymns."
  • These forty sacrficial and temple songs are
    subdivided into three parts on the basis of
    geographical origin--thirty-one attributed to the
    Chou court, four to the court of the Duchy of Lu,
    and five hymns attributed to the Shang dynasty,
    which preceded Chou.
  • These songs seem to have been sung to the
    accompaniment of music and group dancing when the
    King or lord worshipped his ancestors and
    commemorated their heroic deeds.

38
  • The poems in this section are hymns of praise,
    ritual pieces describing sacrifices, feasts,
    musical performances, or celebrations of the
    dynasty's glory and its military victories.
  • The mood of the poems is celebratory
    throughout--no complaints about misrule,
    disorder, or personal hardships. As a result,
    most critics regard these poems as Chou
    propaganda pieces. The poems in this section are
    believed to be the earliest in the Book of Songs,
    some composed as early as 1700 B. C. (Shang
    dynasty) and many by no later than 700 B. C.
  • This antiquity accounts for the stylistic
    awkwardness displayed in a number of the songs.
    Of the poems in our text, number 157 provides an
    example of the sung.

39
Qin Dynasty
40
  • By 770 B.C., the Chou dynasty (the Zhou) had lost
    much of its power, and the bordering new
    kingdomsthe Ch'u, Wu and Yehgrew stronger.
  • Culturally, they absorbed many of the Chou ways.
    The Lu province also saw itself as the preserver
    of Chou traditions. (It was also the home of
    Confucius.)
  • There is a fusion of ethical thought and
    idealized Chou traditions associated with
    Confucius were recorded in the Analects by
    Confucius's disciples following his death.
  • Many of the philosophers that followed Confucius
    were influential, but Confucianism's emphasis on
    the connection between idealized history and
    social history proved to be stronger.

41
  • With new technological advances, the nature of
    warfare changed, resulting in increasingly
    destructive wars between domains. In the period
    known as the Spring and Autumn Annals, regions
    were ruled by aristocratic families with
    officials chosen from lesser clans.
  • Because the domains were gradually evolving into
    centralized states during a period of upheaval,
    this era is known as the Warring States.
  • In addition to the massive political upheaval,
    there was also significant intellectual upheaval.
  • Schools of thought concerned with the individual
    rather than the polity began to emerge.
    Independent thinkers such as Chuang Chou without
    patronage or school were also important.

42
Chinese Philosophy
  • Philosophy has had a tremendous effect on Chinese
    civilization, and East Asia as a whole.
  • Many of the great philosophical schools were
    formulated during the Spring and Autumn Period
    and Warring States Period, and came to be known
    as the Hundred Schools of Thought.
  • The four most influential of these were
  • Confucianism,
  • Taoism,
  • Mohism, and
  • Legalism.
  • Later on, during the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism from
    India also became a prominent philosophical and
    religious discipline.

43
  • Eastern thought, unlike Western philosophy, did
    not express a clear distinction between
    philosophy and religion.
  • Like Western philosophy, Chinese philosophy
    covers a broad and complex range of thought,
    possessing a multitude of schools that address
    every branch and subject area of philosophy.
  • In China, the Tao Te Ching (Dào dé jing, in
    pinyin romanisation) of Lao Tzu (Lao zi) 10 and
    the Analects of Confucius (Kong fu zi sometimes
    called Master Kong) both appeared around 600 BC,
    about the time that the Greek pre-Socratics were
    writing.

44
Confucius
A man who only learns the truth at the last
moment of his life has not wasted his
opportunities.
551 479 BC
  • ???, transliterated Kong Fuzi or K'ung-fu-tzu,
    lit. "Master Kong," but most frequently referred
    to simply as Kongzi ??,
  • The most famous thinker and social philosopher of
    China, whose teachings have deeply influenced
    East Asia for centuries.
  • Living in China between 722 BC and 481 (a time
    when feudal states fought against each other), he
    was convinced of his ability to restore the
    world's order, but in the end failed.

45
  • After much traveling around China to promote his
    ideas among rulers, he eventually became involved
    in teaching disciples.
  • His philosophy emphasized personal and
    governmental morality, correctness of social
    relationships, and justice and sincerity.
  • These values gained prominence in China after
    being chosen among other doctrines such as
    Legalism or Taoism during the Han dynasty.
  • Used since then as the imperial orthodoxy,
    Confucius' thoughts have been developed into a
    vast and complete philosophical system known in
    the west as Confucianism.
  • They were introduced to Europe by the Jesuit
    Matteo Ricci, the first to Latinise the name as
    "Confucius".

