A Short History of Chinese Philosophy by Yu-lan Fung

Author:Yu-lan Fung [Fung, Yu-lan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Philosophy, General, Eastern, Religion, History
ISBN: 9780684836348
Google: BTGXngEACAAJ
Amazon: 0684836343
Publisher: Free Press
Published: 1997-03-01T00:00:00+00:00

plished. At this point this "Appendix says: "But there can never be an end of things. Hence Chi—chi is followed by Wei—chi I the sixty-fourth hexagram, meaning something not yet accomplishedJ. With this hexagram, [the Yi\ comes to a close.

According to this interpretation, the arrangement of the hexagrams implies at least three ideas: (I) that all that happens in the universe, natural and human alike, forms a continuous chain of natural sequence; (2.) that in the process of evolution, everything involves its own negation; and (3) that in the process of evolution, "there can never be an end of things.

The "Appendices' agree with the Lao-tzu that in order to do something with success, one must be careful not to be too successful; and that in order to avoid losing something, one must complement it with something of its opposite. Thus Appendix III says: The man who keeps danger in mind is one who retains his position. The man who keeps ruin in mind is one who survives. The man who has disorder in mind is one who has peace. Therefore, the superior man, when all is peaceful, does not forget danger.

When he is acting, he does not forget about ruin. When he has society under control, he does not forget disorder. Hence it is possible, with his own person secure, for him to protect the state."

The "Appendices also agree with the Lao-tzu that modesty and humbleness are the great virtues.

Appendix I remarks: It is the way of Heaven to diminish the swollen and augment the modest. It is the way of Earth to subvert the swollen and give free course to the modest....It is the way of man to hate the swollen and love the modest. Modesty, in a high position, sheds luster on it; in a low position it cannot be passed by unobserved. This is the final goal of the superior man.

The Mean and Harmony

The idea of chung is fully developed in the Chung Yung or Doctrine of the Mean. Chung is like the Aristotelian idea of the "golden mean." Some would understand it as simply doing things no more than halfway, but this is quite wrong. The real meaning of chung is neither too much nor too little, that is, just right. Suppose that one is going from Washington lo New York. It will then be just right to stop at New York, but to go right through to Boston, will be to do too much, and to stop at Philadelphia, will be to do too little. In a prose poem by Sung Yii of the third century B.C., he describes a beautiful girl with the words: If she were one inch taller, she would be too tall. If she were one inch shorter, she would be too short. If she used powder, her face would be too white. If she used rouge, her face would be too red."

(Wen Hsiian, chiUm I9)The description means that her figure and complexion were just right, "just right"

is what the Confucianists call chung.

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