Emotion in Pre-Qin Ruist Moral Theory: an Explanation of "Dao Begins in Qing"
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
EMOTION IN PRE-QIN RUIST MORAL THEORY: AN EXPLANATION OF "DAO BEGINS IN QING" Tang Yijie Departmentof Philosophy,Peking University Translatedby BrianBruya and Hai-mingWen Departmentof Philosophy,University of Hawai'i There is a view that holds that Ruistsnever put much emphasis on qing '1l and that they even regardedit in a negative light. This is perhapsa misunderstanding,espe- cially in regardto pre-Qin Ruism. In the Guodian Xing zi ming chu 'tsfi, the passage "dao begins in qing" (dao shi yu qing ^4f_'1 ) plays an importantrole in our understandingof the pre-Qin notion of qing. This article will concentrate on discussingthe "theoryof qing" in pre-Qin Ruism,and also in Daoism. In addition, it will attempta philosophical interpretationof "dao begins in qing," and in the pro- cess offer philosophical interpretationsof a numberof importantnotions. On "Dao Begins in Qing" The Guodian Xing zi ming chu is a Ruisttext of the middle WarringStates period (priorto 300 B.C.),and it contains the following key lines: Dao shi yu qing, qing sheng yu xing. ft4'hS,' 'r1S. t Dao begins in qing, and qing arisesfrom xing. Xingzi ming chu. 14 zpth. Xing issues from ming. Ming zi tianjiang. A i [F. Ming descends from tian. Discovering the correlationsamong these passages is crucial to understandingthe pre-Qin notions of xing and qing. To begin with, we can explain them as follows: the human dao (the norms of personal and social conduct) exists from the starton account of sharedemotions (qinggant1,f) among people. The qing of emotions (xi, nu, ai, le - ,Sti,) emerges out of human xing, and human xing is conferredby tian (human xing are obtained from ming, which tian confers). Tianming is the inevita- bility and the teleology made manifestby tian. We can see fromthese sentences that "dao begins in qing" was an extremely importanttopic for pre-Qin Ruists.It makes sense to say "dao begins in qing" ratherthan "dao arises from qing" because dao exists from the starton account of human qing ratherthan emerging out of qing.2 This is why the Xing zi ming chu says: "Someone who understandsqing is able to convey (chu $) it, while someone who understandsyi S is able to internalize(ru A) it." Someone who completely comprehends human qing is able fully to elaborate Philosophy East & West Volume 53, Number 2 April 2003 271-281 271 ? 2003 by University of Hawai'i Press humanemotion, and someone who has a firmgrasp of ritualpropriety (li t) and yi is able to modulatehuman emotion. Thus, ritualpropriety and yi are intimatelyrelated to qing and are inseparablefrom the expressionof humanemotion. There are many issues that can be touched on here, and we will focus on the following three. 1. The dao of "dao begins in qing" refersto human dao ratherthan a con- flated tian and human dao. Moreover,it is not the "constantdao" that Laozispeaks of because the Xing zi ming chu states, "Only the human dao can be articulated [dao]."The dao that "can be articulated"is not the "constantdao," nor is it the "dao that cannot be articulated."So this dao is not the dao that Laozisays "precedesthe generationof tian and earth."The Xingzi ming chu also says: "Ritualpropriety starts from qing" (li zuo yu qing tfN'1 ).3 Ritualpropriety belongs within the scope of "human dao." Therefore, "dao begins in qing" is not a Daoist notion but a Ruist one. This kind of ritualpropriety so tied to qing is exactly the basis for maintaining decorum among people in society. However, this dao that begins in qing is not confined to ritualpropriety, for ren {I, yi, ritualpropriety, wisdom, trustworthiness,et cetera all belong to it. Forinstance: Inthe beginning,it is nearto qing,and at the end,to yi. (Xingzi mingchu) Renarises in people,and yi arisesin dao. (Yucong no. 1) (Thisdao is, naturally,also human dao.) However, from the Ruistperspective, the human dao originatesin the dao of tian, and that is why we find such a notion as "the unityof tian and people." 2. "Qing"typically refersto the "seven qing" (delight,anger, grief, fear, love, dislike, desire [xi, nu, ai, ju, ai, wu, yu 4-9g1,'V ]), the "six qing" (delight, anger, grief, enjoyment [le :], fondness [hao 4f], dislike), or the "five qing" (delight, anger, grief, enjoyment, resentment[yuan &]), but the Xing zi ming chu says: "the qi X of delight, anger, grief, and sadness is due to xing," and "fondness and dislike are a matterof xing." Here we touch on the problemof the relationship between xing and qing. In the "Tian lun" chapter of the Xunzi, we find the following passage, "Fond- ness, dislike, delight, anger, grief, and enjoyment are stored within (zang A4), and this is called the naturalqing." "Fondness,dislike, delight, anger, grief, and enjoy- ment" referto the emotions (qinggan)that naturallyissue from within the person. Basedon naturalhuman xing, qing is humanemotion (ganqing)that "is arousedinto action by contact with things"and expressedexternally. (This issue will be taken up in more detail below.) 