PDF《RELATIONS”》

4 14. Lex parsimoniae: shaving with Ockum'

s razor twice: Chinese wisdom has no need for either the idea of God or the idea of the human soul II. Taking Chinese culture on its own terms 1. Pope: What can we reason but from what we know. 2. Thoreau: We track ourselves through life'

s narrative 3. Frost: What is lost in translation is the poetry. 4. Appreciating China: Confucian role ethics III. The Chinese Focus-field Self 1. Shaving with Ockum'

s razor twice: Soul autonomy vs. virtuosic relationality, rationalization of the tradition (systematic philosophy) 2. Everybody vs. big family 大家请站起来 : family as the governing metaphor for all relations 3. Ren 仁as consummate person/conduct: con- summa Autonomous Individuals Unique Individuality 4. Ren 仁as self-loving 自爱 5. Human becomings rather than beings

5 6. The Great Learning 大学: personal cultivation as the source of cosmic meaning 物格而后知至,知至而后意诚,意诚而后心 正,心正而后身修,身修而后家齐,家齐而后 国治,国治而后天下平.自天子以至於庶人, 壹是皆以修身为本.其本乱而末治者否矣,其 所厚者薄,而其所薄者厚,未之有也!此谓知 本,此谓知之至也. Once they saw how things fit together most productively, their wisdom reached its heights. Once their wisdom reached its heights, their thoughts were sincere. Once their thoughts were sincere, their hearts-and-mind knew what is proper. Once their hearts-and-mind knew what is proper, their persons were cultivated. Once their person were cultivated, their families were set right. Once their families were set right, their state was properly ordered. And once their state was properly ordered, there was peace in the world. From the emperor down to the common folk, everything is rooted in personal cultivation. There can be no healthy canopy when the roots are not properly set and it would never do for priorities to be reversed between what should be invested with importance and what should be treated more lightly. This is called both the root and the height of wisdom. 7. Where does meaning come from? IV. What is the Zhongyong?

6 1. The Book of Ritual (Liji 礼记): canonized once 2. Zhu Xi (1130-1200) 朱熹and the Four Books 四书: canonized twice 3. The Zisizi vocabulary: tian 天, ming 命, xing 性, xin 心, qing 情. 4. 子思子: 天命之谓性,率性之谓道,修道之谓教. Congregationalist James Legge: What Heaven has conferred is called THE NATURE;

an accordance with this nature is called THE PATH of duty;

the regulation of this path is called INSTRUCTION. 5. The main argument: 天人合一the continuity between tian and the human world, and the responsibility of the human being as a co-creator. V. The structure of the Zhongyong 1. Confucius: What does 中庸 mean? 2. Sage kings and cultural heroes 3. Mencius 孟子 4A12 诚者天之道也,思诚者人之 道也 Sincerity/honesty/integrity ( co- creativity ) is the way of tian;

reflecting upon co-creativity is the human way. 4. Book of Songs 诗经 VI. Zhongyong and Human-centered Religiousness

7 1. Focusing the Familiar (Zhongyong 中庸) 1: , , , , , , , ;

, ;

, ;

, , , What tian commands is called natural tendencies;

drawing out these natural tendencies is called the proper way;

improving upon this way is called education. As for this proper way, we cannot quit it even for an instant. Could we quit it, it would not be the proper way. It is for this reason that exemplary persons are so concerned about what is not seen, and so anxious about what is not heard. There is nothing more present than what is imminent, and nothing more manifest than what is inchoate. Thus exemplary persons are ever concerned about their solitariness. The moment at which joy and anger, grief and pleasure, have yet to arise is called a nascent equilibrium;