46
  • Of all the Chinese philosophies it is quite safe
    to say Confucianism has had the greatest impact
    throughout East Asia.
  • His philosophy focused in the fields of ethics
    and politics, emphasizing personal and
    governmental morality, correctness of social
    relationships, justice, traditionalism, and
    sincerity.
  • Confucianism, along with Legalism, is responsible
    for creating the worlds first meritocracy, which
    holds that one's status should be determined by
    ability instead of ancestry, wealth, or
    friendships. It is arguable that Confucianism is
    most responsible for shaping the Chinese culture
    and state of China.

???
47
Legalism
  • In Chinese history, Legalism (Chinese ??
    Pinyin Fajia Wade-Giles Fa-chia literally
    "School of law") was one of the four main
    philosophic schools in the Spring and Autumn
    Period and the Warring States Period (Near the
    end of the Zhou dynasty from about the sixth
    century B.C. to about the third century B.C.).
  • It is actually rather a pragmatic political
    philosophy, with maxims like "when the epoch
    changed, legalism is the act of following all
    laws ," and its essential principle is one of
    jurisprudence.
  • "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.

48
Mohism
  • 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 analogical reasoning 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.
  • It disappeared during the Qin dynasty. Mozi's
    philosophy was described in the book Mozi,
    compiled by his students from lecture notes.

49
  • 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.

Mo Tzu (Master Mo), Latinized as Micius), 470
BCEc.391 BCE
  • The moral guide must then promote and encourage
    social behaviors that maximize general utility.
    He also believed in the 2nd law and was in
    conflict with the ancients.

50
  • Mohism promotes a philosophy of universal love,
    i.e. an equal affection for all individuals.
  • This universal love is what makes man good. This
    advocacy of universal love was a target of attack
    by other schools, most notably the Confucians who
    believed, for example, that children should hold
    a greater love for their parents than for random
    strangers. He also had much conflicts with
    Confucian ideas.

51
Lao Tzu Father of Taoism
  • Although ascetics and hermits such as Shen Tao
    (who advocated that one 'abandon knowledge and
    discard self') first wrote of the 'Tao' it is
    with the sixth century B.C. philosopher Lao Tzu
    (or 'Old Sage' -- born Li Erh) that the
    philosophy of Taoism really began.
  • Some scholars believe he was a slightly older
    contemporary of Confucius.
  • Other scholars feel that the Tao Te Ching, is
    really a compilation of paradoxical poems written
    by several Taoists using the pen-name, Lao Tzu.
    There is also a close association between Lao Tzu
    and the legendary Yellow Emperor, Huang-ti.

52
  • The five colours blind the eye.The five
    tones deafen the ear.The five flavours dull the
    taste.Racing and hunting madden the
    mind.Precious things lead one astray.Therefore
    the sage is guided by what he feels and not by
    what he sees.He lets go of that and chooses
    this.
  • In Lao Tzu's view things were said to create
    "unnatural" action (wei) by shaping desires (yu).

53
  • The process of learning the names (ming) used in
    the doctrines helped one to make distinctions
    between good and evil, beautiful and ugly, high
    and low, and "being" (yu) and "non- being" (wu),
    thereby shaping desires. To abandon knowledge was
    to abandon names, distinctions, tastes and
    desires. Thus spontaneous behavior (wu-wei)
    resulted.
  • Lao-tzu is venerated as a philosopher by
    Confucianists and as a saint or god by some of
    the common people and was worshiped as an
    imperial ancestor during the T'ang dynasty
    (618907).

54
Taoism (also called of Daoism)
  • Taoism is an indigenous religio-philosophical
    tradition that has shaped Chinese life for more
    than 2,000 years.
  • In the broadest sense, a Taoist attitude toward
    life can be seen in the accepting and yielding,
    the joyful and carefree sides of the Chinese
    character, an attitude that offsets and
    complements the moral and duty-conscious, austere
    and purposeful character ascribed to
    Confucianism.

55
  • Taoism is also characterized by a positive,
    active attitude toward the occult and the
    metaphysical (theories on the nature of reality),
    whereas the agnostic, pragmatic Confucian
    tradition considers these issues of only marginal
    importance, although the reality of such issues
    is, by most Confucians, not denied.
  • More strictly defined, Taoism includes the ideas
    and attitudes peculiar to the Lao-tzu (or Tao-te
    Ching Classic of the Way of Power), the
    Chuang-tzu, the Lieh-tzu, and related writings
    the Taoist religion, which is concerned with the
    ritual worship of the Tao and those who identify
    themselves as Taoists.