3. What does the Ruist "tian"mean? It has many connotations,and for each of the great Ruists(such as Mengzi and Xunzi) it meant something slightly different. Nonetheless, it is my opinion that it would be reasonableto interprettian in early China (especially for the Ruists)as a governing power and principle that is tran- scendent with regardto natureand the myriadthings (including,of course, people). Thus, tian holds connotations of sacredness, supreme power, and morality.That would make "tianming" the necessity and teleology behind this power governing 272 Philosophy East & West the myriadthings. Butthis is not a topic to be discussed here, so we will put it off for anothertime. The Basis for the Pre-Qin Ruist Emphasis on Qing Society in ancient China was patriarchaland centered on the family, and familial qing (qin qing I,') was the foundation for preservingties within the family. By extension, it was also the foundation for preservingties within the entire society. Because this qing-orientedsocial background is what pre-Qin Ruism developed out of, "dao begins in qing" can be seen as a foundationalissue for pre-Qin Ruist thought,especially for the core issues of moralthought. There is no record in the Analects of Confucius having ever directly discussed the topic of qing, but from his behavior one can see that he attached a significant amount of importanceto qing. Forinstance: YanYuan died, and Confucius grieved with abandon. (11:10) WhenConfucius was in Qi, he heardthe Shaomusic, and for threemonths he didn't noticethe tasteof meat.He said,"I never expected that music could be likethis." (7:14) Despite his never having discussed qing directly,the basis for the pre-Qinemphasis on qing is built on the thought of Confucius.For example: "FanChi inquiredabout ren. Confuciussaid, "Love(ai )) others"5(12 :22). Why does Confuciustake love to be the basic connotationof ren? The Zhongyongquotes Confuciusas saying "Ren has to do with others, and felt intimacywith one's family (qin qin VIM)is paramount."6It is not for nothingthat ren is taken to be fundamental,for it begins with loving one's family and is extended outward from there.7 This is to say that felt intimacywith one's family is the most basic emotion, and only after having the emotions for loving one's family will one "extendthem to others"or be able to "honorone's elders as befitselders and extend this honor to all elders,... honor one's own children as befits children and extend this honor to all children."To be able to "extendfrom oneself to others"is not easy and requiresthat one take the path of conscientiousness and compassion as the standard,such that one does "not inflict on others what one does not desire for oneself" and that one "establishesothers when wishing to establish oneself, and helps others achieve the goal that one wishes to achieve for oneself."8The ideal for Confuciuswas to take the spiritof love and care based on familialqing and spread it throughoutsociety, causing all of society to turntoward ren:"To controloneself and restoreritual propriety is ren. If you can do it for one day, the whole land will turn towardthe ren in you. Ren comes from oneself; how could it come from others?" "To control oneself and restore ritualpropriety" is always interpretedas if "to controloneself" and "restoreritual propriety" were two correspondingnotions taken in parallel. I do not think that this is the best interpretation.It should be taken to mean that only the "restoringof ritualpropriety" that is based on "controllingone- self" can be called ren. Ren arisesout of one's innercharacter, while ritualpropriety is the externalsystem of etiquettefor regulatinghuman behavior-its purposebeing Tang Yijie 273 to modulate relationsamong people and to make them more harmonious:"Achiev- ing harmonyis the most valuable functionof observingritual propriety." For people to observe a system of etiquette, it must come from their own sensibility.Only this tallies with ren. This is why Confucius said "ren comes from oneself, how could it come from others?"Confucius was unequivocal in characterizingthe relation between ren and ritualpropriety: "What has a personwho is not ren have to do with observing ritualpropriety? What has a person who is not ren have to do with the playing of music?"(3: 3). This theory of ren based on love would inevitablyinflu- ence Mencius, who said, "Ren is felt intimacywith one's family"(6B: 3, 7A: 15). In Mencius, we cannot find a passage that directly discusses qing. However, Mencius' "four sprouts,"especially the "heart-mindof commiseration"(ceyin zhi xin flH_~b), although only the sproutingof human xing, certainly possesses the content of human qing. Addressingthe questionof why people have a heart-mindof commiseration,Mencius says: "Anyoneseeing a child aboutto fall into a well would be alarmed,possessing a heart-mindof commiseration.This is not because they wish to ingratiatethemselves with the child's parentsor because they wish for a good reputationamong friends and villagers or because they dislike the sound of the child's voice" (2A: 6).