Preservation of Philosophical Ideas

For Chinese thinkers, being a member of a school is of utmost im­

portance. Students revere their teachers, addressing them as "masters."

(What we today translate as "Confucius," "Mencius," " Laozi," "Mozi,"

"Zhuangzi," and "Hanfeizi," are addressed by the Chinese as Master Kong, Master Meng, Master Lao, Master Mo, Master Zhuang, and Master Han Fei. ) What teachers do is to transmit

Dao;

hence, they are respected as the "transmitters of

Dao."

To go against one's teacher's teaching would be considered a great betrayalY Therefore, Chinese philosophy is built on the continuation and further explication of teach­

ings of their revered predecessors, not on challenging them or construct­

ing new theories from scratch. Most of the works of ancient Chinese philosophy open discussions with "the Master said," showing that these works were very likely students' notes of what their teachers taught.

Even where the teachers themselves wrote philosophical treatises, some­

times the authentic works are compiled together with students' works attributed to their teachers. On some occasions, either out of respect for ancient thinkers or to elevate the importance of their own writing, the authors would even attribute their thought to ancient masters. Hence, we have the notorious problem about the authenticity of authorship in early Chinese philosophy. To see how Chinese philosophy was passed on largely through the extension of early teachings and explication of previous texts, we have to understand the academic background of Chinese schooling too.

In Chinese intellectual history, the study of the classics is an integral part of education. The classics include the

Book of Changes ( Yijing),

_the

Book of Odes (Shi-jing),

_the

Book of History (Shu-jing),

_the

Book of Rites (Li-ji),

_{and the}

Annals of Spring and Autumn ( Chun-qiu) .

_Later

in history, these books came to be known as the "five classics." They were seen as voicing the authority on truth and morality from as early as in Confucius' time. Confucius says of himself, "I transmit but do not create. I believe in and love the ancients. " ¹³ It is clear that he does not think he is developing a new philosophy. He views himself as someone who transmits the truth conveyed in the classics and continues the tradition of the old. Confucius often refers to the

Book of Odes

_{in his}

10

What Is Chinese Philosophy?

teaching, while Mencius often cites the

Book of History

as the voice of truth. Other ancient Chinese philosophers also appealed either to the classics, to Confucius, or to Laozi in order to support their own theories. It is not because they were not confident in their own thinking, but because, to Chinese philosophers, to philosophize is to find the best transmissions of

Dao.

Typically, ancient Chinese students were given private tutorials from the age of

6.

A small group of students gathered either at one of their homes, or at the tutor's studio, to receive lectures on the classics.14 The tutor typically dominated the whole lecture, leaving no room for open discussion. These tutors were often addressed as "master," which under­

scored their authority and their superiority. Students were expected to

recite

_{and to}

memorize

the content of these classics, so that they could quote them in exams and, later in life, could apply the teachings to their own life. The merit of the student's comprehension would be based on his ability to synthesize and to elaborate on the teachings, not on his ability to challenge or revise the teachings. As young students grew up, they could choose their philosophical associations by joining a particu­

lar school to follow a particular "master." Even within academic set­

tings for mature students, teachers normally lecture while students take notes. This tradition still applies today. Sometimes the pedagogy in­

volves questions and answers, but normally teachers were held in the highest esteem and thus were seldom challenged. Later in Chinese his­

tory, when official examinations were devised to select the best intellec­

tuals to become state officials, these examinations were also centered on the classics. Typically, the contestants had to write an expository essay on the selected quote from the classics. One can easily see why, under such an education system, students would develop a sense of awe not only of their masters, but also of whatever the masters taught. Ortho­

dox teaching is the norm; following the tradition is the respectable thing to do. A deviant interpretation could be seen as a novel ingenuity, but it also runs the risk of being seen as a misunderstanding of the original texts. Consequently, the development of Chinese philosophy leaned heav­

ily toward orthodoxy from the start.1S This is not to say, of course, that there is only one thread in the development of Chinese philosophy.

There are often lots of competing schools at any given time. In the ancient period, for example, we have what is commonly called the

"Hundred Schools"

(bai-jia) .

Between different schools, we often see interesting philosophical debates and exchanges. The disagreements be­

tween Confucians and Mohlsts, between Confucians and Daoists, and between Confucians and Buddhists present us with perfect examples of the philosophical disputes that took place in Chinese intellectual history.

1 1

Introduction

Starting with Confucius, who modestly claimed that he only trans­

mitted the thought of antiquity and never wrote down his own theory or originated his own ideas, Chinese philosophers did not think highly of establishing intellectual fame through writing. The reason for the lack of systematic philosophical works in Chinese philosophy is directly linked to the philosopher's disinterest in establishing a particular doc­

trine to gratify his intellectual desire. Like their Western counterparts (Socrates, Plato, etc.), ancient Chinese philosophers were indeed inter­

ested in finding and defending truth. However, what they deemed

truth

must be what could help the world and the people. Before paper was invented in China (in the first century AD), books had to be carved onto bamboo plates, which were then assembled with the aid of ropes. Writ­

ing would thus take too much time away from the philosophers' real goal - to make others listen to them and to bring about immediate social reform. Among their students, some were good at partaking in social or political reforms, while others were good at truthfully record­

ing what the teachers had said. When we read these ancient Chinese philosophical texts, we must recognize this division of labor. When we refer to, for example, Confucius or Mencius, we would be referring, not to the author of those texts, but to the originator of the thoughts preserved in the texts. Since the thoughts were conveyed in various contexts and recorded by different students, the philosophy often appears unsystematic or even inconsistent. A proper understanding of Chinese philosophy must therefore involve the readers' active attempts at sifting through disjointed remarks to find the common themes.

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