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Detailed Analysis of "The Analects": For All Those Who Misinterpret Confucius (25)

2006/11/8 12:01:57

The Master said: Establishing governance so as to manifest virtue is like the North Star dwelling in its place while all other stars hold it in position.

Detailed explanation: The conventional punctuation is "为政以德，譬如北辰，居其所而众星共之." "共" is a phonetic loan for "拱," meaning to surround. The whole sentence is generally interpreted as something like: "Governing with virtue is like the North Star sitting in its place while all the other stars orbit around it." Such interpretations are all premised on "Dao-centrism," essentially treating this sentence as the cornerstone of the so-called "benevolent governance" Lu model. A historical fact is that the Confucians who came after Confucius all practiced this so-called "benevolent governance" Lu model, completely departing from Confucius's "Qi, once transformed, reaches Lu; Lu, once transformed, reaches the Dao." This "Dao-centrist" Lu-style "benevolent governance" model has a habitual trick: first fabricate some abstract "benevolent virtue" principles, then establish these as the standard foundation, then extend them to all aspects of society, and thereby reform and mold people, attempting to make everyone a standardized product manufactured from this "benevolent virtue" mold. This way, they achieve a so-called Great Unity based on sameness. But true Great Unity can only be the greatness of difference coming together in unity. A Great Unity that turns the world into a concentration camp of standardized products can only be a monstrosity manufactured by this "Dao-centrist" Lu-style "benevolent governance" model.

The correct punctuation should be "为政以德譬，如北辰居其所而众星共之." "为" means to set up, establish — that is, to establish one's foundation and position. "以" means to cause, to make. "德" means "de" (gain/virtue) — what is gained from practicing the "Way of the Sage" and the "Way of the Good Person." "譬如" cannot be treated as a single word as in modern vernacular; rather, it is "譬" + "如," belonging to the preceding and following clauses respectively. "譬" means to elucidate, to make known — by extension, to manifest. "如" means like; "居" means to dwell in; "所" is a phonetic loan for "处" (place), meaning location. "共" is a phonetic loan for "拱," meaning to hold, to maintain. "北辰居其所而众星共之" — the literal meaning is that the North Star dwells in its place and all the other stars hold it in position. The deeper meaning is that after people determine the position of the North Star, they hold that position and correspondingly determine the positions of other stars. But the position of the North Star is not a priori. For example, saying the North Star is in the north is only because the corresponding social and cultural system calls that direction "north." In reality, the position of the North Star is not fixed and unchanging; even the star called the North Star changes over time. The determination of the North Star's position is merely a concrete result of the present, real-world engagement of human participation. And other stars having their positions determined based on the North Star is likewise a concrete result of the present, real-world engagement of human participation.

"为政以德譬" — establishing and setting up "governance" so as to manifest what is gained from practicing the "Way of the Sage" and the "Way of the Good Person" — is just like the principle of "北辰居其所而众星共之": the principles of "governance" cannot be established a priori. Their establishment is merely a concrete result of the present, real-world engagement of all people in society. Those things that take some particular form of state structure, political system, etc. as a priori, universally valid principle and deify it — none of these are the way of "governance"; they are merely lies manufactured according to private interests. Someone might say, "Isn't this just 'concrete analysis of concrete problems'?" Wrong! This is at least not what is usually meant by "concrete analysis of concrete problems." "Concrete analysis of concrete problems" in the ordinary sense is merely applying a set of universal laws to specific problems — this is fundamentally not what Marx meant by "concrete analysis of concrete problems." In the Marxian sense, "concrete analysis of concrete problems" is actually an equivalent statement of Marx's position that any theoretical premise can only proceed from analysis of real-world logic. There is no a priori logic that precedes concrete problems. Concrete analysis does not mean analyzing with some a priori laws, but rather discovering the real logical relationships from within concrete problems. Standing on this meaning, Marx and Confucius shake hands once again.

And this chapter is actually a further elaboration of what the previous chapter stated: "'The Way of the Sage' and 'the Way of the Good Person' are the great Dao, and moreover the Dao of reality — having no position to serve as foundation, whence could 'foundational position' come? Precisely because there is no position to serve as foundation, one can generate the foundation from no fixed position, and generate position from no fixed foundation. This — this is the true great Dao, the Dao of reality." What does "为政以德譬，如北辰居其所而众星共之" mean? It means precisely "generating the foundation from no fixed position, and generating position from no fixed foundation." Only by understanding this sentence can one truly understand "concrete analysis of concrete problems" in the Marxian sense, and only then can one truly understand what "为政以德譬，如北辰居其所而众星共之" means.

(To be continued)

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Replies​

缠中说禅 2006/11/8 12:05:58

Butchering the May Fourth dogs alive, skinning the Song-Ming donkeys fresh

Dog meat hotpot and donkey meat fire-roasted flatbread — still open for business

Enjoy your meal, everyone

缠中说禅 2006/11/8 12:12:32

Some idle talk — I see the comments section has heated debates. This ID's place operates an open-door policy with shared benefits for all: left, center, right, chickens, ducks, geese — do whatever you want. This ID will reply when there's time, otherwise forget it. As for arguments between yourselves — fighting and causing trouble are all fine. If you're unhappy, leave for a while to cool off, then come back when you feel better; or don't come back at all.

In short, come and go freely, no need to worry. Please, everyone.

缠中说禅 2006/11/8 12:28:22

[Anonymous] 朗月无花

2006-11-08 12:23:41
Didn't expect to get the sofa seat. Been following you for a while, very talented. First time leaving a comment today, hope you'll be nicer to the male comrades in the future, why be so stingy?

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Following the logic of "hitting means caring," don't you think this ID treats male comrades very well?

缠中说禅 2006/11/8 12:29:32

[Anonymous] 朗月无花

2006-11-08 12:23:41
Didn't expect to get the sofa seat. Been following you for a while, very talented. First time leaving a comment today, hope you'll be nicer to the male comrades in the future, why be so stingy?

----------------

Thanks! However, following the logic of "hitting means caring," don't you think this ID treats male comrades very well?

缠中说禅 2006/11/8 12:37:43
Market's opening, heading off first.