On Ethics and History

by Zhang Xuecheng

  29 For the distinction between “ordinary knowledge” and “real knowledge” knowledge, see Ethics in the Confucian Tradition, pp. 79—80 etc.

  30 See chapter 130 of the Records of the Grand Historian, which is Sima Qian’s postface to his work. Commentators disagree about the meaning of the term famous mountain (mingshan ). Sima Qian uses the same term and expresses the same sentiment in his letter to his friend Ren An, which can be found in his biography chapter 62 of the History of the Han (Hanshu ). For a translation, see Stephen Owen, An Anthology of Chinese Literature: Beginnings to 1911 (New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1996), 136—42.

  31 When Chinese astronomers were confronted by the more accurate predictions of Western Jesuits, several responded with a similar line of argument. Some even insisted that the mechanical accuracy of the Jesuits showed that they could not possibly understand the true workings of Heaven. For a discussion of this issue, see John B. Henderson, The Development and Decline of Chinese Cosmology (New York: Columbia University Press, 1989): 237—53.

  32 A version of such a stance is helpful for the natural sciences as well, for a complete understanding of Nature is more a regulating ideal than an actual goal. The best scientists train themselves to avoid dogmatism and to be alert when theory—if not the world—changes.

  33 For a discussion of the dating and content of this essay, see Nivison, Life and Thought, p. 105.

  34 This theme is also prominent in the writings of Wang Yangming. For example, see his Record For Practice (Chuanxilu ) in The Complete Works of Wang Yangming (Wangwenchenggong quanshu ) 3.157a (SBCK). For an English translation, see section 336 in Wing-tsit Chan, tr., Instructions for Practical Living and Other Neo-Confucian Writings by Wang Yangming (New York: Columbia University Press, 1963), 256—7. In contrast to Zhuangzi and in a different way thinkers like Wang Yangming—neither of whom showed any substantial interest in history—Zhang did not believe that we simply could trust our natural senses to show us the Way. Nature does not endow us with anything like an innate historical sensibility. And yet, a proper historical sense results from a reshaping of innate—Heavenly endowed—human sensibilities.

  35 Nivison provides a thorough and insightful discussion of this essay in Life and Thought, pp. 111—15.

  36 For the story of Wheelwright Pian, see chapter 13 of the Zhuangzi. For an English translation, see Burton Watson, tr., The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu (New York: Columbia University Press, 1968), 152—53. For a discussion of Zhuangzi’s views about the dao requiring a kind of knack or know-how, see Karen L. Carr and Philip J. Ivanhoe, The Sense of Anti-rationalism: Zhuangzi and Kierkegaard’s Religious Thought (New York: Seven Bridges Press, 2000), 72—75.

  37 For an exploration of these different views, see my “Literature and Ethics in the Chinese Confucian Tradition,” in Brad Wilburn, ed., Moral Cultivation (Lanham, MD: Rowan and Littlefield, 2007), 29—48.

  38 For Zhang’s extensive and vehement criticisms of Yuan Mei, see Nivison, Life and Thought, pp. 262—67 etc. For a splendid study of Yuan Mei’s life and work, see Arthur Waley Yuan Mei: Eighteenth Century Chinese Poet, reprint (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1970).

  39 There was no parallel tradition encouraging the cultivation of oratory excellence among Confucians, much less the view that such skill was part of one’s ethical responsibility. On the face of things, though, it seems that the same obligation—as well as the same concerns—should apply in this case as well. From the start, Confucians have been much more wary of spoken eloquence, perhaps because they saw, arguably correctly, its immediate, greater, and less easily contained power to persuade and motivate people. For Kongzi’s concern about glib talkers, see Analects 1.3, 15.11, 17.15, etc.

  40 Nivison translates the title of this essay as “A Criticism of Hypocrisy,” which clearly captures one of Zhang’s central concerns. I have opted for a more literal translation in order to highlight the connection between the title and common refrain of this essay and certain classical sources and the way in which its theme reflects Zhang’s general skepticism and worry—seen in essays such as “On the Difficulty of Being Understood”—about our ability to grasp what is in another person’s heart-mind.

