Post date: Oct 23, 2016 6:05:39 AM
This is the eighth post in a series for those who:
1- desire to read or teach Confucius' Analects as philosophy, but
2- lack knowledge about classical Chinese language, culture, history, philosophy.
(The translations from Chinese are my own; bear in mind, I'm still learning and practicing.)
| Part 1, On The Analects | Part 2, On Confucius | Part 3, On the Zhōu | Part 4, On Militarism and Legalism | Part 5, On Scholarly Learning |
| Part 6, The Central Argument | Part 7, On Nature and Culture |
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On Nobility
Jūnzǐ (君子) means nobleman. It is a compound of jūn, which means lord or ruler, and zǐ, which means son.[1] The Analects contrasts jūnzǐ with xiǎorén (小人), which means small or young person and refers to those who are inferior or petty. So, in the context of the Analects, jūnzǐ refers to mature and superior persons rather than to those with aristocratic heritage.
Confucius revises the traditional meaning of jūnzǐ in service of his political project. Jūnzǐ originally refers to the son of one charged with governing a state. Being jūnzǐ, in this originary sense, is a matter of birthright, so that one becomes jūnzǐ merely by virtue of having proper ancestry. Being jūnzǐ, in this originary sense, also connotes being handsome and having a powerful body. So jūnzǐ, in the originary sense, are those in whom biological, aesthetic, and political excellence coincide.
Consider, for example, part of the “Ah!” (猗嗟Yī Jiē) verse in the Odes of Qí (齊風Qí Fēng), Poem 106 in Book of Songs (詩經 Shī Jīng):
猗嗟名兮、美目清兮。 / 儀既成兮。 / 終日射侯、不出正兮。 / 展我甥兮。
Yī jiē míng xī, měi mù qīng xī . / Yí jì chéng xī. / Zhōng rì shè hóu, bù chū zhēng xī. / Zhǎn wǒ shēng xī.
Ah, what a winner! His beautiful eyes, so clear. / His deportment, already so accomplished. / All day long, launching arrows at his target, never shooting crooked. / Such an exhibit, my nephew!
The verse praises a prince engaged in an archery competition. It notes his lovely appearance, his distinguished deportment, and his skill for aligning himself correctly (正zhēng).
Confucius modifies the originary meaning of jūnzǐ by correlating political excellence with being correct (正zhēng) rather than royal or beautiful. This correlation is explicit at Analects 12.8:
季康子問政於孔子。孔子對曰： 「政者，正也。 子帥以正，孰敢不正？」
Jì Kāngzǐ wèn zhèng yú Kǒngzǐ. Kǒngzǐ duì yuē: “Zhèng zhě, zhēng yě. Zǐ shuài yǐ zhēng, shú gǎn bù zhēng.
Jì Kāngzǐ asked [about] governing to Confucius. Confucius answered, saying: “Governing is being correct. If princes command by means of being correct, who dare be incorrect?”
Excellent politicians preserve social order, which involves preserving correct behavior and demeanor among their subjects. They do this, according to Confucius, not by virtue of their heredity or appearance, but by virtue of their own correct behavior and demeanor. (See also Analects 11.21, 13.6, 15.37.)
Creative interpretation for the Book of Songs supports Confucius’ revision to the meaning of jūnzǐ. Consider, for example, the “Turtledove, Turtledove” (鳲鳩Shī Jiū) verse in Odes of Cáo (曹風 Cáo Fēng), Poem 152:
淑人君子、其儀不忒。 / 其儀不忒、正是四國。
Shūrén jūnzi, qí yí bú tè. / Qí yí bú tè, zhèng shì sì guó.
Such a virtuous person this nobleman, his deportment never errant. / His deportment never errant, he corrects states in the four directions.
Similarly, the “Ah!” verse (Poem 106) praises the prince as capable of resisting disorder through his governance (以禦亂 yǐ yù luàn), explaining this capacity as resulting from his correct alignment (正zhēng).
These verses associate correctness with behaviors and manners. Confucius’s experience with disloyal governors shows that correctness, in this sense, need not track ancestry or appearance (see Analects 3.1, 3.5, 11.17, 14.6). According to Confucius, the salient difference between the respectable princes of the Western Zhōu and the corrupt princes of the Eastern Zhōu is that the former, but not the latter, embrace Zhōu culture. It follows that jūnzǐ are better understood as those who are noble by virtue of embodying the appropriate culture. Being royal and beautiful does not preclude being jūnzǐ, in this modified sense. But it does not suffice, either.
The Analects list several characteristic marks of jūnzǐ. For example, in Analects 5.16, Confucius praises Zǐchǎn, a minister from the State of Zhèng (鄭), for his jūnzǐ-like relations with others:
子謂子產，「有君子之道四焉：其行己也恭，其事上也敬，其養民也惠，其使民也義。」
Zǐ wèi Zǐchǎn: “Yǒu jūnzǐ zhī dào sì yān: qí háng jǐ yě gong, qí shì shǎng yě jìng, qí yǎng mín yě huì, qí shǐ mín yě yì.”
