Detailed Analysis of "The Analects": For All Those Who Misinterpret Confucius (29)
2006/11/13 11:51:08
子曰："不患，无位；患，所以立。不患，莫己知求，为可知也。"
To help everyone better appreciate how this ID's interpretation differs from the rest, starting from this chapter, I will first list some interpretations from so-called great scholars. Since most people's classical Chinese is poor, I won't cite classical commentaries — otherwise I'd have to explain the explanations, which would take up too much space. Among modern vernacular interpretations, I'll focus on three: Yang Bojun (representing the old-school textual research approach, more aligned with the traditional perspective of classical commentary), Qian Mu (representing the highest level of Taiwan, more from the perspective of a historian and Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism), and Li Zehou (representing the highest level of mainland China, more from the perspective of a philosopher and May Fourth Western learning). As for the likes of Nan Huaijin, who grabs snippets from old books to bamboozle people — they don't even reach kindergarten level. Not worth mentioning.
Yang Bojun: Confucius said: "Don't worry about not having a position; only worry about not having the ability to serve in office. Don't fret that no one knows you; pursue the skills that would make people notice you."
Qian Mu: The Master said: "Don't fret about not getting a position; fret about what you have to stand on in that position. Don't fret that no one knows me; seek to have something worth being known for."
Li Zehou: Confucius said: "Don't worry about not having a position; worry about how to fulfill your duties once in that position. Don't worry that no one knows you; just work hard, and people will come to know you."
Detailed explanation: As can be seen from the above, these so-called great scholars fundamentally do not know what "位" (position) means. In the previous chapter, the relationship between "位" and the I Ching was already revealed. The I Ching is the fountainhead of Chinese civilization. Confucius's relationship with the I Ching is also mentioned multiple times in The Analects. If one cannot even understand "位," one obviously cannot understand the I Ching, and naturally can only produce nonsensical interpretations of The Analects. Just like the interpretations of this chapter — these three each have their own "位" (standpoint), but they all mistook "位" for "official position." Their "立" (what they stand on) is wrong, so their interpretations naturally cannot be correct — which is truly a case of "不患无位，患所以立" indeed. More importantly, all three follow the conventional punctuation "不患无位，患所以立；不患莫己知，求为可知也" — which is wrong. The correct punctuation is "不患，无位；患，所以立。不患，莫己知求，为可知也."
"位" means rank/position — it is what one "stops at," what one "stands on." "Generating the foundation from no fixed position, and generating position from no fixed foundation" — this is the "standing," the "stopping," the "positioning." When there is "standing," one "stands on" something that "exists" — that "existence" must have its "position." What is "existence"? In modern terminology, it is "being." Opposed to "existence/being" is "non-being/nothingness." "Existence" has its "position" — but does "nothingness" have its "position"? Two thousand years later, Heidegger's thinking about "being" was conducted against the background of his thinking about "nothingness." Being and non-being — Heidegger posed this proposition: "Why are there beings at all, and why not rather nothing?" For such a profound philosophical question, Confucius's answer from over two thousand years ago was "不患，无位；患，所以立." For Confucius, the most important question was the "on what basis to stand" of "不患，无位；患，所以立" — not the "why stand at all" of "Why are there beings at all, and why not rather nothing?"
At least for the early-to-middle Heidegger, there existed between him and Confucius this divide between "on what basis to stand" and "why stand at all." "Why stand at all" had not penetrated to what it means to "generate the foundation from no fixed position, and generate position from no fixed foundation," which is why it remained entangled in the question of "why stand at all." Confucius, having grasped this, escaped the entanglement of "why stand at all" in the originary realm and arrived directly at the present realm of "on what basis to stand." From the phenomenal realm of "what stands" to the originary realm of "why stand at all" to the present realm of "on what basis to stand" — these correspond to the three levels: "seeing mountains as mountains, seeing water as water," "seeing mountains as not mountains, seeing water as not water," and "seeing mountains once again as mountains, seeing water once again as water." Without discerning these, one cannot discuss Confucianism or Western philosophy. But I must add: do not link these three levels with Chan Buddhism (Zen) — otherwise one stick will scatter your physical form like stars. Chan Buddhism is beyond what Confucianism or Western philosophy can conceive or discuss.