  41 See Analects 5.9.

  42 For example, see Analects 17.16. Kongzi’s distrust of slick talkers reflects a similar concern. See note 39.

  43 For Mengzi’s concern about pernicious doctrines and his claim to “understand words” see Mengzi 2A2.

  44 See for example the theme of “the village honest man” in the Analects 17.11 and Mengzi 7B37.

  45 Both of these points are characteristic of Wang’s philosophy and pedagogy For a discussion of these ideas, see my Ethics in the Confucian Tradition, pp. 100—102.

  46 For a concise and revealing introduction to Dai Zhen’s (1724—77) philosophy, see Justin Tiwald, “Dai Zhen on Human Nature and Moral Cultivation,” 11 in John Makeham, ed., The Dao Companion to Neo-Confucian Philosophy (New York: Springer-Verlag, forthcoming 2010).

  47 The first is to “establish Virtue,” the second is to “establish achievements,” 11 while the third is to “establish words.” For the text and a translation, see James Legge, tr., The Ch’un Ts‘ew with the Tso Chuen, Vol. 5, The Chinese Classics, reprint (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1970), 505—6.

  48 The General Principles of Literature and History (Wenshi tongyi ) is Zhang’s best-known collection of essays. For a discussion of its title, see Nivison, Life and Thought, pp. 41—44.

  49 For brief descriptions of and references concerning these earlier essays, see Essay 1, note 1.

  50 For this idea, see Section I, parts 4—7 of Essay 1.

  Notes to Essay 1

  1 The title of this essay, yuandao , means both to trace the dao or “Way” back to its source, historically, and to analyze the concept in an effort to describe what it essentially is. For Zhang, these projects are inextricably intertwined. Essays with the same title are to be found in the Huainanzi and in Liu Xie’s (ca. 465—522) Wenxindiaolong . For a selective translation of the former, see Evan Morgan, tr., Tao the Great Illuminant: Essays from the Huai Nan Tzu (London: K. Paul, Trench, Truber and Company, 1935); for the latter, see Vincent Yücheng Shih, tr., The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons (New York: Columbia University Press, 1959). Zhang’s essay, however, is most closely related to the famous essay by the same tide written by the Tang author Han Yu, a translation of which can be found in the appendix to this volume.

  2 A quote attributed to Dong Zhongshu (179—104 B.C.E.), arguably the most important Confucian thinker of the Han dynasty, in his biography in the History of the Han Dynasty (Hanshu ).

  3 Mengzi 5A5.

  4 The probably legendary ancient system of land allocation that divided a plot of land into nine squares of equal area. Each of eight families was to tend one of the squares on the perimeter as its own, and all were to tend the central square together for the state. The name of the system derives from the fact that the Chinese character for well, jing , can represent this scheme of division.

  5 The Chinese word tian means both “Heaven” and “Nature.” The second meaning evolves from the first via the idea, seen in texts like the Mengzi and the Doctrine of the Mean, that Heaven determines or endows the nature of each and every thing and also determines, in a broad sense, what happens in the natural course of events. A number of ideas seen in the opening sections of Zhang’s essay may well be inspired by a work by Liu Zongyuan (773—819), a writer of the Tang dynasty, who was a friend of and equal in fame to Han Yu. See his “Treatise on Feudalism” (Fengjian lun ). For a partial translation and discussion, see William H. Nienhauser, Jr., et al., Liu Tsung-yuan (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1973). 54—55.

  6 The Great Appendix to the Book of Changes 1.5.

  7 Ibid.

  8 The term li has a long and rich history. Neo-Confucians like Zhang used it in both descriptive and normative senses. Roughly it refers to the underlying patterns and processes of the world.
Qi, which is left untranslated, is another term of art with a long and varied history. For Zhang it meant the fundamental stuff composing the phenomena of the world. Unlike matter, though, qi comes in various qualities describing different grades of activity or rest, turbidity or clarity, etc.

  9 Zhang here paraphrases Wang Bi’s (226—49 C.E.) commentary on the opening lines of the first chapter of the Daodejing. For a translation and study of the Daodejing with Wang Bi’s commentary, see Richard John Lynn, tr., The Classic of the Way and virtue (New York: Columbia University Press, 1999).

