“And so, in learning, one must seek a personal understanding while, within one’s own discipline, one values the cultivation of one’s specialty. In regard to those things [one understands], one must extend and fill them out. In regard to the dao, one must arrive at completion. As one’s emotions come to be informed with an understanding of distress, joy, anger, and delight and one gains experience through evolving and changing circumstances, one will become broad without being diffused, economical without being crude. One’s learning will approach purity and stability, and one will perhaps come to see the dao of preserving what has gone before and awaiting what is to come.”
ESSAY 8
Virtue in an Historian
Literary skill, learning, and insight—to possess any one of these is not an easy task, but to be equally proficient in all three is even more difficult. This is why, throughout the ages, there have been many more [great] literary men than good historians.1 Earlier, Liu Zhiji seems to have believed that such an explanation provides a complete account of the matter.2 Nevertheless, in the case of history what matters is its meaning; its medium is events, and its vehicle is literature. Mengzi said, “The events it (i.e., the Spring land Autumn Annals) records are those of Huan of Qi and Wen of Jin; its style is historical. As for its meaning, the master said, ‘It is I who humbly decides this.’”3 Without insight, he (i.e., Kongzi) would not have been able to determine its meaning. Without literary skill, he would not have been able to perfect its style. Without learning, he would not have been able to handle its events. These three [abilities or skills] each certainly have near relatives and semblances that prove to be false. Memorization and recitation can appear to be learning; a florid style can appear to be literary skill, and decisiveness can appear to be insight. But these are not the skill, learning, and insight of the good historian. Even Mr. Liu’s discussion of skill, learning, and insight does not provide a complete account of this matter.
Now Mr. Liu says that one who possesses learning but lacks insight is like an ignorant trader who has money but doesn’t know how to play the market.4 If we take the implications of this remark as a guide to understanding Mr. Liu’s position, then [we see] his only aim is to know what to select, among the things one memorizes and recites, in order to perfect one’s literary style. This is why he says, “in order to perfect their art, ancient historians withheld [accounts of] virtuous scholars who had retired from the world and advanced those of crafty scoundrels; they suppressed [accounts of] those who died for a noble cause and glossed over the faults of rulers.”5 He also said, “this is the way in which an individual author should proceed.” This is still [just] the insight of a literary scholar; it is not the insight of an historian. One who possesses the insight of an historian must understand the Virtue of an historian.6
What is Virtue? It is the way an author’s heart-mind works. One who writes a scandalous history thereby makes himself a scandalizer; one who writes a slanderous book thereby makes himself a slanderer. If others already regard one’s everyday conduct as shameful, why would they pay any attention to what one writes? As for Wei Shou’s arrogant slander and Shen Yue’s concealment of wrongdoing, [since] everyone who reads their works already distrusts these men, the harm they do is not severe.7 What harms the way the heart-mind works is when one has the heart-mind of a cultivated person and yet fails to nourish it to refinement. To have the heart-mind of a cultivated person and yet to fail to nourish it to refinement is something that not even great worthies can [always manage to] avoid. If even such people have shortcomings in the way their heart-minds work, then anything less than Kongzi’s Spring and Autumn Annals would not measure up. Is it not extremely difficult to hold people to such a high standard? Surely, we should not do so.
It seems that those who wish to become good historians must carefully distinguish the boundary between the Heavenly and the human [within themselves], making full use of the Heavenly without using the human to help it along.8 Making full use of the Heavenly [within oneself] without using the human to help it along may not result in perfection, but if one sincerely embraces such an understanding, this truly is the [proper] way for an author’s heart-mind to work. Scholars of literary history vie with each other in talking about “skill,” “learning,” and “insight,” and yet they do not know how to discern the way their heart-minds work, which would enable them to discuss the Virtue of an historian. Is this not sad indeed?
