A Short History of Chinese Philosophy (29 page)

The sixty-third hexagram is Chi-chi, which means something accom-28O CONFUCIANIST METAPHYSICS

plished. At this point this "Appendix says: "But there can never be an end of things. Hence Chi—chi is followed by Wei—chi I the sixty-fourth hexagram, meaning something not yet accomplishedJ. With this hexagram, [the Yi\ comes to a close.

According to this interpretation, the arrangement of the hexagrams implies at least three ideas: (I) that all that happens in the universe, natural and human alike, forms a continuous chain of natural sequence; (2.) that in the process of evolution, everything involves its own negation; and (3) that in the process of evolution, "there can never be an end of things.

The "Appendices' agree with the Lao-tzu that in order to do something with success, one must be careful not to be too successful; and that in order to avoid losing something, one must complement it with something of its opposite. Thus Appendix III says: The man who keeps danger in mind is one who retains his position. The man who keeps ruin in mind is one who survives. The man who has disorder in mind is one who has peace. Therefore, the superior man, when all is peaceful, does not forget danger.

When he is acting, he does not forget about ruin. When he has society under control, he does not forget disorder. Hence it is possible, with his own person secure, for him to protect the state."

The "Appendices also agree with the Lao-tzu that modesty and humbleness are the great virtues.

Appendix I remarks: It is the way of Heaven to diminish the swollen and augment the modest. It is the way of Earth to subvert the swollen and give free course to the modest....It is the way of man to hate the swollen and love the modest. Modesty, in a high position, sheds luster on it; in a low position it cannot be passed by unobserved. This is the final goal of the superior man.

The Mean and Harmony

The idea of chung is fully developed in the Chung Yung or Doctrine of the Mean. Chung is like the Aristotelian idea of the "golden mean." Some would understand it as simply doing things no more than halfway, but this is quite wrong. The real meaning of chung is neither too much nor too little, that is, just right. Suppose that one is going from Washington lo New York. It will then be just right to stop at New York, but to go right through to Boston, will be to do too much, and to stop at Philadelphia, will be to do too little. In a prose poem by Sung Yii of the third century B.C., he describes a beautiful girl with the words: If she were one inch taller, she would be too tall. If she were one inch shorter, she would be too short. If she used powder, her face would be too white. If she used rouge, her face would be too red."

(Wen Hsiian, chiUm I9)The description means that her figure and complexion were just right, "just right"

is what the Confucianists call chung.

Time is an important factor in the idea of being just right. It is just right 282. CONFUCIANIST METAPHYSICS

to wear a fur coat in winter, but it is not just right to wear it in summer. Hence the Confucianists often use the word shih (time or timely) in conjunction with the word chung, as in the term shih chung or timely mean. Men-cms, for example, says of Confucius: When it was proper to go into office, then to go into it; when it was proper to remain out of office, then to remain out of it; when it was proper to continue in it long, then to continue in it long; when it was proper to withdraw from it quickly, then to withdraw from it quickly: such was Confucius.' (Mencius, Ila, 2.2..) Hence "among the sages, Confucius was the timely one. (Ibid., Vb, I.)

The Chung Yung says: "To have no emotions of pleasure or anger, sorrow or joy, welling up: this is to be described as the state of chung. To have these emotions welling up but in due proportion: this is to be described as the state of ho [harmony]. Chung is the chief foundation of the world. Ho is the great highway for the world. Once chung and ho are established, Heaven and Earth maintain their proper position, and all creatures are nourished." (Ch. I.) When the emotions do not come forth at all, the mind neither goes too far nor falls short. It is just right. This is an illustration of the state of chung. And when the emotions do come forth, but in due proportion, this is also the state of chung for harmony results from chung, and chung serves to harmonize what might otherwise be discordant.

What is said about the emotions also applies to the desires. In personal conduct as well as in social relations, there are medium points which serve as right limits for the satisfaction of the desires and the expression of the emotions. When all desires and emotions of a person are satisfied and expressed to the right degree, the person achieves a harmony within his person which results in good mental health.

Likewise, when all the desires and feelings of the various types of people who comprise a society are satisfied and expressed to the right degree, the society achieves harmony within itself which results in peace and order.

Harmony is the reconciling of differences into a harmonious unity. The Tso Chuan reports a speech by the statesman Yen Tzu (died 493 B.C.), in which he makes a distinction between harmony and uniformity or identity. Harmony, he says, may be illustrated by cooking. Water, vinegar, pickles, salt, and plums are used to cook fish. From these ingredjents there results a new taste which is neither that of the vinegar nor of the pickles. Uniformity or identity, on the other hand, may be likened to the attempt to flavor water with water, or to confine a piece of music to one note. In both cases there is nothing new.* Herein lies the distinction between the Chinese words t ung and ho. T ung means uniformity or identity, which is incompatible with difference. Ho means harmony, which is not incompatible with difference; on the contrary, it results when differences are brought together to form a unity.

• See the 7so Chuan, twentieth year of Duke Chao, 522 B.C.

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But in order to achieve harmony, the differences must each be present in precisely their proper proportion, which is chung. Thus the function of chung is to achieve harmony.

A well-organized society is a harmonious unity in which people of differing talents and professions occupy their proper places, perform their proper functions, and are all equally satisfied and not in conflict with one another. An ideal world is also a harmonious unity. The Chung Yung says: All things are nurtured together without injuring one another. All courses are pursued without collision. This is what makes Heaven and Earth great." (Ch. 30.)