  10 For a discussion of the notions of suoyiran and dangran, see A. C. Graham, Two Chinese Philosophers: The Metaphysics of the Brothers Cheng, reprint (LaSalle, IL: Open Court, 1992), 8, etc.

  11 David S. Nivison has pointed out that Zhang uses this expression to describe both “the process of the evolution of civilization through the agency of the sage, and the process of literary creation or the production of original scholarship.” See his “The Philosophy of Zhang Xuecheng,” in The Ways of Confucianism (Chicago: Open Court Press, 1996), 257.

  12 Four mythical cultural heroes of early China. Xuanyuan is better known as Huangdi. Zhuanxu is his grandson. Fuxi, Shennong, and Huangdi collectively are commonly referred to as the “Three Sovereigns” (San Huang ) .

  13 Yao and Shun are the last two figures in a group of five exemplary emperors. The membership of this group is variously defined, but all versions include Yao and Shun.

  14 The Xia was purportedly founded by Shun’s successor, Emperor Yu, and would be China’s first dynasty. It was followed by the Shang (also known as the Yin), which was founded by Cheng Tang, “Tang the Successful.” Cheng Tang is the first of three hereditary rulers collectively known as the San Wang “Three Kings.” The other two members of this group included his son, King Wen, and his grandson, King Wu. The “time of the Eastern Zhou” refers to the establishment of the new capital at Loyang in 771 B.C.E.

  15 For these figures, see notes 12—14. Here and in the following parts of the essay Zhang is taking issue with earlier scholars who argued that in one way or another Kongzi was qualitatively better than earlier sages. Zhang thinks any such explanation is misguided. Sages do different things because their unique historical moments call on them to perform in different ways. For a discussion of this theme in the commentarial tradition, see my “Whose Confucius? Which Analects?,” in Bryan W Van Norden, ed., Confucius and the Analects: New Essays (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 119—33.

  16 Paraphrasing the Daodejing, chapter 57. See also chapter 37.

  17 The Great Appendix 1.11.

  18 Perhaps inspired by similar lines by Du Yu (222—84 C.E.) in his preface to the Spring and Autumn Annals.

  19 Zhang here uses the idea of being one body (yi ti—) in the sense of being actually or practically inseparable from one another. If the sage and the dao were one in body, though we could separate them conceptually, neither could exist apart from the other. For a discussion of this idea, see my Readings from the Lu-Wang School of neo-Confucianism (Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company 2009), 161—63, etc.

  20 Paraphrasing the Great Appendix 2.2. This section of the Great Appendix, known as “The History of Civilization,” was a very important text for Zhang. Literally, the line reads, “Principles (li), which had evolved through a process of wearing out, transforming, adapting, and enduring, were in every way complete.” For this idea, Zhang’s early Yuandao, in the jiaochou tongyi, simply has “principles were great.”

  21 For “pure knowing,” see the Introduction, note 19.

  22 This antithesis between the Way (dao ) and proper models (fa ) is prominent in Zhang’s essay, “On the Meaning of the Word ’Historian‘” (Shishi ). It is another expression of the related notions suoyiran and dangran. See note 10 above.

  23 The expression occurs in Mengzi 5B1.

  24 This pattern of separate officials in charge of various duties for different seasons, with a summary provided by the officer in charge of the winter, is seen throughout the first two chapters of the Rites of the Zhou (Zhouli ).

  25 Mengzi 5B1.

  26 Doctrine of the Mean, chapter 28. Compare Analects 8.14 and 14.27. Cheng Yi (1033—1107) invokes Kongzi’s “not gaining an official position” as the explanation for why he “transmitted but did not create.” (For the latter notion, see Analects 7.1.) Zhang adopts this explanation in section three of Yuandao. See also note 60.

  27 Three early sages to whom Kongzi is compared and found superior in Mengzi 5B1.

  28 One of Mengzi’s disciples and his interlocutor. See Mengzi 5B1.

  29 That is to say, we should not take the words so literally that we fail to appreciate their intent. This phrase is actually a loose quotation of Mengzi 5A4.