As for approving of Yao and Shun and condemning Jie and Zhou, these are things everyone knows to say.9 Revering the kingly way and rejecting the hegemon’s methods are also things that scholars hold as conventional convictions. When it comes to liking the good and disliking the bad, praising the upright and hating what is depraved, all who seek immortality through literature share these sentiments. Nevertheless, the reason one must carefully consider the way the heart-mind works is that the Heavenly and the human come together in exceedingly subtle buds or sprouts [of understanding], and here one cannot rely upon petty [human] intelligence.10
Now what an historian records are events, and events must be written down if they are to be passed on [to future generations]. And so, every good historian must work on writing well.11 Most, though, do not realize that writing can suffer from being the servant of events. It seems that [the course of] events cannot be without instances of gain and loss, right and wrong. But as soon as there is gain and loss or right and wrong, this repeated giveand-take begins to grate [within the historian’s heart-mind]. As this friction continues, qi builds up [within the historian]. [The course of] events cannot be without flourishing and decline, waxing and waning. But as soon as there is flourishing and decline or waxing and waning, then repeated regrets begin to flow [within the historian’s heart-mind]. As this flow continues, feelings begin to deepen [within the historian]. [Now] writing alone cannot move a person; what moves a person is qi. Writing alone cannot enter into a person; what enters into a person are feelings. When qi builds up it shines forth in one’s writing; when feelings run deep they inhere in one’s writing. With qi shining forth and feelings inhering, one’s writing can attain the acme of perfection. And yet, within [such writing] lies both the Heavenly and the human, and these must be distinguished.
Qi partakes of the yang and the hard, while feelings accord with the yin and the soft. Human beings are connected with both yin and yang; they cannot be divorced from either. When qi accords with principle (li), this is the Heavenly. When qi goes against “principle” in order to serve one’s private interests, this is the human. When feelings are rooted in one’s nature, this is the Heavenly. When feelings carry one’s nature away and engage in self indulgence, this is the human. The meaning of history comes from Heaven, and yet historical writing must rely on human effort in order to come into being. If one is afflicted by [an imbalance of] yin or yang, one’s historical writings will fall short of the universal character of the great dao. This gets manifested in extremely subtle ways. [Now] writing cannot exist without qi, but in the case of qi what matters is balance. While living in ease, everyone’s qi is in balance. But qi is influenced by events, and when it goes amiss one becomes disordered, reckless, and arrogant and aligned with the yang. If writing is bereft of feelings, it will not be profound. But in the case of feelings, what matters is correctness. When idle and unengaged, everyone’s feelings are correct. But feelings are influenced by events, and when they go amiss one will drift, sink, and become one-sided and aligned with the yin. The affliction generated from the rising and falling of the yin and yang rides along the qi and blood and enters into the heart-mind’s understanding. Within, it silently turns and gradually spreads until it appears to be universal but actually is self-serving, appears to be Heavenly but actually is obscured by the human. Expressed in writing, it reaches the point where it injures righteousness and works against the dao. People [who suffer from this affliction] are themselves not even aware that this is happening. And so, I say one cannot but be careful about the way the heart-mind work
s. Even when qi dominates and feelings are one-sided, we can still say there is motivation from Heaven and participation by the human. But those with literary skill can become lost completely to considerations of style, believing this to be the only way to what is beautiful, without realizing such an approach can never succeed.