Harmony of this sort, which includes not only human society, hut permeates the entire universe, is called the Supreme Harmony, In "Appendix I" of the Yi, it is said: "How vast is the originating power of [the hexagram] Ch' ien.... Unitedly to protect the Supreme Harmony: this is indeed profitable and auspicious."

The Common and the Ordinary

The Chung Yung says: "What Heaven confers is called the nature. The following of this nature is called the Way [ Too ]. The cultivation of this Way is called spiritual culture. The Way is that which no man for a moment can do without. What a man can do without is not the Way. (Ch. I.) Here we touch upon the idea of the importance of the common and the ordinary, which is another important concept in the Chung Yung. This concept is expressed by the word yung, in the title of this work, which means common or ordinary.

Everyone finds it necessary to eat and drink every day. Hence eating and drinking are the common and ordinary activities of mankind. They are common and ordinary just because they are so important that no man can possibly do without them. The same is true of human relations and moral virtues. They appear to some people as so common and ordinary as to be ol little value. Yet they are so simply because they are so important that no man can do without them. To eat and drink, and to maintain human relations and moral virtues, is to follow the nature of man. It is nothing else but the Way or Too. What is called spiritual culture or moral instruction is nothing more than the cultivation of this Way.

Since the Way is that which no man in actual fact can do without, what is the need of spiritual culture?

The answer is that although all men are, to some extent, really following the Way, not all men are sufficiently enlightened to be conscious of this fact. The Chung Yung says: Amongst men there are none who do not eat and drink, but there are few who really appreciate the taste." (Ch. 4.) The function of spiritual culture is to give people an understanding that they are all, more or less, actually following the Way, so as to cause them to be conscious of what they are doing.

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Furthermore, although all men are, as a matter of necessity, compelled to follow the Way to some extent, not all can follow it to perfection. Thus no one can live in a society utterly devoid of human relationships; at the same time there are few who can meet with perfection all the requirements made by these human relationships. The function of spiritual culture is to perfect what man is, as a matter of fact, already doing to a greater or lesser degree.

Thus the Chung Yung says: The Way of the superior man is obvious and yet obscure. The ordinary man and ordinary woman in all their ignorance can yet have knowledge of it, yet in its perfection even a sage finds in it something which he does not know. The ordinary man and ordinary woman with all their stupidity can yet practice it, yet in its perfection even a sage finds in it something which he cannot practice....Thus the Way of the superior man begins with the relationship between husband and wife, but in its fullest extent reaches to all that is in Heaven and Earth." (Ch. 12..) Thus though all men, even in their ignorance and stupidity, are following the Way to some extent, spiritual cultivation is nevertheless required to bring them to enlightenment and perfection.

Enlightenment and Perfection

In the Chung Yung, this perfection is described as ch eng (sincerity, realness) and goes together with enlightenment. The Chung Yung says: "Progress from perfection to enlightenment is called the nature.

From enlightenment to perfection it is called spiritual culture. When there is perfection, there is enlightenment. When there is enlightenment, there is perfection." (Ch. ii.) That is to say, once one understands all the significance of the ordinary and common acts of daily life, such as eating, drinking, and the human relationships, one is already a sage. The same is true when one practices to perfection what one understands. One cannot fully understand the significance of these things unless one practices them. Nor can one practice them to perfection, unless one fully understands their significance.

The Chung Yung says again: "The quality of ch'eng does not simply consist in perfecting oneself. It is that whereby one perfects all other things. The perfection of the self lies in the quality of yen [ humanheartedness]. The perfection of other things lies in wisdom. In this is the virtue of the nature. It is the way through which comes the union between inner and outer." (Ch. 25.) The meaning of this passage seems clear, yet I wonder whether the words, humanheartedness and wisdom, should not be interchanged.

The Chung Yung says also: "it is only he who has the most ch'eng who can develop his nature to the utmost. Able to do this, he is able to do the same to the nature of other men. Able to do this, he is able to do the same to the nature of things. Able to do this, he can assist the transforming and nourishing operations of Heaven and Earth. Being able to do this, he can

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form a trinity with Heaven and Earth. (Ch. 22.)

While perfecting oneself, one must also see that others are likewise perfected. One cannot perfect oneself while disregarding the perfection of others. The reason is that one can develop one's nature to the utmost only through the human relationships, that is, within the sphere of society. This goes back to the tradition of Confucius and Mencius, that for self-perfection one must practice chung, shu, and humanheartedness; that is, it consists in helping others. To perfect oneself is to develop to the utmost what one has received from Heaven. And to help others is to assist the transforming and nourishing operations of Heaven and Earth. By fully understanding the significance of these things, one is enabled to form a trinity with Heaven and Earth. Such understanding is what the Chung Yung calls enlightenment, and forming a trinity in this way is what it calls perfection.

Is anything extraordinary needed in order to achieve this trinity? No, nothing more is needed than to do the common and ordinary things and to do them just right, with understanding of their full significance. By so doing, one can gain the union of inner and outer, which is not only a trinity of Heaven, Earth, and man, but means a unity of man with Heaven and Earth. In this way one can achieve other-worldliness, yet at the same time not lose this-worldliness. It is with the development of this idea that the later Neo-Confucianists attacked the other—worldly philosophy of Buddhism.

Such is the Confucianist way of elevating ihe mind to a state in which the individual becomes one with the universe. It differs from the Taoist method, which is, through the negation of knowledge, to elevate the mind above the mundane distinctions between the "this and the "other.' The Confucianist method, on the other hand, is, through the extension of love, to elevate the mind above the usual distinctions between the self and other things.