  30 Analects 9.2.

  31 A close paraphrase of the Doctrine of the Mean, chapter 26.

  32 Doctrine of the Mean, chapter 30.

  33 Ibid.

  34 Analects 9.5.

  35 Analects 7.5.

  36 Doctrine of the Mean, chapter 28.

  37 Analects 3.14.

  38 Doctrine of the Mean, chapter 20.

  39 Analects 19.22.

  40 Analects 7.1.

  41 Analects 7.19.

  42 Mengzi 1A3.

  43 The Three Dynasties were the Xia, Shang, and Zhou. King Yu reigned during the Xia, King Tang in the Shang; King Wen, King Wu, the Duke of Zhou, and Kongzi all belong to the Zhou. Bo Yi was the elder brother of Shu Qi. The brothers were royal princes in a small state loyal to the Shang dynasty. Shu Qi was designated as heir by his father, but, upon the latter’s death, he deferred to his elder brother. However, Bo Yi refused to contravene his father’s wishes, and with both brothers mutually deferring to one another they decided to withdraw from the state and live in isolation at the foot of Mount Shou Yang. When King Wu subsequently defeated the Shang and established the Zhou dynasty, the brothers refused to serve the Zhou, regarding it as an illegitimate regime established by brute force. As a consequence, they starved to death. They are regarded as paragons of propriety and right. Yi Yin was an able minister who served King Tang. According to some accounts, Yi Yin was working as a farmer when his talents were recognized and he was promoted by the king. Others say that he attracted the king’s attention through his cooking. Liuxia Hui was a virtuous official of the Spring and Autumn Period (722—481 B.C.E.) who was particularly renowned for his ability to maintain his moral purity in the service of unscrupulous rulers. For references to him, see Analects 15.14, 18.2, and 18.8, and Mengzi 2A9, 5B1, 6B6, 7A28, and 7BI5.

  44 Shu Qi is the younger brother of Boyi. See prior note.

  45 Mengzi 5B1.

  46 See Section Two for fuller development of this idea.

  47 Mengzi does not say this in so many words but does speak of “the dao of the Duke of Zhou and Kongzi,” treating it as one tradition. For example, see his remarks concerning Chen Liang in Mengzi 3A4.

  48 For these remarks, see Mengzi 2A2.

  49 Actually a remark made by Cheng Yi, which Zhu Xi quotes as part of his commentary on Mengzi 2A2. See (Commentary on) Sections and Sentences of the Mengzi (Mengzi zhangju 2.8b, in Collected Commentaries on the Four Books (Sishu jizhu ) (SBBY).

  50 Zhang uses this term to cover excessively speculative claims in general. For Zhang, the ideal is to represent the dao by describing the details of actual, paradigmatic actions, institutions, and policies rather than by offering “empty” theories about the dao. Compare note 60.

  51 The indented lines are Zhang’s auto-commentary. The final rhymed couplet is apparently his own creation. My translation closely follows one suggested to me by David S. Nivison. Cheng Yi is the well-known neo-Confucian philosopher. For a study of his thought and that of his elder brother, Cheng Hao (1032—85), see A. C. Graham, Two Chinese Philosophers. Yu of course is the ancient emperor. Hou Ji was a minister of the exemplary ruler Emperor Yao. Yan Hui was Kongzi’s most talented and favorite disciple.

  52 Zh
uangzi, chapter 1. Cf. Watson, Complete Works 34.

  53 See note 49.

  54 From Han Yu’s essay On the Dao. For an English translation, see the Appendix to this volume. The “it” that they were able to put into practice is of course the dao.

  55 Analects 7.1.

  56 Analects 7.27.

  57 Analects 7.17.

  58 Zhang is quoting a line from the final section of Han Yu’s essay, “On the Dao.”

  59 The word zuo both “to create” or “make” and “to write” or “compose.” Here it means both to devise social and political institutions and to set down one’s ideas about them in writing. Questions such as what constitutes a case of zuo, its value, and who could engage in such acts, were parts of a complex and fascinating debate that can be found throughout the Chinese tradition. For an interesting discussion of this set of issues among early Chinese thinkers, see Michael Puett, The Ambivalence of Creation: Debates Concerning Innovation and Artifice in Early China (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001).