[Now] the historian must rely on writing just as clothes rely upon colors and food relies upon flavors. Among colors, there will be florid and simple; among flavors there will be pungent and plain. This is simply due to the nature of things. But when florid and simple are in conflict, colors cannot but be perverse, and when pungent and plain are in conflict, flavors cannot but be bizarre. Perverse colors injure the eyes and bizarre flavors offend the palate, and these arise when there is conflict between the florid and the simple and between the pungent and the plain.12 As for literary style, there are the skillful and the clumsy. Ordinary historians do nothing more than vie with each other over this matter [of style]; they forsake what is basic in pursuit of what is secondary. Pursuing writing in this manner has never led to perfection. Pursuing history in this manner, how could one ever perceive the greatness of the ancients? Han Yu said, “The words of the benevolent and righteous [naturally] are mild and inviting.”13
Benevolence is feelings that are universal, and righteousness is qi that accords [with what is right]. Cheng Hao said, “Only once one understands the meaning of the ‘Cry of the Ospreys’ and the ‘Feet of the Unicorn’ can one implement the laws and regulations of the Offices of the Zhou.”14 In a similar vein, I say, “Only once one understands the proper principles of literary expression can one discuss books like the Spring and Autumn Annals.” This amounts to saying that in regard to the way the heart-mind works, what matters is [proper] cultivation. As Sima Qian said in his “Reply to Ren An,” he wrote the Records of the Grand Historian so that “by thoroughly investigating the interactions between Heaven and earth and comprehensively understanding the changes between the past and present, I could compose an original work of my own.”15 And in his personal preface, he said that his guiding principles were, “To hand down [an account of] ages of renown, to be true to the Book of Changes and its commentaries, and to take as my basis the common ground of the Book of Odes, Book of History, Book of Rites, and the Book of Music.16 When he talked about writing books in order to “vent indignation,” he was only making use of this idea to express his personal sorrow.17 Later scholars have become obsessed with this mention of “venting indignation” and concluded that the entire Records of the Grand Historian is an expression of malicious slander. Wang Chong even rejects it as a ”work of slander.“18 And so, in later ages, those who discuss writing have considered Sima Qian as someone adept at ridicule and slander and consider subtle wording [implying praise and blame] as the central prerogative of an historian.19 Some, desiring [to emulate this] have even copied his style. This is simply to have the heart-mind of ”rebellious minister or disobedient son“20 while mindlessly following the Spring and Autumn Annals’ method of compilation. Is this not perverse indeed!
Now if one considers carefully the book that Sima Qian wrote, one will find essays like “The Feng and Shan Sacrifices,” which describes deluded notions about spirits and ghosts, and “The Equalization of Trade,” which takes into account [the harsh taxes] on merchants and peddlers.21 These are examples of the bad government of [Emperor] Wu [of the Han dynasty].22 But later generations should [also] consider Sima Xiangru’s essay on the [Feng and Shan Sacrifices]23 and Huan Kuan’s Discourse [on Iron and Salt];24 why look to Sima Qian as the only one to produce such writings? It is true that in his chapters “The Wandering Knights” and “The Money Makers,” Sima Qian could not avoid expressing intense feelings, and here one also must admit that our worthy displays a certain fascination with the exotic.25 But the remainder of the work exhibits a comprehensive understanding of past and present and a perfect grasp of the Six Classical disciplines.26 Where does he ever presume to slander his superiors? Zhu Xi once said, “[In Encourcterircg Sorrow, Qu Yuan] does not express excessive resentment against his lord; the interpretations of later men have overemphasized this.”27 In a similar vein, I say, “Sima Qian never presumed to slander his lord; the minds of those who read [his work this way] are themselves out of balance.” As for those who, because of personal difficulties, maliciously slander even their own lords and fathers and hope thereby to win immortal fame for themselves, such men are nothing more than fools, discontent with their lot in life, criminals within the Confucian school who have been punished by Heaven’s principles. What have [such people] written that is worthy of passing on [to future generations]?
As for Encountering Sorrow and the Records of the Grand Historian, they are the acme of writing for all time. The reason the works of these two men represent the acme of writing is that they both were inspired by the great men of the Three Dynasties and possessed a comprehensive understanding of the interaction between Heaven and human beings.28 Because these authors encountered severe misfortune, they simply could not be without intense feelings. Those without learning or insight, who claim they slandered their lords, nevertheless cannot but honor them as exemplary masters of fine writing.
