Detailed Analysis of "The Analects": For All Who Have Misinterpreted Confucius (4)
2006/10/15 12:45:12
"To learn and at due times practice"—being with heaven in its timing while heaven grants its timing, winds and clouds converging, waves following surges, one senses that "friends come from distant quarters." "Have" (yǒu 有) is not the "have" of "have or have not" or "possess." Rather, it is the "have" from Zuozhuan's "This is to have-not our lord," which is a loan character for "friend" (yǒu 友). Nearly all interpretations have explained "have" as the "have" of "possession" or "existence"—a colossal error.
What is a "friend"? "Those who share the same aspiration are friends"—people with the same purpose. In oracle bone script, "friend" (友) depicts two hands side by side: joining hands for a common aspiration, cooperating and helping each other—that is "friendship." But later, everything went off the rails. The word "comrade" (tóngzhì), particularly after the baptism of the last century, has become rather laughable. Now it's even more unusable—nowadays, when ducks don't want to be ducks anymore and want to become "geese," they become "comrades." Evolving from "duck" to "goose"—truly getting bigger and bigger, what a promising future.
Setting aside those "ducks" and "geese," in The Analects, the common aspiration of "have" or "friend" is to together accomplish "the Way of the sage." "The Way of the sage" is not some private, petty path for sneaking off to indulge in private pleasure—it is the public Way, the Great Way, that spreads across all under heaven and brings great goodness to all under heaven. To accomplish "the Way of the sage," to become a "sage," one must first "sanctify" one's time. If one cannot "sanctify" one's time, how can one "sanctify" one's person? The sage must sanctify their time, sanctify their place, sanctify their people, and then extend sanctification to other times, other places, other people. And the gentleman who practices "the Way of the sage" must have it and thereby be of its kind.
"Friend" (péng 朋) is the ancient form of "phoenix" (fèng 凤); its original meaning is the phoenix. "Friends from distant quarters" is "the phoenix comes bearing ceremony." The Book of Documents, "Yi Ji": "When the nine movements of the Shao music are completed, the phoenix comes bearing ceremony." And "to have friends come from distant quarters—is that not a joy?" is actually rooted in this. The place where "the phoenix comes bearing ceremony" is a place blessed by the spirit of the land, a place where "the Way of the sage" is practiced. And the gentleman who practices "the Way of the sage" is a "phoenix among men"; such a gentleman "coming from distant quarters" is "the phoenix comes bearing ceremony." "Ceremony" (yí 仪) means laws and standards. What do "friends from distant quarters come" to do? To establish laws and standards. To establish laws and standards through "the Way of the sage," to educate and transform, to bring about a realm where "the Way of the sage" is manifested—this, and only this, is truly practicing "the Way of the sage."
"Distant" (yuǎn 远)—remote, long-standing—does not solely refer to spatial distance. "The Way of the sage" does not arise from thin air; its source is remote and its flow is enduring. "Quarters" (fāng 方) is not "direction" or the like, but a loan character for "broad" (páng 旁), meaning vast and expansive. The Book of Documents, "Li Zheng": "Broadly going forth across all under heaven, reaching to the shores of the seas." The "going forth" of "the Way of the sage" is "going broadly"; the gentleman who "practices" the Way of the sage also "goes broadly"—one must "go broadly across all under heaven, reaching to the shores of the seas" for it to qualify as the "going forth" of practicing the Way of the sage.
"Self" (zì 自) is not a preposition. Classical Chinese is not the garbage of vernacular Chinese, where N characters still fail to express a single meaning. Classical Chinese's "self distant quarters come" is not vernacular Chinese's "from distant quarters come"—each character has its own independent meaning. Treating "self" as a preposition indicating the starting point of time or place is the result of consuming too much vernacular garbage. "Self" means "still," "as before." Still, as before, "the phoenix comes bearing ceremony"—"the Way of the sage" continues without interruption. "Come" (lái 来)—from there to here, from far to near—vast and mighty, like the sun rising in the east, like the tide returning to shore: the magnificent spectacle of heaven and earth's righteous qi ascending. The Way of the sage, the Great Way flows forth—how distant it stretches, how broad it extends.
"To have friends come from distant quarters"—gentlemen, joining hands for a common aspiration, walking together to accomplish "the Way of the sage," like phoenixes among men, still and as ever, riding the righteous qi of heaven and earth, source distant and flow enduring, vast and expansive, from there to here, from far to near, like the sun rising in the east, like the tide returning to shore—spreading "the Way of the sage" across the six directions, broadcasting it to the eight quarters, establishing laws and standards, educating and transforming, bringing about a realm where "the Way of the sage" is manifested across all under heaven—only thus can it be "is that not a joy?" "Joy" (lè 乐)—not lè but yuè, the nine movements of the Shao music, the image of a glorious age.
(To be continued)
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Replies
缠中说禅 2006/10/15 22:23:04
[Anonymous] 黄反
2006-10-15 21:48:08
So now you finally admit that the arts of the bedchamber count as traditional Chinese learning. Your Chinese learning is so good—how well have you practiced the arts of the bedchamber? Have you reached the supreme realm of "forgetting both self and other, unity of heaven and man"?
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What do you mean "finally admit"? The arts of the bedchamber have always been part of traditional Chinese learning—no one's "admission" is needed!
缠中说禅 2006/10/15 22:40:07
Furthermore, "forgetting both self and other, unity of heaven and man" is not some ultimate supreme realm—stop spouting nonsense.
缠中说禅 2006/10/19 15:51:28
Announcement Everything this ID writes in "Detailed Analysis of The Analects — For All Who Have Misinterpreted Confucius" breaks new ground no one has covered before. Arrangements have been made for publication after the series is complete, so the serialization will only appear on this ID's blog. Please refrain from reposting if possible; if you must repost, be sure to credit the source, lest we have to file copyright lawsuits later.
Strict prohibition against plagiarism—violators will be prosecuted
缠中说禅 2006/10/15 12:49:59
Plagiarism and intellectual theft are rampant these days. Everything this ID writes breaks new ground no one has covered before. If anyone plagiarizes or steals in the future, please help collect evidence. On this matter, there must be absolutely no mealy-mouthed compromising.