56
  • The Taoist philosophy can perhaps best be summed
    up in a quote from Chuang Tzu
  • "To regard the fundamental as the essence, to
    regard things as coarse, to regard accumulation
    as deficiency, and to dwell quietly alone with
    the spiritual and the intelligent -- herein lie
    the techniques of Tao of the ancients."

57
  • Whatever the truth, Taoism and Confucianism have
    to be seen side-by-side as two distinct responses
    to the social, political and philosophical
    conditions of life two and a half millennia ago
    in China. Whereas Confucianism is greatly
    concerned with social relations, conduct and
    human society, Taoism has a much more
    individualistic and mystical character, greatly
    influenced by nature.
  • Contemplating the remarkable natural world Lao
    Tzu felt that it was man and his activities which
    constituted a blight on the otherwise perfect
    order of things. Thus he counseled people to turn
    away from the folly of human pursuits and to
    return to one's natural wellspring.

58
The Chuang Tzu (Chung Chou) offers philosophical
meditations in a multitude of forms, ranging from
jokes and parables to intricate philosophical
arguments.
  • Along with the Lao Tzu, it is considered one of
    the foundational texts of philosophical Taoism
    and explores how Tao (way) represents the natural
    course of things.
  • Confucians define it in a moral sense as it
    operates within society in the Chuang Tzu, the
    way is often immoral.

59
  • Pseudo-historical knowledge of the sage
    Chuang-tzu (Zhuangzi) is even less well defined
    than that of Lao-tzu.
  • Most of Ssu-ma Ch'ien's brief portrait of the
    man is transparently drawn from anecdotes in the
    Chuang-tzu (Chung Chou) itself and as such has no
    necessary basis in fact.
  • The Chuang-tzu, (Zhuangzi) however, is valuable
    as a monument of Chinese literature and because
    it contains considerable documentary material,
    describing numerous speculative trends and
    spiritual practices of the Warring States period
    (475221 BC).

60
  • Whereas the Tao-te Ching is addressed to the
    sage-king, the Chuang-tzu is the earliest
    surviving Chinese text to present a philosophy
    for private life, a wisdom for the individual.
  • Chuang-tzu is said to have preferred the doctrine
    of Lao-tzu over all others many of his writings
    strike the reader as metaphorical illustrations
    of the terse sayings of the Old Master.
  • Whereas Lao-tzu in his book as well as in his
    life (in legend) was concerned with Taoist rule,
    Chuang-tzu, some generations later, rejected all
    participation in society.
  • He compared the servant of state to the well-fed
    decorated ox being led to sacrifice in the temple
    and himself to the untended piglet blissfully
    frolicking in the mire.

61
Ssu-ma Ch'ien145 BC-185 BC
Also spelled Sima Qian
  • Astronomer,
  • Calendar expert,
  • The first great Chinese historian,
  • Noted for his authorship of the Shih-chi
    (Historical Records) also spelled Shiji.
  • Considered to be the most important history of
    China down to the end of the 2nd century.

62
  • Sima Qian was born and grew up in Longmen, near
    present-day Hancheng, Shaanxi. He was raised in a
    family of historiographers. His father, Sima Tan
    (???), served as the Prefect of the Grand Scribes
    of Emperor Wu of Han (Emperor "Han Wudi"). His
    main responsibilities were managing the imperial
    library and calendar. Under the influence of his
    father, at the age of ten, Sima Qian was already
    well versed in old writings. He was the student
    of the famous Confucians Kong Anguo (???) and
    Dong Zhongshu (???).
  • At the age of twenty, with the support of his
    father, Sima Qian started a journey throughout
    the country, collecting useful first-hand
    historical records for his main work, Shiji. The
    purpose of his journey was to verify the ancient
    rumors and legends and to visit ancient
    monuments, including the renowned graves of the
    ancient sage kings Yu and Shun. Places he had
    visited include Shandong, Yunnan, Hebei,
    Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Hunan.

63
  • After his travels, he was chosen to be the Palace
    Attendant in the government whose duties were to
    inspect different parts of the country with
    Emperor Han Wudi. In 110 BC, at the age of
    thirty-five, Sima Qian was sent westward on a
    military expedition against some "barbarian"
    tribes. That year, his father fell ill and could
    not attend the Imperial Feng Sacrifice.
    Suspecting his time was running out, he summoned
    his son back to complete the historical work he
    had begun.
  • Sima Tan wanted to follow the Annals of Spring
    and Autumn (?????) - the first chronicle in the
    history of Chinese literature. Fuelled by his
    father's inspiration, Sima Qian started to
    compile Shiji in 109 BC. In 105 BC, Sima was
    among the scholars chosen to reform the calendar.
    As a senior imperial official, Sima was also in
    the position to offer counsel to the emperor on
    general affairs of state.

