A Short History of Chinese Philosophy (35 page)

If, then, we consider Tung Chung—shu as being in some way connected with Mencius' wing of Confucianism, Hsiin Tzu's accusations against this wing assume added significance. For if Tung Chung-shu s views actually go back in embryonic form to those of the followers of Mencius, then the latter, judging from their later development by Tung Chung-shu, could indeed be characterized as peculiar and dark.

This hypothesis is further strengthened by the fact that Mencius, like Tung Chung—shu, attached particular value to the Ch un Ch IU as the work of Confucius. Thus he said: Confucius was alarmed [by the disorder of the world] and made the Ch'un Ch'iu. The Ch'un Ch'iu should be the work of the Son of Heaven. Therefore Confucius said: 'Those who understand me, will do so because of the Ch un Ch iu, and those who blame me, will do so also because of the Ch'un Ch'iu. " (Mencius, Illb, 9-) Mencius theory that Confucius, in composing the Ch un Ch iu, was doing work that pertains to the Son of Heaven, could, if further developed, easily lead to Tung Chung— shu's theory that Confucius had actually received a Mandate from Heaven to become the Son of Heaven.

Tung Chung—shu, furthermore, in expounding his theory of human nature, explicitly compared it with that of Mencius. As we have seen in the last chapter, the differences between the two theories are actually only nominal.

If we accept the hypothesis that the New Text school is the continuation of the idealistic wing of Confucianism headed by Mencius, it is only reasonable to suppose that the Old Text school likewise stems from the realistic wing of Hsiin Tzu. Thus it is noticeable that the thinkers of the first century A.D., who were followers of the Old Text school, all took a naturalistic view of the universe similar to that of Hsiin Tzu and the Taoists. (Hsiin Tzu himself, as we have seen earlier, was influenced by the Taoists in this respect.)

Yang Hsiung and Wang Ch ung

An example of this point of view is provided by Yang Hsiung (53 B.C-A.D. 18), one of the members of the Old Text school. His T ai Hsiian or Supreme Mystery is to a considerable extent permeated with the concept that "reversal is the movement of the Too" —a concept basic both in the Lao-tzu and Book of Changes.

He also wrote a treatise known as the Fa Yen or Model Speeches, in which he attacked the Yin-Yang school. In this same work, to be sure, he

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expresses praise for Meneius. This in itself, however, does not invalidate my theory, because even though Meneius may have had some inclination toward the Yin-Yang school, he certainly never reached the extremes that characterized the New Text school in the Han Dynasty.

The greatest thinker of the Old Text school is undoubtedly Wang Ch'ung (A.D. 2.7—ca. 100), an iconoclast with a remarkable spirit of scientific skepticism, whose chief work is the Lun Heng or Critical Essays. Writing of the spirit which characterizes this work, he says: "Though the Shih [ Rook of Odes] numbered three hundred, one phrase can cover them all, namely, 'With undepraved thoughts' [a saying of Confucius in the Analects]. And though the chapters of my Lun Heng may be numbered in the tens, one phrase covers them all, namely, Hatred of fictions and falsehoods. (Lun Heng, ch. 61.) Again he says: "in things there is nothing more manifest than having results, and in argument there is nothing more decisive than having evidence. (Ch. 6j.)

Using this spirit, he vigorously attacks the theories of the Yin -Yang school, and especially its doctrine that an interaction exists between Heaven and man, either ideologically or mechanistically. As to its teleological aspect, he writes: The Way of Heaven is that of spontaneity, which consists of non -activity. But if Heaven were to reprimand men, that would constitute action and would not be spontaneous. The school of Huang [the legendary Yellow Emperor] and Lao [Lao Tzu], in its discussion on the Way of Heaven, has found the truth." (Ch. 41.) As to the mechanistic aspect of the theory, Wang Ch ung says: Man holds a place in the universe like that of a flea or louse under a jacket or robe.... Can the flea or louse, by conducting themselves either properly or improperly, affect the changes or movements in the ether under the jacket?...They are not capable of this, and to suppose that man alone is thus capable is to misconceive of the principle of things and of the ether. (Ch. 43-)

Taoism and Buddhism

Thus Wang Ch'ung prepared the way for the revival of Taoism that came one century later. In speaking about Taoism, I must emphasize again the distinction between Too chia and Too chiao, that is, between Taoism as a philosophy and Taoism as a religion. By the revival of Taoism, I here mean that of Taoist philosophy. This revived Taoist philosophy I will call Neo—Taoism.

