Han Wangxi

3. Be benevolent and wise

The Confucian classic “Zhongyong” (“The Doctrine of the Mean”) offers two approaches to achieve self-cultivation — honoring one’s virtuous nature and maintaining constant inquiry and study. “Honoring one’s virtuous nature” asks a person to fully know his nature. Only if a person is able to reflect and rectify his mistakes and not blame others on his wrongdoings, would he be able to maintain the innate virtues and would behave and talk in a reasonable and proper way. In addition, people can cultivate their moral virtues through “constant inquiry and study.”

Each of the two approaches has a different emphasis: One is perception and the other learning. According to “Zhongyong,” humans generate intelligence based on their innate goodness and sincerity. The Confucian preaching asks a person to discern his own nature. Meanwhile, human beings will behave sincerely after constant learning. Therefore, Confucianism also considers study to be important.

Zhang Zai (1020-1077), a Neo-Confucianism philosopher, inherited and developed the concepts, arguing that a person will gain supreme principles if he reaches the top state of moral cultivation, and will acquire knowledge through sensing the world. Zhang’s theory on cultivation emphasizes fully understanding human nature through discerning innate knowledge and learning from one’s interior world.

As for the Neo-Confucianism philosophers after Zhang, they had their own preferences when discussing approaches to achieve self-cultivation. Cheng Hao (1032-1085), Cheng Yi (1033-1107) and Zhu Xi (1130-1200) insisted on exploring the supreme principles, while Lu Jiuyuan (1139-1193) and Wang Yangming (1472-1529) advocated people to discern their original minds.

But for all of them, learning and gaining consciousness share one purpose, which is exploring human’s innate moral virtues. Confucian epistemology stipulates that benevolence is the supreme principle and consciousness is independent of benevolence.

A dialogue between Wang and his friend is recorded in “Chuanxilu.” When they roamed around the South Township, the friend pointed to the flowering trees on a cliff and said, “[You say] there is nothing around the world external to the mind. These flowering trees on the high mountain blossom and drop their blossoms to themselves. What is the connection between my mind and the blossoms?”

Wang said, “Before you look at these flowers, they and your mind are in the state of silence. As you come closer to look at them, their colors at once show up clearly. Now you know that these flowers are in your mind.”

The conversation shows the unity of epistemology and axiology, sense and sensibility, goodness and beauty. According to the traditional Chinese ethics, morality comes from the deep. The expression of compassion and sympathy comes from human nature. The innate morality is the spiritual anchor for ancient China’s senior officials and scholars.

The Zen thought also advocates people to possess the sage’s supreme virtues. It serves as a bridge to connect the Mencius’ saying “I know all the patterns in the world,” and Lu and Wang’s propositions on “mind is the principle,” and “the individual mind is identical with the principle of the universe.”

Zen is a school of Buddhism that originated in China. The Buddhism school with Chinese features shows great importance in Chinese ethics and aesthetics. The core of Zen is to teach Zenists to discern the origin of the universal mind. Zenism insisted on human beings have natural pure minds, possessing the innate knowledge. However, people would be covered by selfish thoughts, so that they cannot easily achieve a sense of self-perception. Only when instructed by proper knowledge, the selfish thoughts can be eliminated, and a person with consciousness can be found within.

The spirits of China’s ethics and aesthetics are connected. The ancient China’s aesthetics asks a person not only to gain the capability to admire concrete subjects, but more importantly to admire people’s personalities.

(The author is a cultural scholar.)

(Translated by Chen Siqi)