On Ethics and History

by Zhang Xuecheng

  24 Referring to Liu Xin’s essay See Essay 1, note 70.

  25 An expression used several times in the opening sections of chapter 6 of the Xunzi. For a translation, see John Knoblock, tr., Xunzi: A Translation and Study of the Complete Works, vol. 1 (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1988), 223—34.

  26 From the “Summary of the Rites” (Chuli ) chapter of the “Book of Rites.” For a translation, see Legge, The Li Ki, vol. 1, p. 65.

  27 From the “Regulations for the Family” (Neize ) chapter of the “Book of Rites.” For a translation, see Legge, The Li Ki, vol. 1, p. 478.

  28 Zhang here is relying on Zhu Xi’s interpretation of Mengzii 3A3. See Sishu jizhu, 3.5a, b (SBBY).

  29 Analects 2.15 and 2.16.

  30 This refers to practices first established by Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty (156—87), who traditionally is thought to have established Confucianism as the state orthodoxy.

  31 As Zhang goes on to explain, his point is that even though many talented individuals are applying themselves sincerely to learning, because of their historically determined condition, success is difficult to achieve.

  32 Zhang believed that because of historical circumstance, it was impossible for people in later times to attain the comprehensive understanding of the ancients. The most that people of his time could hope to attain was to master some scholarly specialty. For a discussion of this aspect of Zhang’s thought, see Nivison, Life and Thought, pp. 155—57.

  33 That is, they apply themselves to acquiring a broad but unsystematic collection of facts about the world.

  34 Here and below Zhang concedes that such work does make some positive contribution to the wealth of human understanding. It is not totally without value, but it can never lead to a true understanding of the dao.

  35 That is, they dedicate themselves to devising the clever similes and metaphors that are characteristic of literary flourish.

  36 For the notion of “that by which things are as they are” (soyiran) see Essay 1, note 10.

  37 A paraphrase of a saying of Cheng Yi found in chapter 15 of the Case Studies of Confucians from the Song and Yuan Dynasties (Song Yuan Xuean ). Zhu Xi quotes it in chapter 18 of The Topically Arranged Sayings of Master Zhu (Zhuzi yulei ).

  38 As noted earlier, Zhang believed there were three fundamental scholarly trends or fashions, which successively replace one another throughout the course of post-Zhou dynasty history. He discusses this idea in more detail in the essay “The Analogy of Heaven,” Essay 6 in this volume. Compare Essay 1, note 112.

  Notes to Essay 3

  1 Zhang wrote this essay primarily as a response to Han Yu’s earlier essay by the same name. For an English translation of the latter, see the Appendix to this volume.

  2 This and the following two quotations are from Han Yu’s essay.

  3 Zhang alters Han Yu’s text here, omitting “music masters” which is included in the original as an example of those who “learn from each other.” Perhaps this is because Zhang considered the tradition of music, or at least a certain idealized stream of it, an orthodox part of Confucian learning. One could interpret the term wuyi here and in Han Yu’s original as referring to two distinct types of people—diviners and doctors—but I have rendered them as a compound referring to divination experts. This is the meaning of the term in the well-known line from Analects 13.21.

  4 Not a quote from the Book of Rites but the gist of the opening sections of the first Tangong chapter. For a complete translation, see James Legge, The Li Ki, vol. 1, p. 121.

  5 That is to say, these activities, which are characteristic of all teachers, only concern the passing on of certain kinds of information. The transmission of the dao requires not only certain kinds of expertise but also a distinctive grasp of its essence and an embodiment of its style. It can only be learned from those who live it out in their own lives.

  6 The Book of Odes, Mao no. 235. See Essay 2, note 5.

  7 Compare Mengzi 2A3.

  8 Zhang’s point is that the disciples’ behavior was not a matter of some contingent, personal, emotional attachment to Kongzi but rather was motivated by the inexorable force of the dao.

  9 Paraphrasing the Great Appendix 1.12.

  10 Zhang’s comments express a theme found throughout the history of Chinese thought: the inadequacy of language to fully convey the dao. His particular way of framing these issues here is very similar to and clearly influenced by Chan Buddhist teachings about a “mind-to-mind” transmission. For a discussion of this Chan ideal, see chapters 6 and 8 of Heinrich Dumoulin, Zen Buddhism: A History (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1988).

