A COMPARISON OF GREEK AND CHINESE RHETORIC AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON LATER RHETORIC by BIH-SHIA HUANG, B.A.. M.S. A DISSERTATION IN TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION AND RHETORIC Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved Accepted Dean of the Graduate School May, 2002 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my appreciation to those who helped me complete my dissertation: Dr. Fred Kemp, chair of my dissertation committee, who not only gave me advice concerning my personal affairs but also offered very insightfiil suggestions for the revision of this dissertation; Dr. James Whitlark, committee member, who provided his philosophical and literary viewpoints; Dr. Locke Carter, committee member, who gave me his unique opinions for this dissertation; and finally, Mrs. Kathy Sea, my dear friend, who helped me edit this dissertation. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii ABSTRACT v CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1 The Purpose of the Present Study 1 The Definitions of Rhetoric 1 Rhetoric as a Natural Practice and a Study of Effective Discourse 3 Rhetoric as a Study of Effective Discourse in Ancient China 6 The Reasons for the Comparison of Two Classical Rhetorics 13 The Characteristics of the Present Study 18 Comments and Suggestions .28 II. WESTERN (GREEK) RHETORIC 30 The Factors That Shaped Greek Rhetoric 30 The Origin and the Definition of Rhetoric 54 The Systemization of Aristotle's Rhetoric 65 Rhetoric as a Liberal Art 82 III. CHINESE RHETORIC .......90 The Factors that Shaped Chinese Rhetoric 90 The Periods before the Chin (Qin) Dynasty (before 221 B.C.)..............112 Classics as Early Chinese Rhetorical Evidence 120 The Emergence of Shi (the Persuader) 128 Chinese Rhetoric as a Study of Effective Discourse 132 The Modes of Argumentation 167 Rhetoric after the Chin Dynasty (206 B.C.-1911 A.D.) 174 IV. CONTRASTIVE RHETORIC BETWEEN CLASSICAL GREECE AND CHINA 185 The Physical Environments 185 The Natures of the Two Peoples 189 The Importance of Rhetoric as a Distinctive Subject 191 The Classical Rhetoricians 193 The Greek and Chinese Sophists 198 The Rhetorical Educators 201 The Artistic Proofs 203 The Three Gemes of Speech 212 Probability 213 The Audience 214 The Thinking Patterns 217 Rhetoric after the Classical Period 221 V. CONCLUSION ..........235 Summary .236 The Reasons for the Evolution of the Two Rhetorics 244 Methodology of Comparative Rhetoric .247 Comments ..248 WORKS CITED. ..........253 IV ABS'IRACT At the turn of the twenty-first century, some western scholars still hold that no classical rhetoric exists except classical Greek rhetoric. This paper demonstrates that classical Chinese rhetoric is not only a natural practice but also a study of effective discourse, like classical Greek rhetoric. In addition, the factors that contribute to the differences between these two rhetorics are explored. Moreover, subsequent rhetorics that were influenced by classical rhetorics are discussed and compared. Chapter 1 explains why this study must be done and introduces what will be addressed in the following chapters. Chapter II describes the Greek geographical features that led to liberal types of politics, economy, and rhetoric. The emergence of the Greek sophists followed the development of the democratic system. Aristotle's Rhetoric is used as a model to compare with Chinese rhetoric, as discussed in the third chapter. Rhetoric after the classical period is summarized so that the influence of classical Greek rhetoric on later western rhetoric can be understood. Chapter III explicates the Chinese geographical features that gave rise to conservative politics, economy, and rhetoric. This chapter emphasizes classical Chinese rhetoric that arose in the period of Spring-Autumn and Warring States (eighth to third centuries B.C.). The classical Chinese thinkers whose speeches and theories influenced later generations are introduced one by one. Rhetoric after the unification of the Chin (Qin) dynasty (221 B.C.) is also summarized in order to show the influence of classical Chinese rhetoric on later Chinese rhetoric. Chapter IV deals with a contrastive study between these two ancient countries from geographical. political, economical, social, and rhetorical perspectives. The reasons western rhetoric imd Chinese rhetoric after the classical periods had their own emphases is also explained. Chapter V summarizes this study, explains the reasons for the evolution of these two rhetorics, and proposes a methodology from both a historical approach and the use of Aristotelian terms. VI CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The Purpose of the Present Study The purpose of the present study is to demonstrate the existence of classical