64
  • In 99 BC, Sima Qian got involved in the Li Ling
    Affair Li Ling (??) and Li Guangli (???), two
    military officers who lead a campaign against the
    Xiongnu (??) in the north, were defeated and
    taken captive. Emperor Han Wudi attributed the
    defeat to Li Ling, and all the officials in the
    government condemned Li Ling for the defeat. Sima
    was the only person to defend Li Ling, who had
    never been his friend but who he respected.

Emperor Han Wudi interpreted Simas defence of Li
Ling as an attack on his brother-in-law, who had
also fought against the Xiongnu without much
success, and sentenced Sima to death. At that
time, execution could be commuted either by money
or castration.
65
  • Since Sima did not have enough money to atone his
    "crime", he chose the latter and was then thrown
    into prison, where he endured three years. He
    described his pain thus "When you see the jailer
    you abjectly touch the ground with your forehead.
    At the mere sight of his underlings you are
    seized with terror... Such ignominy can never be
    wiped away."
  • In 96 BC, on his release from prison, Sima chose
    to live on as a palace eunuch so to complete his
    histories, rather than commit suicide as was
    expected of a gentleman-scholar. As Sima Qian's
    words explained
  • The losses he Li Ling had formerly inflicted
    on the enemy were such that his renown filled the
    Empire! After his disgrace, I was ordered to give
    my opinion. I extolled his merits, hoping the
    Emperor would take a wider view, but ...in the
    end it was decided I was guilty of trying to
    mislead the Emperor...I had not the funds to pay
    a fine in lieu of my punishment, and my
    colleagues and associates spoke not a word in my
    behalf.

66
  • Had I chosen suicide, no one would have credited
    me with dying for a principle. Rather, they would
    have thought the severity of my offense allowed
    no other way out. It was my obligation to my
    father to finish his historical work which made
    me submit to the knife...If I had done otherwise
    , how could I have ever had the face to visit the
    graves of my parents?
  • ...There is no defilement so great as castration.
    One who has undergone this punishment is nowhere
    counted as a man. This is not just a modern
    attitude it has always been so. Even an ordinary
    fellow is offended when he has to do business
    with a eunuch -- how much more so, then, a
    gentleman! Would it not be an insult to the court
    and my former colleagues if now I, a menial who
    sweeps floors, a mutilated wretch, should raise
    my head and stretch my eyebrows to argue right
    and wrong?
  • I am fit now for only guarding the palace
    women's apartments. I can hope for justification
    only after my death, when my histories become
    known to the world."1

67
As an Historian
  • Although the style and form of Chinese historical
    writings varied through the ages, Shiji has
    defined the quality and style from then onwards.
  • Before Sima, histories were written as dynastic
    history his idea of a general history affected
    later historiographers like Zhengqiao (??) in
    writing Tongshi (??) and Sima Guang (???) in
    writing Zizhi Tongjian (????).
  • The Chinese historical form was codified in the
    second dynastic history by Ban Gus (??) History
    of Han (?), but historians regard Simas work as
    their model, which stands as the "official
    format" of the history of China.

68
  • In writing Shiji, Sima initiated a new writing
    style by presenting history in a series of
    biographies. His work extends over 130 chapters
    not in historical sequence, but was divided into
    particular subjects, including annals,
    chronicles, treatises on music, ceremonies,
    calendars, religion, economics, and extended
    biographies. Sima's influence on the writing
    style of histories in other places is also
    evident in, for example The History of Korea

69
As a Literary Figure
  • Sima's Shiji is respected as a model of
    biographical literature with high literary value,
    and still stands as a "textbook" for the study of
    classical Chinese worldwide.
  • Simas writings were influential to Chinese
    writing, and become a role model for various
    types of prose within the neo-classical
    ("renaissance" ??) movement of the Tang-Song (??)
    period. The great use of characterization and
    plotting also influenced fictional writing,
    including the classical short stories of the
    middle and late medieval period (Tang-Ming), as
    well as the vernacular novel of the late imperial
    period.
  • The influence is derived from the following key
    elements of his writing