  11 Zhang’s point, which he picks up in the concluding line of this essay, is that teachers who transmit the Way are engaged in a distinctive activity, the value of which warrants a profound sense of appreciation and reverence that trumps and renders meaningless the kinds of meticulous comparisons and precise accounting of relative merit appropriate in regard to other kinds of learning.

  12 Zhang’s language here is reminiscent of Analects 5.3.

  13 According to tradition, Kun failed in his mission, given to him by Emperor Shun, to control the devastating floods that plagued early China (ostensibly because he tried to dam the water up rather than lead it away by acting in accordance with its nature). His son Yu subsequently completed this task. (See Mengzi 4B26, where Mengzi commends Yu for following the proper method in controlling the floods.) For his lack of commitment to the public good, Kun was punished by Shun as one of the four great criminals. See “The Canon of Shun” chapter of the Shujing. For a translation, see James Legge, The Shoo King, pp. 39—40. Chi You was a mythical creature of chaos, credited with the invention of weapons and the art of warfare. He was defeated in an epic battle with the Yellow Emperor. For a thorough analysis of the many and various stories about Chi You, see Mark E. Lewis, Sanctioned Violence in Ancient China (Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1990); and Puett, The Ambivalence of Creation.

  Notes to Essay 4

  1 Mengzi 2A6.

  2 Yao is the first of three mythical “sage kings,” the others being Shun and Yu. His traditional reign dates are 2356—2255 B.C.E. Yao is credited with the invention of the calendar, developing rituals and music, and establishing the basic structure of government. He skipped over his own unworthy son and chose a peasant named Shun (who became the second “sage king”) as his successor, based upon the latter’s remarkable filial piety. According to traditional accounts, Jie was the evil last ruler of the Xia dynasty. His traditional reign dates are 1818—1766 B.C.E.

  3 An animal’s fur is most fine and hence thinnest at the approach of winter, so “being able to see the tip of an autumn hair” is a stock phrase for acuity of sight.

  4 Mount Tai is a large mountain located in present-day Shandong Province. It is the “Eastern Mountain,” one of the “Five Sacred Mountains,” which represent the five points on the compass: east, south, west, north, and center. Its size figures in a number of stock phrases. For example, being able to “pick up Mount Tai and jump across a river” was a euphemism for attempting something that is impossible to do. For an example of this phrase, see Mengzi 1A7.

  5 The word I translate here and below as “to reason things through or out” (tui ) has the sense of “extend by analogy.” The idea finds its most famous classical source in Mengzi 1A7 and 2A9.

  6 The word “sprout” (duan ) is a term of art for Mengzi. It denotes the weak and fragile reactive attitudes that are the nascent forms of the primary virtues. For the locus classicus of this term, see Mengzi 2A6. For a discussion of this metaphor in Mengzi’s philosophy, see my Confucian Moral Self Cultivation, Second Edition (Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company 2000), 18—20. Zhang here is focusing on the role of the sprouts in moral epistemology.

  7 For “real knowledge,” see the Introduction, note 20.

  8 The distinction between a wang “true king” and a ba “hegemon” has a long history. Mengzi is among the first to emphasis this dif
ference as a central issue in political philosophy. For examples, see Mengzi, 6B7, 7A13, and 7A30.

  9 The Duke of Zhou was the brother of King Wu. According to traditional accounts, when King Wu died, his infant son became ruler of the newly founded Zhou dynasty. The Duke served the young king as a wise and virtuous regent and did not attempt to wrest power from him for his own gain.

  10 In general, the expression “heterodox teachings” (yiduan ) refers to non-Confucian doctrines, which were regarded as potentially damaging influences on society and its members. Kongzi first cited the “danger” of studying such teachings in Analects 2.16.