Chinese rhetoric—non-western rhetoric and provide western scholars with the rhetorical altematixes. To be able to do this, this dissertation will examine the factors that contributed to comparative rhetoric between ancient Greece and ancient China, their different concepts of rhetoric, the study of these concepts, and their influence on subsequent rhetoric. Some scholars like James J. Murphy maintain that rhetoric is the sole propert)' of western civilization. This study will demonstrate that the ancient Chinese not only practiced but also studied rhetoric just as the ancient Greeks did. In other words, the ancient Chinese regarded rhetoric as a natural practice as well as a study of effective discourse. Meanwhile, it is my hope that Chinese rhetoric can give western scholars some perspectives that western rhetoric may not have. As western rhetoric is studied exhaustively, it may need something exotic so that it may become more comprehensive. Chinese rhetoric may be the source that can provide western rhetoricians with new perspectives. The Definitions of Rhetoric To begin with, rhetoric must be defined clearly, because the definition of classical Chinese rhetoric has to accord with the definition of western rhetoric as assigned by rhetoricians. Definitions of rhdoric vary among western rhetoricians. However, these definitions are all derived from Aristotle's. Rhetoric, as Aristotle said, is the faculty of observing in imy given case the available means of persuasion (Bizzell and Herzberg 153). Rhetoric, then, was an art of persuasion. It only focused on persuasion, nothing else, Ne\ertheless, things ha\e become more complicated as time has passed by. This definition seems insutficient to keep up with the changing world. The definition of rhetoric needs to be modified in order for it to cover all the fields related to it. In response to this need, George A. Kennedy maintains that the definition of rhetoric as the "art of persuasion" might be extended to the "art of effective expression," because rhetorical techniques were also used in compositions to give joy to an audience or to demonstrate the imaginative and linguistic skills of the author (3). The extension of the definition of rhetoric from the art of persuasion to the art of expression has its significance. In the classical period, rhetoric was connected to the philosophical, political and ethical domains. It separated itself from aesthetic literature and other fields. However, as it gradually developed, it became intertwined with many subjects. For instance, Martin Camargo argues that many medieval practitioners of the three arts— poetry, preaching, and letter writing—regarded themselves as rhetoricians (qtd. in Bizzell and Herzberg 377). In the Enlightenment period, rhetoric was split into three areas— Belles lettres, epistemology, and elocution. Belles lettres includes the genres of history, poetry, and literary criticism. Epistemology is the study of human knowledge focusing on human nature or psychology. Elocution is the movement that revives one of the five canons, delivery, and further divides it into acting, facial expression, posture, movement. gesture, projection, tone, pace, and modulation. On the other hand, after the unification of China under the rule of the Chin (Qin) dynasty (221-206 B.C.), formal training in oral discourse faded away, because the Chin government did not allow public deliberation and open debate. Instead, written discourse was emphasized. The main purpose of written discourse was not only persuasion but also effective expression that was presented in the form of poetry, prose, rhapsodies, history, philosophical essays, eulogies, dirges, and epitaphs, letters, and so on. In modem times, rhetoric involves as many subjects as can be thought of In addition to the political and commercial arenas that require effective persuasion, personal letters, college composition, and company policies and instructions do not necessarily have persuasive characters but have to contain effective expression. In short, rhetoric has become an interdisciplinary subject. The art of persuasion is not a sufficient definition for rhetoric. The definition of rhetoric as the art of persuasion should be extended to the art of effective expression, as Kennedy maintains. Rhetoric as a Natural Practice and a Study of Effective Discourse Some scholars have argued over who invented rhetoric. Before discussing this issue, two kinds of rhetoric must be distinquished. One is rhetoric as a natural practice; the other is rhetoric as a study of effective discourse. The distinction between these two kinds of rhetoric is extremely important, because this would clarify whether rhetoric is the sole property of a particular civilization or whether rhetoric is a universal phenomenon. A Natural Practice In