70
  • Skillful depiction Sima portrayed many
    distinguished subjects based on true historical
    information. He would illustrated the response of
    the subject by placing him in a sharp contrast or
    juxtaposition, and then letting his words and
    deeds speak for him. The use of conversations in
    his writing also makes the descriptions more
    vibrant and realistic.
  • Innovative approach Sima's new approach in
    writing involved using language which was
    informal, humorous and full of variations. This
    was an innovative way of writing at that time and
    thus it has always been esteemed as the highest
    achievement of classical Chinese writing even Lu
    Xun (??) regarded Shiji as "the first and last
    great work by historians, poems of Qu Yuan
    without rhyme." (?????,?????) in his Hanwenxueshi
    Gangyao (??????).
  • Concise language The style was simple, concise,
    fluent, and easy-to-read. Sima made his own
    comments while recounting the historical events.
    In writing the biographies in Shiji, he avoided
    making general descriptions, and instead tried to
    catch the essence of the events. He would portray
    the subjects concretely, giving the readers vivid
    images with strong artistic appeal.

71
Conclusion
  • Throughout history, Chinese philosophy has been
    molded to fit the prevailing school of thought in
    China. The Chinese schools of philosophy, except
    during the Qin Dynasty, have been relatively
    tolerant of one another.
  • Instead of competing, they generally have
    cooperated and shared ideas, which they would
    usually incorporate with their own. For example,
    Neo-Confucianism was a revived version of old
    Confucian principles that appeared around the
    Song Dynasty, with Buddhist, Taoist, and Legalist
    features.
  • philosophy has spread around the world in forms
    such as the so-called New Confucianism and New
    Age ideas such as Chinese traditional medicine.
  • Many in the academic community of the West,
    however, remain skeptical, and only a few
    assimilate Chinese philosophy into their own
    research, whether scientific or philosophical.

72
Matteo Ricci a footnote
  • Born in 1552 in Macerata, then part of the Papal
    States, Ricci started learning theology and law
    in a Roman Jesuits' school. In 1577,
  • He filed an application to be a member of a
    Missionary to India, and his journey began in
    March 1578 from Lisbon, Portugal, arrived in Goa,
    a Portuguese Colony, in September 1578, and four
    years later hwas dispatched to China.
  • In 1582, he started learning the Chinese language
    and customs in Macao, a Portuguese trading post
    in Southern China, and became a rarely seen
    Western scholar who mastered Chinese classical
    script. He moved to Beijing in 1601, where he
    presented himself at the Imperial court of Wanli.
  • Not only could he write in ancient Chinese, he
    was also renowned for his great understanding of
    Chinese culture.
  • He later discovered that Confucian thought was
    dominant in the Ming dynasty in China. Ricci
    became the first to translate the Confucian
    classics into a western language, Latin in fact
    "Confucius" was Ricci's own Latinisation.

Matteo Ricci (left) and Xu Guangqi(???) (right)
in the Chinese edition of Euclid's Elements
(????).
73
Sites Cited
  • Norton Anthology Resource http//www.wwnorton.com/
    nawol/s3_overview.htm
  • Clothing of China http//www.library.utoronto.ca/e
    ast/students03/tai_amy/ancient.htm
  • The Art of China http//www.artsmia.org/art-of-asi
    a/history/dynasty-chou.cfm
  • Chinas Ancient Dynasties and Geography
    http//www.uic.edu/educ/bctpi/whittier/curriculum/
    china/
  • About the Yellow River http//www.cis.umassd.edu/
    gleung/geofo/geogren.html

74
Sites Consulted
  • Confucius K'ung-fu-tzu or Kongfuzi
    http//www.friesian.com/confuci.htm
  • Multi-Lingual Web Site of Confusions Publishing
    http//www.confucius.org/maine.htm
  • Quotations by Author Confusions
    http//www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Confucius/
  • Taoism Information Page http//www.clas.ufl.edu/us
    ers/gthursby/taoism/cz-text2.htm
  • Lao Tzu Father of Taoism http//www.chebucto.ns.c
    a/Philosophy/Taichi/lao.html

75
  • "Taoism The interpretation of Chuang-tzu
    Encyclopædia Britannica. 2005. Encyclopædia
    Britannica Online. 1 Nov. 2005 lthttp//search.eb.c
    om/eb/article-59714gt.
  • Wheeler, L.Kip, Chinese Poetry Dr. Wheelers
    Home Page. http//web.cn.edu/kwheeler/chinese_poet
    ry.html 27 Oct. 2005.
  • "Taoism." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2005.
    Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 1 Nov. 2005 lthttp
    //search.eb.com/eb/article-9105866gt.
  • "Lao-tzu." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2005.
    Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 1 Nov. 2005 lthttp
    //search.eb.com/eb/article-9047153gt
  • Music used in opening slides found at
    http//logic.csc.cuhk.edu.hk/b402755/gallery.html
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