  11 For these figures and schools, see “On the Dao,” note 118.

  Notes to Essay 5

  1 The opening line of this essay echoes the words of Fu Yue, “It is not knowing (understanding) that is difficult; it is only acting that is difficult,” which are quoted and discussed in the opening part of section two of “On Learning.” See note 17 of that essay. There Zhang discusses what he regards as the difficulties later students face in their efforts to understand the Way because of their particular historical circumstance. In “The Difficulty of Being Understood,” Zhang’s theme is the inherent and as he sees it nearly insurmountable difficulty anyone faces in attempting to truly understand another and what this implies for those who seek to be understood.

  2 According to the most influential traditional account, King Wen composed the “hexagram statements” (guaci ) of the Book of Changes. These offer explanations of each of the sixty-four hexagrams and are thought to be the first written texts associated with the hexagrams. King Wen undertook this task during the chaotic last years of the Shang dynasty while wrongfully imprisoned by the evil last ruler of the Shang. Zhang’s remark that “people understand that the Book of Changes is a book of divination” refers to the view of Zhu Xi. See chapter 66 of The Topically Arranged Sayings of Master Zhu. Zhang adds the further point that Kongzi was able to understand the distress that motivated King Wen to compose the hexagram statements. Given Zhang’s view, this statement implies Kongzi had experienced the same kind of motivation in his own time. Perhaps Zhang had in mind Mengzi’s claim that Kongzi was moved to write the Spring and Autumn Annals when he took stock of the depravity of his own age. See Mengzi 3B9. Sima Qian makes similar associations in his letter to his friend Ren An, lamenting his punishment by castration. See the Introduction, note 30.

  3 Qu Yuan (c. 340—277 B.C.E.) was one of China’s first and greatest poets. His rhyme-prose poem “Encountering Sorrow” (Lisao ) is an extended allegory lamenting his unsuccessful quest to find an understanding ruler. Qu Yuan’s distress grew so intense that it led him to commit suicide by drowning himself in a river. The traditional Dragon Boat Festival, held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, commemorates his sacrifice, the boats hung with lanterns reenacting the search for his body. For a translation of “Encountering Sorrow,” see David Hawkes, Songs of the South: An Ancient Chinese Anthology of Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets (Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books, 1985).

  4 Sima Qian was China’s first great historian. He too felt deeply misunderstood in his own age and suffered terribly for being misunderstood. For daring to speak out in defense of a military leader who was out of favor with the court, he was punished with castration. He chose this punishment over death only in order to complete his life’s work. In the final chapter of his masterpiece, the Records of the Grand Historian, he laments finding no one in his age who truly understands him. He then describes how he plans to bury his work in a “famous mountain” and expects to wait a hundred years before finding a sympathetic reader. For the reference for this story, see the discussion of this essay in the Introduction and especially note 30.

  5 Liu Xie is author of The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons. See Essay 1, note 1. Qinshi Huangdi (259—210 B.C.E.) was the first emperor of the Qin dynasty. Han Feizi (c. 280—233 B.C.E.) was a brilliant political theorist who lived at the very end of the Warring States Period (403—221 B.C.E.). The “Collected Explanations” (Chushuo ) is a chapter in the book that bears his name. For a translation, see W. K. Liao, tr., The Complete Works of Han Fei Tzu: A Classic of Chinese Legalism, vol. 1 (London: Arthur Probsthain, 1939), 281—310. Han Wudi was the first emperor of the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E.—220 C.E.). Sima Xiangru (179—117 B.C.E.) was arguably the greatest poet of the Han dynasty. He is particularly noted as a master of the rhyme-prose form. “Sir Fantasy” (Zixu) is one of his works. Tradition claims that upon reading this work, Han Wudi appointed Sima Xiangru as a palace attendant. For this story and a translation of this work, see Sima Qian’s biography of Sima Xiangru in Burton Watson, Records of the Grand Historian, vol. 2, revised edition (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993), 259—84.

  6 Qinshi Huangdi arrested Han Feizi on the instigation of Li Si , who was Qinshi Huangdi’s prime minister. For a discussion of this affair, which resulted in Han Fei’s death, see Burton Watson, tr., Han Fei Tzu: Basic Writings (New York: Columbia University Press, 1964), 3. The claim that Emperor Wu showed little regard for Sima Xiangru’s more serious counsel finds some support in Sima Qian’s biography, noted in the previous note. The biography tells us the emperor “was fond of anything dealing with immortal spirits” and strongly implies that his primary interest in Sima Xiangru concerned his literary works on these subjects.