"患" means "畏" (awe/dread). For Heidegger, "Angst" (dread/anxiety) reveals the originary realm of "nothingness." Heidegger rescued "nothingness" from being merely the simple, abstract negation of "being" in the phenomenal realm of "what stands," and redemptively opened it up as the originary realm of "why stand at all" that makes "being" possible in the first place. His contribution to Western philosophy was enormous. But for Confucianism, this is not enough. Being trapped in the originary realm of "why stand at all," in "seeing mountains as not mountains, seeing water as not water," one's feet still have not touched solid ground. However, the later Heidegger had already begun to open up this great black cage of the originary realm, using the generative domain of the "thinking" of Being to manifest the vitality of the present. One could say that by the end, Heidegger had touched upon the "seeing mountains once again as mountains, seeing water once again as water" realm of "不患，无位；患，所以立." In Section 7, this ID once said: "Of course, not everyone within Western philosophy is a muddlehead — for example Marx and Heidegger. What they demonstrated was a completely different path from Plato onward in Western philosophy. In temperament, Marx took the strong yang path, while Heidegger took the soft yin path. Research into this aspect won't be expanded here." Previously, I compared Marx with Confucius; here, bringing in Heidegger also counts as an initial elaboration of what was left unexpanded in Section 7.
"不患，无位；患，所以立" — "患" (dread), through the "no-position" of "不患" (no-dread), establishes position. "立" in ancient times was interchangeable with "位." "患，所以立" is also "患，所以位." Laozi said, "Man's greatest dread is to dread having a body." Indeed, whatever "exists" necessarily has its "患." For Heidegger, only "Angst" — that is, "患" — enables Dasein to authentically be. And "不患，莫己知求" — "求" means to choose/select. "莫己知求" means not choosing based on what one oneself "already knows." "为可知也" — "为" means "then"; "可" means "able/capable." The later Heidegger's generative domain of the "thinking" of Being can be studied and contemplated in relation to this "能知" (capable knowing). "不患，莫己知求，为可知也" — "不患" (no-dread), not choosing based on what one oneself "already knows," is precisely "capable knowing" — it is the "thinking" of Being flowing and generating endlessly in the present realm of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity.
Confucianism encompasses Inner Sageliness and Outer Kingliness. The Outer Kingliness of "不在其位，不谋其政" is mutually complementary with the Inner Sageliness of "不患，无位；患，所以立。不患，莫己知求，为可知也." This is the great key to comprehending Confucian teaching — how could the likes of those three scholars recognize it? Much less the likes of Lu Xun and Hu Shi, who feed on the leftovers of Westerners. Later Confucians mostly entered through Inner Sageliness, yet without knowing what Inner Sageliness truly is, they ultimately cobbled together a bit of Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism and New Confucianism — laughable and pitiable. As for Outer Kingliness, it was further debased into the tricks of Han dynasty Confucians, mixing pseudo-Confucian "Lu-style" thinking with the "Qi-style" amplified by Legalists, causing disaster in China for two thousand years. None of this has anything to do with Confucius. Alienation is a universal phenomenon — just ask Marx and it'll be perfectly clear.
Chán Zhōng Shuō Chán's Vernacular Direct Translation
子曰："不患，无位；患，所以立。不患，莫己知求，为可知也。"
Confucius said: "Not-dread" — no position. "Dread" — through the "no-position" of "not-dread," one is positioned. "Not-dread" — not choosing based on what one oneself "already knows" — this is "capable knowing."
Note: Henceforth I will follow this format, placing a direct translation of the whole sentence at the end. This is to accommodate those who prefer direct translations. But for specific meanings, one must read the detailed explanation above; otherwise, just reading the direct translation will be very hard to understand — especially for a chapter like this one with such heavy philosophical undertones. Those with a thin philosophical background will likely find it hard to understand even with the detailed explanation. In this chapter, this ID has fought from Outer Kingliness all the way to Inner Sageliness, breaking directly into the very lair of Eastern and Western philosophy — absolutely unprecedented. What's being swept away is far more than just two thousand years of rotten Song-Ming Confucians, May Fourth upstarts, and Cultural Revolution brats.
(To be continued)
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缠中说禅 2006/11/13 12:01:54
Announcement
Tomorrow this ID's patronage of Confucius the Second is taking a day off, but the blog won't stop. Grand debut of this ID's Third Piano Sonata written during middle school. Although it looks rather poor by today's standards, this ID absolutely dares to say it is definitely the best piano sonata ever written by a Chinese person before the age of 18.
Tomorrow the hotpot shop will be closed for renovation
Holding the global online premiere of this ID's middle-school Third Piano Sonata
Free lollipops provided
Grab them while they last, everyone
缠中说禅 2006/11/13 12:20:34
Market's about to open, take your time reading everyone. Heading off first.
缠中说禅 2006/11/13 11:57:08
This chapter will be very hard for most people to understand — enough for everyone to slowly work through. Tonight there's a big event at the Guibin Tower, so I probably won't have time to write. Taking a break tomorrow so everyone can properly chew on today's big bone.