The Master spoke about Zǐchǎn: “He has the way of the nobleman in four respects: in his professional relations [to subordinates], he is deferential; in work for his superiors, he is respectful; in caring for citizens, he is kind; in his use of citizens, he is just.”
Analects 8.4 reports upon qualities of the jūnzǐ’s inner life, as understood by Confucius’ student Zēngzǐ (曾子):
「君子所貴乎道者三：動容貌，斯遠暴慢矣；正顏色，斯近信矣；出辭氣，斯遠鄙倍矣。」
“Jūnzǐ suǒ guì hū dào zhě sān: dòng róng mào, sī yuǎn bào màn yǐ; zhēng yán sè, sī jìn xìn yǐ; chū cí qì, sī yuǎn bǐ bèi yǐ.”
“Nobleman are noble by virtue of directing themselves in three ways: his displays of emotion, far from sudden or slow; his correct countenance, nearly always reliable; his expressions of anger and despair, far from base or excessive.”
(See also Analects 4.13.)
From Wén to Jūnzǐ
Being jūnzǐ is a matter of having correct behavior through one’s relations with others as well as having correct demeanor through one’s inner life. According to Confucius, correct behavior and demeanor follow from internalizing Zhōu culture. Consider, for example, Analects 6.27 (which the same as 12.15):
子曰：「君子博學於文，約之以禮，亦可以弗畔矣夫！」
Zǐ yuē: “Jūnzǐ bó xué yú wén, yuē zhī yǐ lǐ, yì kě yǐ fú pàn yǐ fú.”
The Master said: “The nobleman learns extensively from culture, restricting himself according to ritual conventions, and so never goes beyond their boundaries.
Learning from culture involves allowing culture to reshape one’s natural desires. This is not a matter of mastering formal rules. For no matter their specificity, rules are fundamentally vague regarding their proper application. Mastering ritual convention, by contrast, means acquiring practical know-how across a rich spectrum of social contexts. This involves learning how properly to express deference toward subordinates, respect toward superiors, care and justice toward citizens. It also involves learning how properly to emote. Analects 8.2 elaborates:
子曰：「恭而無禮則勞，慎而無禮則葸，勇而無禮則亂，直而無禮則絞。…」
Zǐ yuē: "Gōng ér wú lǐ zé láo, shèn ér wú lǐ zé xǐ, yǒng ér wú lǐ zé luàn, zhí ér wú lǐ zé jiǎo…"
The Master said: "Those who are respectful but lacking ritual convention are troublesome; careful without ritual convention, insecure; brave without ritual convention, disorderly; forthright without ritual convention, twisted…."
The passage lists several social excellences: respectfulness toward superiors, prudent caution in making decisions; courage in the face of obstacles; honesty in expression. It notes, in each case, how the excellence goes awry without proper know-how. This know-how provides concrete and specific guidance for enacting general—and underdetermined—virtues, and this know-how facilitates enacting the virtues in ways that make sense to and are well-received by others in one's culture. For example, if convention indicates that students ought to address their professors as "Doctor," those who depart from convention by addressing women professors instead as "Miss" unknowingly convey a lack of respect for the achievement of women in academia; and they do so even if, in other contexts, "Miss" is a perfectly acceptable form of respectable address.
Jūnzǐ do not learn ritual convention merely for the sake of conforming to culture in their behavior and demeanor. They master culture, internalizing conventional know-how so that proper responses become “second nature.” Jūnzǐ, so understood, allow ritual convention to restrict their desires, transforming their animal nature into a cultured person. So transformed, jūnzǐ embody culture, enacting its norms effortlessly and flawlessly in every situation.
But embodying culture requires more than mastering ritual convention. It requires, in addition, mastering the learning and arts available through culture (see Analects 8.8). Learning facilitates an appreciation and embrace of one's culture, fostering a community with others through familiarity with shared narratives and paradigms.
Learning also puts ritual convention into proper context, providing insight into the purpose of the conventions. This understanding, in turn, helps in knowing when to abide by the letter of convention and when exceptions or reforms are appropriate by virtue of honoring their spirit (see Analects 7.28). Consider, for example, Analects 9.3:
子曰：「麻冕，禮也；今也純，儉。吾從眾。拜下，禮也；今拜乎上，泰也。雖違眾，吾從下。」
Zǐ yuē: "Má miǎn, lǐ yě; jīn yě chún, jiǎn. Wú cóng zhòn. Bài xià, lǐ yě. Jīn bài hū shǎng, tài yě. Suī wéi zhòng, wú cóng xià."