  7 That is to say, the actions of these historical figures seem to show a lack of mutual understanding, but in fact they understood each other profoundly and thoroughly.

  8 Jia Yi (201—169 B.C.E.) was a famous poet and statesman of the Han dynasty. Changsha is the capital of present-day Hunan province.

  9 King Wen of the Han reigned from 179 to 157 B.C.E. The quote is from chapter 84 of Records of the Grand Historian, which contains the biography of Jia Yi. For a translation, see Burton Watson, Records of the Grand Historian, vol. 1, pp. 443—52.

  10 In this case, on the surface, the people involved seemed to have had a great deal in common, but in fact they did not understand one another in any deep sense. Jia Yi did not understand how to advise the King; the King sought his advice about ghosts and spirits but did not listen to him when it came to how to govern.

  11 Liu Zhiji (661—721 C.E.) was an historian and author of the General Principles of Historiography (Shitong ), a work which deeply influenced Zhang’s views on the nature of history and historical writing. For a discussion of Liu’s views and how they influenced Zhang’s thinking, see David S. Nivison, The Life and Thought. See also Edwin G. Pulleyblank, “Chinese Historical Criticism: Liu Chihchi and Ssu-ma Kuang,” in W G. Beasley and E. G. Pulleyblank, eds., Historians of China and japan (London: Oxford University Press, 1961), 135—66.

  12 In the case of Liu Zhiji, he really was understood, but only in a superficial way. Thus he could succeed in office but failed to find anyone who understood his views on the vocation of the historian or the nature of history.

  13 Zhang is quoting, with slight modification, the opening lines of chapter 33 of the Zhuangzi. For a complete English translation, which provides the context for this line, see Burton Watson, tr., The Complete Works, p. 362.

  14 Xiao Yingshi was a well-known and highly respected scholar-official of the Tang dynasty. Li Hua (ca. 715—74) was a contemporary, fellow scholar-official who in later life retired to Shanyang and became a follower of Buddhism. For a translation of “Lament on an Old Battlefield,” see Stephen Owen, An Anthology of Chinese Literature, pp. 475—77.

  15 Zhang is paraphrasing lines from the Commentary of Zuo, Duke Xiang, year 31. For a complete translation, see Legge, The Ch’Ts’ew, p. 556.

  16 For a discussion of this anecdote and Zhang’s point, see David S. Nivison, The Life and Thought, pp. 178—79.

  17 For “real knowledge” see the Introduction, note 20.

  18 Huizi was a contemporary and friend of Zhuangzi. These lines appear, with only slight variation, in chapter 16 of the Huainanzi.

  19 Ouyang Xiu (1007—
1070 C.E.) was a leading scholar-official of the Song dynasty and an avid advocate of the “ancient prose” movement begun by Han Yu, which became the preferred style largely as a result of Han Yu’s influence. The sentiments Zhang describes here are expressed in a short piece, “Preface on the Occasion of Seeing Off Xu Wudang on His Return South” (Song Xu Wudang nanguixu ), in chapter 43 of The Collected Works of Ouyang Xiu (jushiji ). For Liu Xin, see Essay 1, notes 70 and 81.

  20 The “capture of the unicorn” refers to an incident that according to traditional accounts ends Kongzi’s Spring and Autumn Annals in 482 B.C.E. The mythical “unicorn” (lin ) was a highly auspicious beast. Its appearance at this time was regarded with considerable concern and consternation. For Sima Qian, see note 4; for Ban Gu, see the following note.

  21 Ban Gu (32—92 C.E.) was the son of Ban Biao . The son worked to complete his father’s life work, the History of the Han Dynasty. Ban Gu’s sister Ban Zhao (c. 49—120 C.E.) finished the family work. As a woman, she had to rely on Ma Rong to present the work to the court. For her life and work, see Nancy Lee Swann, Pan Chao, Foremost Woman Scholar of China (New York: Russell, 1960). Ma Rong (79—166 C.E.) was a remarkably accomplished scholar, official, and teacher of the Later Han dynasty.