How does one come to understand the great principles? How does one rectify the way one’s heart-mind works? The master said, “The Book of Odes can serve to stimulate [one’s heart-mind].”29 Commentators have explained this as meaning that it can serve to stimulate a heart-mind that likes what is good and dislikes what is bad. [Kongzi] feared that the heart-mind that likes what is good and dislikes what is bad might be something one seems to possess but actually does not possess. Therefore he valued having a way to cultivate it each and every day. Encountering Sorrow and the Records of the Grand Historian are as profound as the Book of Odes. Their language is indirect and extremely suggestive, and yet neither ever turns its back on the great teachings [of Confucianism]. Those who are fettered by literature cannot discern this. This is why I say that one must first master the principles of writing in the Book of Odes before one discusses books like the Spring and Autumn Annals.
ESSAY 9
Virtue in a Litterateur
In every discussion concerning the principles of what is right, earlier people [first] offered explanations and later people added more details; one cannot but attend to these. The ancients, in their discussion of literature, talked only about literary style and nothing more. Liu Xie1 based his work upon Lu Ji‘s2 teachings and proposed a discussion of the “literary mind” (wenxin ). Su Che3 based his works upon Han Yu’s4 teachings and championed the notion of “literary spirit” (wenqi ). [In both cases] one can say that these teachings became more refined as their implications were worked out. No one, though, has ever discussed “Virtue in a litterateur,” and students should reflect upon this deeply.
Now the master once said, “One with Virtue will always speak well.”5 He also said, “Cultivating literary style establishes one’s integrity.”6 Mengzi once said that having insight into words and nurturing “spirit” (qi ) depended upon accumulating righteousness.7 Han Yu talked about the path of benevolence and righteousness and the source of the Book of Odes and the Book of History.8 All of these various remarks concern the topic of “Virtue” (de). The reason why no one ever has discussed Virtue in a litterateur is that when the ancients talked about something they always comprehended both root and branch and embraced both inner and outer; for them moral Virtue and literary expression were still united and treated as one. They never said that within literary expression there was skill, learning, insight, and in addition, Virtue in a litterateur.9
Those who write in the ancient literary style must be “reverently attentive” (jing ) and “sympathetically concerned” (shu ).10 To say that one must be reverently attentive when one turns to writing is not to talk about how to cultivate Virtue, and to say that one must be sympathetically concerned when one discusses the ancients is not to talk about being magnanimous [toward them]. Reverence is not directed at cultiva
ting Virtue; it is simply that one’s “spirit” (qi) is collected [in reverent attention] and not uncontrolled; if it is uncontrolled, one cannot possibly attain the proper degree and measure. The attitude of sympathetic concern is not directed at being magnanimous; it simply enables one to place oneself [sympathetically] in the place of the ancients. Ah! So few really understand Virtue! Those who understand that when one turns to writing one cannot be without reverent attention and sympathetic concern-they understand Virtue in a litterateur!
In the past, Chen Shou, in his Record of the Three Kingdoms, treated [the biographies of the ruling family of] Wei under the section for members of the hereditary house and [the biographies of the ruling families of] Wu and Shu under the section for supplemental biographies.11 [But] Xi Zaochi composed the Chronicles of the Han and Jin Dynasty and provided the correct line of transmission.12 Sima Guang, in his Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government, retained Chen Shou’s account.13 [But] Zhu Xi rose up and corrected this in his Outline to a Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government .14 [Now] “All human beings possess a sense of right and wrong.”15 [But] just because Chen Shou earlier made a mistake and Sima Guang later repeated it, one should not regard the insight of Xi Zaochi and Zhu Xi [who corrected these mistakes] as vastly superior. Those in past and present times who have ridiculed the Record of the Three Kingdoms or A Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government [because of these mistakes] appear to be engaging in outrageous abuse. Such people do not stop to consider whether or not the ancients would agree with their opinions, were we to raise them from the grave.16
On Ethics and History Page 10