It is interesting to note that Taoism as a religion also had its beginnings toward the end of the Han dynasty, and there are some who refer to this popular form of Taoism as new Taoism. The Old Text school purged Confucianism of its Yin-Yang elements, and the latter later mingled with Taoism to form a new kind of eclecticism known as the Taoist religion. In this way, while the position of Confucius was being reduced from that of a divinity to one of a teacher, Lao Tzu was becoming the founder of a religion which ulti-

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mately, in imitation of Buddhism, developed temples, a priesthood, and a liturgy. In this way it became an organized religion almost totally unrecognizable to early Taoist philosophy, which is why it is known as the Taoist religion.

In the first century A.D., already before this was happening, Buddhism was introduced into China from India via Central Asia. In the case of Buddhism as of Taoism, I must emphasize the distinction between Fo chiao and Fo hstteh, that is, between Buddhism as a religion and Buddhism as a philosophy.

As just stated, Buddhism as a religion did much to inspire the institutional organization of religious Taoism. The latter, as an indigenous faith, was greatly stimulated in its development by the nationalistic sentiments of people who watched with resentment the successful invasion of China by the foreign religion of Buddhism. By some, indeed, Buddhism was considered as a religion of the barbarians.

Religious Taoism, to some extent, thus grew as an indigenous substitute for Buddhism, and in the process it borrowed a great deal, including institutions, rituals, and even the form of much of its scriptures, from its foreign rival.

But besides Buddhism as an institutionalized religion, there also existed Buddhism as a philosophy.

And whereas the Taoist religion was almost invariably opposed to the Buddhist religion, Taoist philosophy took Buddhist philosophy as its ally. Taoism, to be sure, is less other-worldly than Buddhism. Nevertheless, some similarity exists between their forms of mysticism. Thus the Too of the Taoists is described as unnamable, and the real such-ness' or ultimate reality of the Buddhists is also described as something that cannot be spoken of. It is neither one, nor is it many; it is neither not-one, nor is it not not-many. Such terminology represents what is called in Chinese "thinking into the not-not."

In the third and fourth centuries A.D., famous scholars, who were usually Taoists, were often intimate friends of famous Buddhist monks. The scholars were usually well-versed in Buddhist sutras, and the monks in Taoist texts, especially the Chuang—tzu. When they met together, they talked in what was known at that time as ch'ing t an, or "pure conversation." When they reached the subject of the not—not, they stopped talking and just silently understood each other with a smile.

In this kind of situation, one finds the spirit of Ch an (commonly known in the West under its Japanese name of Zen). The Ch an school is a brunch of Chinese Buddhism which is really a combination of the most subtle and delicate aspects of both the Buddhist and Taoist philosophies. It exercised a greal influence later on in Chinese philosophy, poetry and painting, as we shall see in chapter twenty-two, where it will be discussed in detail.

Political and Social. Background

For the moment, let us turn back to the political and social background

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that lay behind the ascendancy of Confucianism in the Han dynasty and the subsequent revival of Taoism. The triumph of the former was not due to mere good luck or the fancy of certain people of the time. There were certain circumstances which made it almost inevitable.