The Master said: "[Using] linen for ceremonial caps is ritual convention. Nowadays, [people use] silk to be frugal. I follow the multitude. Bowing at the bottom [of the stairs, before approaching the ruler] is ritual convention. Nowadays, [people] bow after ascending [the stairs]. This is excessive. Despite going against the multitude, I continue bowing at the bottom."
Confucius' preferences in this passage, to reform tradition in one case but preserve it in another, follows from understanding the purpose of each convention rather than from arbitrary fiat. Changing the fabric of ceremonial caps preserves their purpose as a head covering. Bowing after ascending, by contrast, signals that one occupies the same level as the ruler, which indicates a lack of respect and therefore defeats the purpose of the bow. (See also Analects 3.17, 10.17, 19.11.) Proper understanding follows from knowledge of culture.
Mastering what to do, how and why to do it, and when to make exceptions or reforms does not require a capacity for doing it excellently. Just as a lawyer might win cases despite her poor courtroom style, and just as a nurse might palliate sickness despite his poor bedside manner, one might master convention and learning and yet display that mastery unskillfully. Skillful display of cultural mastery is a skill all its own, the skill of acting with harmonious ease (和 hé). Whence Analects 1.12:
有子曰：「禮之用，和為貴。先王之道斯為美，小大由之…。」
Yǒu zǐ yuē: "Lǐ zhī yòng, hé wéi guì. Xiān wáng zhī dào sī wéi měi, xiǎo dà yóu zhī…."
The Master said: "When enacting ritual convention, harmonious ease is precious. The way of the former kings is beautiful because of following this in all things, big and small…."
(See also Analects 3.4, 3.18, 15.37.) The implicit reasoning here, of course, is that the arts provide training for acting with harmonious ease. For the arts teach one how to excel with enacting ritual and embodying culture. Such excellence prevents actions from coming off in the wrong way.
Zhou, Wén, and Tiān
Jūnzǐ do not, of course, embody just any culture. They embody Zhōu culture. For Zhōu culture is the culture of the Western Zhōu dynasty, and the Western Zhōu hold the Mandate of Heaven (天命 tiānmìng, see Analects 9.5). Hence, Zhōu culture conforms to the way of heaven (see Analects 3.14, 6.17, 7.18, 8.8). Its conventions, arts, and learning, therefore, are correct and appropriate for transforming humans into mature persons.
Internalizing proper culture, moreover, is necessary for acquiring correct behavior and demeanor. Analects 20.3 explains:
子曰：「不知命，無以為君子也。不知禮，無以立也。不知言，無以知人也。」
Zǐ yuē: “Bù zhī mìng, wú yǐ wéi jūn zǐ yě. Bù zhī lǐ, wú yǐ lì yě. Bù zhī yán, wú yǐ zhī rén yě.”
The Master said: “Lacking knowledge of the commands [of heaven], there is no cause for becoming a nobleman. Lacking knowledge of ritual convention, there is no cause for settling down [desires]. Lacking knowledge of conversation, there is no cause for understanding people.”
For example, those who learn only warfare without also learning classical history, literature, and other vehicles that preserve and transmit cultural conversation thereby lack resources for understanding people’s motivations and desires. Similarly, those who learn only of rewards, punishments, and other external stimuli for social order thereby lack resources for transforming people’s internal lives. Those who do not learn the culture of those with that Mandate of Heaven, finally, lack resources for transforming people in the right way.
Balancing Xìng and Wén for Jūnzǐ
Being jūnzǐ, then, follows from internalizing Zhōu culture; and internalizing that culture—qua proper culture—is necessary for being jūnzǐ. Yet being jūnzǐ is not only a matter of internalizing proper culture. Consider, for example, Analects 6.18:
子曰：「質勝文則野，文勝質則史。文質彬彬，然後君子。」
Zǐ yuē: “Zhì shèng wén zé yě, wén shèng zhì zé shǐ. Wén zhì bīn bīn, rán hòu jūnzǐ.”
The Master said: “From unhewn nature getting the better of culture, there follows rudeness. From culture getting the better of unhewn nature, there follows pedantry. From culture refining unhewn nature, [there follows] nobleman-like correctness.
Jūnzǐ internalize proper culture. But they do so while preserving a proper balance between their refined nature and their “unhewn” (質 zhì) heredity (see also Analects 7.33, 13.21, 15.18).
Those who do not internalize culture enough, with “unhewn” nature overwhelming cultural refinement, are prone to “miss the mark,” acting in ways that come across as uncouth or improper. Yet those who internalize culture too much, with cultural refinement overwhelming “unhewn” nature, act in ways that come across as stilted: their behavior and demeanor, while conventionally correct, lack spontaneity, and this deficiency interrupts the harmonious flow of social interactions.
[1] Here is entry 838 in Shuōwén Jiězì:
君：尊也。从尹。發號，故从口。
Jūn: Zūn yě. Cóng yǐn. Fā háo. Gù cóng kǒu.
Jūn: One who is respected. From magistrate. Sends out a roar, to which those having speech comply.