The Ch in conquered the other states by a spirit of severity and ruthless-ness which was shown both in its domestic control and foreign relations, and was based on the Legalist philosophy. After the fall of Ch'in, therefore, everyone blamed the Legalist school for its harshness and complete disregard of the Confucian virtues of humanheartedness and righteousness. It is significant that Emperor Wu, besides issuing his decree making Confucianism ihe state teaching, also decreed in 141 B.C. that all persons who had become experts in the philosophies of Shen Pu-hai, Shang Yang and Han Fei (leaders of the Legalist school), as well as Su Ch'in and Chang Yi (leaders of the Diplomatist school), should be rejected from government posts.*

Thus the Legalist school became the scapegoat for all the blunders of the Ch'in rulers. And among the various schools, those farthest removed from the Legalist were the Confucianist and Taoist. Hence it is natural that there should be a reaction in their favor. During the early part of the Han dynasty, in fact, Taoism, then known as the "learning of Huang [the Yellow Emperor] and Lao [.Lao TzuJ, "became quite influential for some time. This can be illustrated by the fact that Emperor Wen (179-157 B.C., grandfather of Emperor Wu) was a great admirer of the "Huang-Lao school"; also that, as pointed out in the last chapter, the historian Ssu-ma T'an, in his "Essay On the Essential Ideas of the Six Schools, gave highest rank to the Taoist school.

According to the political philosophy of Taoism, a good government is not one that does many things, but on the contrary that does as little as possible. Therefore if a sage-king rules, he should try to undo the bad effects caused by the over—government of his predecessor. This was precisely what the people of the early part of the Han dynasty needed, for one of the troubles with the Ch in had been that it had had too much government. Hence when the founder of the Han dynasty, Emperor Kao—tsu, led his victorious revolutionary army toward Ch ang—an, the Ch in capital in present Shensi province, he announced to the people his "three-item contract": Persons committing homicide were, to receive capital punishment; those injuring or stealing were to be punished accordingly; but aside from ihese simple provisions, all other laws and regulations of the Ch'in government were to be abolished. (Historical Records, ch. 8.) In this way the founder of the Han dynasty was practicing the learning of Huang and Lao, even though, no doubt, he was quite unconscious of the fact.

Thus the Taoist philosophy accorded well with the needs of the rulers of the earlier part of the Han dynasty, whose policy was to undo what the

* Ser Ihf, History uj tile Former tiuii Dynmly, ch. 6.

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Ch'in government had done, and to give the country a chance to recuperate from its long and exhausting wars. When this end had been accomplished, however, the Taoist philosophy became no longer practical, and a more constructive program was called for. This the rulers found in Confucianism.

The social and political philosophy of Confucianism is both conservative yet at the same time revolutionary. It is conservative in that it is essentially a philosophy of aristocracy, yet it is revolutionary in that it gave a new interpretation of this aristocracy. It maintained the distinction between superior man and small man, which had been generally accepted in the feudal China of Confucius time. But at the same time it insisted that this distinction should not be based, as originally, upon birth, but rather upon individual talent and virtue. Therefore, it considered it quite right that the virtuous and talented among the people should be the ones to occupy noble and high positions in society.

It has been pointed out in chapter two that Confucianism gave a theoretical justification for the family system which has been the backbone of Chinese society. With the disintegration of the feudal system, the common people gained emancipation from their feudal lords, but the old family system remained. Hence Confucianism likewise remained the underlying philosophy of the existing social system.

The main result of the abolition of the feudal system was the formal separation of political power from economic power. It is true that the new landlords retained great influence, even politically, in their local communities. At least, however, they were no longer the actual political rulers of these communities, even though through their wealth and prestige they could often influence the government-appointed officials. This represented a step forward.

The new aristocrats, such as officials and landlords, though many of them were far from being the virtuous and talented persons demanded by Confucianism, nevertheless all had need for something that Confucianism was particularly qualified to supply. This was a knowledge of the complicated ceremonies and rituals needed to maintain the social distinctions. Thus one of the early acts of the founder of the Han dynasty, having conquered all his rivals, was to order Shu—sun Tung, a Confucianist, together with his followers, to draw up a court ceremonial. After the first audience was held at court with the new ceremonies, the founder of the dynasty exclaimed with satisfaction: Now I realize the nobility of being the Son of Heaven! (Historical Records, ch. 8.) Shu-sun Tung's action was disapproved of by some of his fellow Confucianists, but its success suggests one reason why the new aristocrats liked Confucianism, even though they might be opposed to or be ignorant of its true spirit.